Search for Articles:
Title / Keyword
Author / Affiliation / Email
Journal
Article Type
 
 
Advanced Search
 
Section
Special Issue
Volume
Issue
Number
Page
 
4.9
3.3
Journals
Agriculture
Special Issues
Research Progress on Agricultural Equipments for Precision Planting and Harvesting
share announcement

Research Progress on Agricultural Equipments for Precision Planting and Harvesting

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Agricultural Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2025 | Viewed by 6729

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Hua Li

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
College of Engineering, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 008625, China
Interests: precision; planting; harvesting; agricultural equipment; modern agriculture; parameter optimization; machine systems-crops-soil
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Lizhang Xu

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Key Laboratory of Modern Agricultural Equipment and Technology, Ministry of Education & Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu University, Nanjing 008625, China
Interests: modern design methodology of farm machinery
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For man, machine has become the development trend of modern agriculture. Unlike tillage and plant protection, planting and harvesting vary from crop to crop, resulting in a lack of universality in related planting and harvesting equipment. The planting and harvesting methods of crops are very different, and the mechanisms of mechanized planting and harvesting are also complicated, constituting an important factor restricting the development of their mechanization. In-depth investigation of the mechanisms of mechanized planting and harvesting of different crops, as well as constantly improving the quality of mechanized planting and harvesting, are some of the challenges of modern agriculture. Precision planting and harvesting agricultural equipment can effectively improve operational quality.

This Special Issue focuses on precision planting and harvesting methods as well as the technologies for agricultural equipment to improve the operational quality and advance the development process of modern agriculture. This issue will fully embrace inter- and trans-disciplinary studies from multiple disciplines (agricultural science, soil science, mechanical engineering, information engineering, mechanics, etc.). It is encouraged to reveal the mechanisms of precision planting and harvesting and the optimization of operational parameters through a combination of theory, experiment, and simulation. In particular, the application of the latest technologies, such as artificial intelligence, is encouraged to help improve the operational quality of precision planting and harvesting using agricultural equipment. Research articles will cover precision planting and harvesting of a variety of different crops. All types of articles, such as original research, opinions, and reviews, are welcome.

Prof. Dr. Hua Li
Prof. Dr. Lizhang Xu
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agriculture is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • precision
  • planting
  • harvesting
  • agricultural equipment
  • operational quality
  • parameter optimization
  • machine systems
  • crops
  • soil

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (7 papers)

Download All Papers
Order results
Result details
Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

22 pages, 7566 KiB  
Article
Design and Simulation of Chinese Cabbage Harvester
by Simo Liu, Xuhui Yang, Zhe Zhang, Jianing Xu, Ping Zhao, Subo Tian, Lihua Wei and Xiaofeng Ning
Agriculture 2025, 15(8), 831; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15080831 - 11 Apr 2025
Viewed by 247
Abstract
In view of the problems of low work efficiency and high operating costs caused by manual harvesting of Chinese cabbage in China, in this study, a Chinese cabbage harvester with agronomic integrity was designed. The harvester is mainly composed of a crawler chassis, [...] Read more.
In view of the problems of low work efficiency and high operating costs caused by manual harvesting of Chinese cabbage in China, in this study, a Chinese cabbage harvester with agronomic integrity was designed. The harvester is mainly composed of a crawler chassis, a drawing device, a flexible clamping device, a cutting device, and a horizontal delivery device. Firstly, physical properties of Chinese cabbage such as diameter, plant height, weight, and drawing rate of Chinese cabbage were measured and analyzed to provide necessary basic data for the design of the harvester. Secondly, simulation tests were conducted on the Chinese cabbage harvesting process; a 3D model of Chinese cabbage using SolidWorks 2022 was established and filled with particles using the three-layer stacking method. At the same time, SolidWorks was applied to simplify the model of the Chinese cabbage harvester. The belt of the machine model was set as a flexible body through RecurDyn 2023 software and coupled with EDEM 2022 for simulation analysis. Based on single factor tests, the BBD model was applied to conduct multi-factor response surface analysis on the above factor levels. The optimal working conditions of the harvester were obtained as follows: the rotating speed of the cutting device was 207.85 r/min, the rotating speed of the flexible clamping conveyor belt was 165.51 r/min, the rotating speed of the drawing device was 102.38 r/min, and the machine walking speed was 1.37 km/h. The qualified rate of Chinese cabbage harvesting was the highest, achieving a maximum theoretical value of 97.91%. Field validation tests were conducted on the designed Chinese cabbage harvester. Based on the actual operating conditions of the Chinese cabbage harvester and the simulated operating parameters, the optimal parameter combination was finally determined as follows: rotating speed of the root cutting device was 200 r/min, rotating speed of the flexible clamping conveyor belt was 160 r/min, rotating speed of the drawing device was 100 r/min, and machine walking speed was 1.4 km/h, respectively. Through field verification tests, the highest qualified rate of Chinese cabbage harvesting reached 93.19%, showing a good harvesting effect, which approximates the simulated optimal qualified rate of 97.91%, meeting the mechanized harvesting demand of Chinese cabbage. This study provides reference to the further design and development of Chinese cabbage harvesters in the future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Progress on Agricultural Equipments for Precision Planting and Harvesting)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

