CHAPTER FOUR

SOWING AND PLANTING

EQUIPMENTS
 INTRODUCTION
 The growth of a new crop begins with the planting of
seed or transplanting of seedlings.

 After planting, seeds must survive on energy stored

within the seed until germination occurs and a seedling
emerges through the soil surface.

 Usually not all of the seeds are able to survive through

germination and emergence; thus the number of seeds
planted per unit area must be greater than the final
desired plant population.
 Contd…
 The most important factors affecting germination and
emergence include:

 Seed viability (percent germination under controlled

laboratory conditions),
 Soil temperature,
 Availability of moisture and air to the seeds, and
 Soil strength and resistance to seedling emergence.
 Contd…
An ideal seed environment is one in which the
seed depth and soil firmness provide adequate
moisture, oxygen, and temperature to the seed
but without excessive soil firmness that retards
root development and seedling emergence.

While transplanted seedlings are already emerged,

their survival and initial rate of growth are also
dependent upon soil moisture and temperature.
 Contd…
 A planter can exert a strong influence on the rate of
germination and emergence of seeds through control of
planting depth and firming of soil around the seeds or
roots of seedlings.

 In addition, the planter must meter seeds at the proper

rate and, in some cases, must control the horizontal
placement of seeds in a desired pattern.
 Agronomic specifications of machines for
sowing and their classification

 Sowing can be divided into

two main phases:

i. The uniform feed of seeds

from the grain hopper to
openers and
ii. The preparation of
furrows, the placement of
seeds in them and the
covering of the furrows
with soil to the same
depth.
 Contd…
 The agronomic specifications of machines for sowing can be
stated as follows:

1. Distribution of seeds on the area sown must be uniform.

2. The metering mechanisms of the seed drills must drop the

seeds uniformly.

3. The amount of seeds in each row must be the same and must
correspond to the adopted seed rate.

4. During sowing seeds must not be damaged in the metering

mechanisms, openers and other parts of the seed drill.
 Contd…
5. Furrow openers must create a
slightly compressed furrow
bottom and furrow depth
must be constant. Seeds are
laid on the compressed
bottom and covered with wet
soil.

6. Single grain seed drills must

guarantee the linearity of drill
rows and maintain a distance
between single seeds.

7. Planters must sow the same

amount of seeds in nests
 Seeding and Planting
 Seeding/Planting:-It is the art of placing seeds in the soil
under optimum moisture content and soil temperature
condition to obtain: Good germination.

 To get high yield, with right amount of seeds governed by

seed rate calculation, placed at right time at a
predetermined depth and spacing in irrigated and rain-
fed soil.

 The sowing depth depends upon available moisture content

of soil, seed emergence capacity and covering of seed by
soil to protect from sun drying as well as birds eating.
 Contd…
 The spacing between seed depends upon:

Plant growth and their distribution characteristics(

rooting and branching) per unit area,
Required plant environment,
Plant density and space requirement for intercultural
operation by machines or manually.

 Generally larger seeds like maize are shown at

greater depth with wider spacing in comparison to
smaller seeds like teff ,wheat etc.
 Methods of sowing/planting
 There are different planting methods which can be distinguished by the horizontal
pattern of seed placement.

 Broadcasting:- It is the scattering of seeds on prepared/pulverized field surface

with covering the seed by soil by manipulating the soil or planking it over.

 Higher rate of seeding is required in this method.

 It is mostly used for cereals upland crops like millet, wheat and other grass
crops/fodder crops as indigenous/older type of seeding/farming.
 It mostly done manually and some machines are also available now a days
Methods of Sowing and Planting
 Contd…
 Dibbling:- it is the placing two or more seeds in a holes
made in soil either by hand tools or by some
implement/seed planter.

 Dibbling is done in a small plots and used for vegetable

crops manually or by the use of seed planter.