14 pages, 5252 KiB  
Article
Physico-Mechanical Properties of Male and Female Hemp Plants
by Hüseyin Duran
Agriculture 2025, 15(7), 776; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15070776 - 3 Apr 2025
Viewed by 274
Abstract
Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is one of the oldest annual fiber crops cultivated throughout human history. Addressing the challenges encountered during the harvesting of hemp for seed and fiber purposes requires further investigation. Studies are also needed to determine plant characteristics in [...] Read more.
Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is one of the oldest annual fiber crops cultivated throughout human history. Addressing the challenges encountered during the harvesting of hemp for seed and fiber purposes requires further investigation. Studies are also needed to determine plant characteristics in terms of both variety and gender. This study aimed to determine the physico-mechanical properties of hemp plants. The stems of male and female hemp plants were divided into three sections along their length: lower, middle, and upper regions. Samples measuring 25.4 mm in length were collected from each section, and measurements of thickness and inner and outer diameter were conducted. The same samples were subjected to axial and lateral compression tests to determine load, elongation, and energy values. According to the results, the thickness of hemp ranged from 2.347 mm to 2.628 mm, the inner diameter varied between 3.986 mm and 4.452 mm, while the outer diameter ranged from 8.861 mm to 9.708 mm. The results showed that male hemp plants have an increase in thickness and inner and outer diameter values from the lower to the upper region compared to female hemp plants. The compressive loads in the axial and lateral directions were found to be higher in male hemp plants compared to female hemp plants. Moreover, elongation and energy requirements during axial and lateral compressions showed trends consistent with the load values across the stem samples. This study determined that the results of axial and lateral compression applied at three different positions (lower, middle, and upper) on male and female hemp stalks varied significantly based on both sex and position. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Progress on Agricultural Equipments for Precision Planting and Harvesting)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

28 pages, 7300 KiB  
Article
Design and Experiment of Electric Control System for Self-Propelled Chinese Herbal Medicine Materials Transplanter
by Qingxu Yu, Xian Zhang, Guangqiao Cao, Yan Gong and Xiao Chen
Agriculture 2025, 15(6), 621; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture15060621 - 14 Mar 2025
Viewed by 399
Abstract
To address the challenges of low efficiency and poor quality in the transplantation of the roots and stems of Chinese medicinal herbs, an electromechanical control system for Chinese medicinal herb transplantation was studied. The electronic control system employs an STM32 single-chip microcomputer as [...] Read more.
To address the challenges of low efficiency and poor quality in the transplantation of the roots and stems of Chinese medicinal herbs, an electromechanical control system for Chinese medicinal herb transplantation was studied. The electronic control system employs an STM32 single-chip microcomputer as the main controller, utilizes a Hall sensor to capture the movement speed of the transplanter, employs an encoder to monitor the working speed of the DC drum motor and provide feedback to the system, and drives a belt conveyor for transplanter movement using a DC drum motor. The fuzzy PID algorithm is used to adjust the speed of the DC drum in real time based on the difference between the captured speed and the actual monitored speed, ensuring precise matching between the transplanting operation speed and the transplanter movement speed. The control system was simulated using Matlab/Simulink 2022b software. Compared to the traditional PID control algorithm, the steady-state error was reduced by 36.41%, the steady-state time was shortened by 47.26%, the response time was shorter, there was no overshoot, and the robustness was good. Based on the simulation test, a real machine-verification experiment was conducted. The test results indicated that, when operated at the forward speeds corresponding to the low-speed first gear (Low 1) and low-speed second gear (Low 2), the Codonopsis pilosula seedlings exhibited the following characteristics: the exposed seedling rate was 1.1% and 1.5%, the injured seedling rate was 0.5% and 0.7%, the unplanted rate was 1.6% and 2.2%, and the transplant qualification rate was 96.8% and 95.6%, respectively. Similarly, for Astragalus membranaceus seedlings at these speeds, the corresponding rates were as follows: the exposed seedling rate was 1.3% and 1.9%, the injured seedling rate was 0.4% and 0.5%, the unplanted rate was 0.8% and 1.2%, and the transplant qualification rate was 97.5% and 96.4%, respectively. Both results met the design requirements. This study lays a theoretical and technical foundation for controlling the transplanting speed, improving the transplanting accuracy, and promoting the mechanized development of transplantation in traditional Chinese medicine. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Progress on Agricultural Equipments for Precision Planting and Harvesting)
►▼ Show Figures

Graphical abstract

19 pages, 4786 KiB  
Article
RT-DETR-Tea: A Multi-Species Tea Bud Detection Model for Unstructured Environments
by Yiyong Chen, Yang Guo, Jianlong Li, Bo Zhou, Jiaming Chen, Man Zhang, Yingying Cui and Jinchi Tang
Agriculture 2024, 14(12), 2256; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14122256 - 10 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1033
Abstract
Accurate bud detection is a prerequisite for automatic tea picking and yield statistics; however, current research suffers from missed detection due to the variety of singleness and false detection under complex backgrounds. Traditional target detection models are mainly based on CNN, but CNN [...] Read more.
Accurate bud detection is a prerequisite for automatic tea picking and yield statistics; however, current research suffers from missed detection due to the variety of singleness and false detection under complex backgrounds. Traditional target detection models are mainly based on CNN, but CNN can only achieve the extraction of local feature information, which is a lack of advantages for the accurate identification of targets in complex environments, and Transformer can be a good solution to the problem. Therefore, based on a multi-variety tea bud dataset, this study proposes RT-DETR-Tea, an improved object detection model under the real-time detection Transformer (RT-DETR) framework. This model uses cascaded group attention to replace the multi-head self-attention (MHSA) mechanism in the attention-based intra-scale feature interaction (AIFI) module, effectively optimizing deep features and enriching the semantic information of features. The original cross-scale feature-fusion module (CCFM) mechanism is improved to establish the gather-and-distribute-Tea (GD-Tea) mechanism for multi-level feature fusion, which can effectively fuse low-level and high-level semantic information and large and small tea bud features in natural environments. The submodule of DilatedReparamBlock in UniRepLKNet was employed to improve RepC3 to achieve an efficient fusion of tea bud feature information and ensure the accuracy of the detection head. Ablation experiments show that the precision and mean average precision of the proposed RT-DETR-Tea model are 96.1% and 79.7%, respectively, which are increased by 5.2% and 2.4% compared to those of the original model, indicating the model’s effectiveness. The model also shows good detection performance on the newly constructed tea bud dataset. Compared with other detection algorithms, the improved RT-DETR-Tea model demonstrates superior tea bud detection performance, providing effective technical support for smart tea garden management and production. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Progress on Agricultural Equipments for Precision Planting and Harvesting)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 8689 KiB  
Article
Precise Servo-Control System of a Dual-Axis Positioning Tray Conveying Device for Automatic Transplanting Machine
by Mengjiao Yao, Jianping Hu, Wei Liu, Jiawei Shi, Yongwang Jin, Junpeng Lv, Zitong Sun and Che Wang
Agriculture 2024, 14(8), 1431; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14081431 - 22 Aug 2024
Viewed by 1232
Abstract
To address the issues of poor positioning accuracy, low supply efficiency and inadequate adaptability for different tray specifications of the existing seedling tray conveying device, a dual-axis positioning tray conveying device was developed, which can accommodate seedling trays ranging from 21 to 288 [...] Read more.
To address the issues of poor positioning accuracy, low supply efficiency and inadequate adaptability for different tray specifications of the existing seedling tray conveying device, a dual-axis positioning tray conveying device was developed, which can accommodate seedling trays ranging from 21 to 288 holes. A dual-sensor positioning algorithm and variable displacement positioning method were proposed to increase the efficiency, ensuring precise initial positioning and intermittent movements both along the seedling conveyance (X-axis) and platform movement (Y-axis). The system utilizes a precise positioning servo-control system with three-closed-loop controls and a PID algorithm enhanced through simulation to refine seedling positioning accuracy. Experiments with nine different tray specifications were conducted on a step-controlled platform to test suitability, validating the performance of the initial positioning and intermittent transport in both the X and Y directions. On the X-axis, the initial positioning deviation of the seedling tray was up to 1.34 mm and the maximum deviation in the intermission conveying was 0.85 mm. Comparatively, the deviation on the Y-axis was smaller, with the initial positioning deviation up to 0.99 mm and the intermission moving deviation up to 0.98 mm. These results demonstrate that the designed device meets the requirements for precise transport, providing essential technological foundations for seedling tray transport and retrieval steps in fully automated transplanting machines. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Progress on Agricultural Equipments for Precision Planting and Harvesting)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