 Seed dropping behind the plough:-It is used for larger

seeds like maize peas, gram as well as also used for
wheat and barley as a older method of seeding with the
operation of indigenous plow to open furrow and
dropping the seed by another man or women following
the ploughing.
 Contd…
 Drilling:-It is the dropping of cereal crops seeds in the furrow
through seed tubes using seed drills machine with metering
mechanism of seed mechanically.
 In case of seed drills machine the number of rows planted at a
time are more with accuracy of proper depth of sowing, space of
sowing and amount of seed to be used as pre-calculated seed
rate.

 Hill dropping:-It is the method in which seeds are sown in

lines/rows with dropping the seeds at a fixed spacing by the use
of seed planter or manually for cotton, maize instead of
continuous drilling.
Contd…
 Drill Seeding
Broadcasting

Seed dropping
Dibble planting behind the plough
Hill dropping
 Contd…
 Check rowing:-It is the method in which seeding is
done with the use of seed planter or manually with
fixing row to row and plant to plant spacing equal
and being placed the seeds in square check making
possible to do intercultural operation from both
directions.

 Precision planting: the seeds are planted in rows

and the spacing of seeds within the rows is uniform
such as maize seed.
Contd…
 Contd…
 Transplanting:- It is done
commonly for rice,
vegetables, flowers, and fruits
crops for better yields.
 Seedlings are grown in
nurseries with better care
and nourishment then
transplanting is done into
another properly prepared
field.

 Transplanting in lines/rows is
done by manually or using
mechanical transplanter.

 Mechanisms and machines

have been developed to
permit each of these planting
methods.
 Seeding and planting Machines
 Conventional types of seeding and planting machines
(Seed drills and planters) used in well land prepared
field.

 Conservation types of seeding and planting machines

(zero tillage/minimum tillage seed drills, planters used
in unprepared land with minimum tillage around seed
placing areas only in a single operation.
 Function of seeding and planting machines

 Seeding and planting machines are designed, developed and

manufactured to perform the following functions:

– It develops/opens a furrow of uniform depth in conservation

as well as conventional tillage mechanism.
– It meters the seeds at controlled rate with seed metering
devices and drops uniformly at a desired depth without
injury.

– It meters fertilizers at controlled rate and drops uniformly at

desired depth without mixing with seeds.
– It keeps seeds at proper depth and spacing ,in case of seed
drills continuous seeding in rows and in case of row planter,
keeping seed to seed spacing.
– It covers the seeds by soil with proper compaction around
them for excellent soil moisture contact
 Types of Seeding and Planting Machines

 Plain Drills (traditional type) and Seed Fertilizers Drills –

Manually metered drills, Mechanically metered drills, and
Pneumatically metered drills for wheat, mustard, barley,
and other crops.

 Seed planters/Row crop Planter/Seed dibblers Manually

operated or mechanically operated like potato planter,
Sugarcane planter, corn planter, cotton planter, vegetable
seed planter etc.

 Transplanter for seedlings transplantation of rice,

vegetables, fruits etc.
 Broadcast Seeders
 Seed is usually thrown on top of the ground.
 Generally used on smaller seeds, fertilizer, pesticides or
other small granular material.
 Seeding rate is controlled by a variable orifice at bottom
of hopper.
 Spinning disk at bottom accelerates material
horizontally away from machine.
 Coverage width depends on many variables including
size, shape and density of seeds.
Broadcasting functional process
 Contd…
 The seed is metered from hopper through a variable orifice.
 An agitator is provided above the orifice to prevent bridging
of the seed over the gate and to assure continuous feeding.

 Sometimes a fluted
wheel is used to meter
the seed.

 The metered seed drops

onto a spinning disk
that accelerates and
throws it, usually
horizontally.
 Contd…
 The width of coverage depends upon the size, shape, and
density of the seeds.
 Two counter-rotating spinning disks may be used to
increase the width of coverage.

 The seeding rate is controlled by the size of the gate

opening, the speed of travel, and the width of coverage.

 Centrifugal broadcasters are flexible in that they can be

used for broadcasting seed, dry fertilizer or pesticides, or
other granular materials.