29 pages, 11211 KiB  
Article
Efficient and Low-Loss Cleaning Method for Non-Uniform Distribution of Threshed Materials Based on Multi-Wing Curved Combination Air Screen in Computational Fluid Dynamics/Discrete Element Method Simulations
by Longhai Wang, Xiaoyu Chai, Juan Huang, Jinpeng Hu and Zhihong Cui
Agriculture 2024, 14(6), 895; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14060895 - 5 Jun 2024
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1186
Abstract
During the operation of the longitudinal axis flow threshing device of a combine harvester, the threshed materials form accumulations and blockages on both sides of the screen surface, severely affecting the harvesting process. To evenly distribute the materials on the screen and solve [...] Read more.
During the operation of the longitudinal axis flow threshing device of a combine harvester, the threshed materials form accumulations and blockages on both sides of the screen surface, severely affecting the harvesting process. To evenly distribute the materials on the screen and solve the blockage issue, a multi-wing curved combination centrifugal fan is designed to match the mass distribution of the threshed materials. The movement mechanism of rice threshed materials in the cleaning shoe of a longitudinal axis flow combine harvester is investigated using the coupled CFD-DEM simulation method. The cleaning efficiency and performance of the traditional straight-blade fan screen device and the newly designed cleaning device are compared and analyzed, and field tests are conducted. The results show that the trajectory of the threshed materials cleaned by the device equipped with the multi-wing curved combination centrifugal fan is consistent with the mass distribution of the materials separated by the longitudinal axis flow threshing device. The absolute value of the centroid velocity of the material group in the X/Y direction is greater than that of the traditional fan, indicating that the movement speed of the particle group in the optimized fan is greater than that of the traditional fan. Therefore, in the actual cleaning process, the optimized fan’s air flow distribution more effectively accelerates the movement speed of the threshed materials, increasing the amount of materials cleaned per unit time, thereby improving the cleaning efficiency. Field comparative tests show that the designed cleaning device reduced the cleaning loss rate by up to 25.00% and the impurity content rate by 32.20%, achieving efficient and low-damage cleaning of the combine harvester. The study demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed method for evenly distributing the materials and provides important reference for the study of other piled particle distribution systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Progress on Agricultural Equipments for Precision Planting and Harvesting)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

19 pages, 7241 KiB  
Article
Design and Parametric Optimization Study of an Eccentric Parallelogram-Type Uprighting Device for Ratoon Rice Stubbles
by Shuaifeng Xing, Yang Yu, Guangqiao Cao, Jinpeng Hu, Linjun Zhu, Junyu Liu, Qinhao Wu, Qibin Li and Lizhang Xu
Agriculture 2024, 14(4), 534; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14040534 - 27 Mar 2024
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1494
Abstract
To address the issue of reduced yield in the second season caused by damaged stubbles resulting from being compressed during the harvesting process of the first season’s ratoon rice, a device for rectifying the compressed stubbles was designed. Utilizing the DEM-MBD coupling simulation [...] Read more.
To address the issue of reduced yield in the second season caused by damaged stubbles resulting from being compressed during the harvesting process of the first season’s ratoon rice, a device for rectifying the compressed stubbles was designed. Utilizing the DEM-MBD coupling simulation method, a simulation analysis was conducted to determine the range of key parameters and verify the feasibility of the solution. Using rotational speed, forward speed, and stubble entry angle as experimental factors and stubble rectification rate and second-season yield as evaluation metrics, a three-factor, three-level Box–Behnken response surface field trial was conducted. The theoretically optimal working parameter combination was found to be a forward speed of 1.4 m/s, device rotational speed of 75 rpm, and stubble entry angle of 39°. Under these conditions, three parallel experiments were performed, resulting in a rectification rate of 90.35% in the mechanically harvested and compressed area and a second-season yield of 2202.64 ± 35 kg/hm2. The deviation from the numerical simulation results of parameter optimization was less than 5%. These findings suggest that the designed stubble rectification device for ratoon rice can meet the requirements of stubble rectification during the first-season harvest of ratoon rice. Furthermore, it provides valuable insights for reducing harvest losses in the first season and further improving the level of mechanized harvesting for ratoon rice. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Research Progress on Agricultural Equipments for Precision Planting and Harvesting)
►▼ Show Figures

Figure 1

Show export options expand_more Show export options expand_less
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:
 
Displaying articles 1-7
Back to TopTop