 After broadcast seeding, a secondary tillage operation

may be performed to cover the seeds with soil.
A hand-held, human-powered,
broadcast planter

A centrifugal broadcast seeders

 Seed fertilizers drills
 Seed drill is a machine for placing the seeds in a continuous flow
in furrows at uniform rate and at controlled depth with or
without the arrangement of covering them with soil.

 The different functions of seed drill are:

• To carry the seeds.
• To open furrow to an uniform depth
• To meter the seeds
• To place the seed in furrows in an acceptable pattern
• To cover the seeds and compact the soil around the seed.
 Contd…
 Seed drills, fitted with fertilizer dropping attachment, distribute
the fertilizer uniformly on the ground. It is called seed fertilizer
drill.

 Such a drill has a large seed box which is divided lengthwise into
two compartments, one for seed and another for fertilizers.

 Seed drill may be classified as (i) Bullock drawn (ii) Tractor drawn.

 Animal drawn trailing type with rear cage wheel for supporting as
well as providing power for moving seed metering devices.
 Tractor mounted type:- the
complete machine is mounted
on tractors three point linkage
and power for operating seed
dropping mechanism for a
pneumatically metered or jet
drills is taken from PTO shaft.
 Trailing type:-Very common
and have its front, supported
on tractors hitch while the
rear end has two cage wheels
supporting the seed drills
machine as well as providing
power for moving the seed
metering and dropping
mechanism through suitable Trailing type: Air Seeders
gear and chain connection.

Generally 12 rows with 18

cm spacing, that is 2 meter
coverage size are available
for tractor drawn
Trailing type: Box Seeders
 Components of seed fertilizer drills
 Seed cum fertilizer drills frame:- It is angle iron reinforced frame which
withstand all load like load of seed, fertilizer, seed drills machine itself
and jerks due to working on rough terrain/field.

 Seeds placing hopper/chamber/:- It consist of sheet metal box having

sloppy narrow bottom for grains dropping at the bottom easily.

 Fertilizer placing hopper/chamber:- fitted with agitator

 Contd…
 Covering device: It is a device
to refill a furrow after the
seed has been placed in it.
 Covering the seeds are
usually done by chains, drags,
packers, rollers or press
wheels, designed in various
sizes and shapes.

 Transport wheel: there are

two wheels fitted on the main
axle.
 Some seed drills have got
pneumatic wheels also. The
wheels have suitable
attachments to transmit
power to operate seed
dropping mechanism.
 Contd…
 Characteristics of a drill
 Large hopper that feeds several rows
 Fluted wheels at bottom of hopper that adjust
seeding rate
 Row spacing from 150 to 400 mm
Adjustment of box drill
Zero till seed drill
Zero till seed drill soil engaging components
Precision planter
 A planter is an agricultural
farm implement that is used
for planting seeds that are
larger in size and cannot be
used by usual seed drills.
Functions of the planter
i. Accurate placement of single
seeds
ii. Open furrow at controlled
depth
iii. Meter seeds into furrow at a
uniform spacing
iv. Cover seed
v. Firming the soil against the seed
Components of the planter
 Hopper
 Seed metering device
 Knock out arrangement
 Cut-off mechanism
 Furrow opener
 And other devices

Factors for accuracy of the planter

 Speed of the plate
 Shape and the size of the cells
 Shape of the hopper bottom
 Uniformity of seed size.
Common components of planter
Functional process of row crop planting
 Planter description

 Soil engaging components (soil cutting, row

preparation, furrow opener, seed covering,
compacting..)

 Depth control (furrow opener, frame guaging types).

 Seed metering (specific type flow or precision).

 Seed delivery and/or division system( gravity drop,

mechanical assisted/ pneumatic assisted).
Ground engaging tools for planters
Planters
Common components soil engaging tools for
planter
 PLANTERS FOR SPECIFIED CROPS

1. POTATO PLANTER
 Potato planter have two types of potato dropping
mechanism; Automatic and Semi-automatic
mechanisms.

• AUTOMATIC POTATO PLANTER

 The automatic potato planter consists of hopper for
each row and cups with chain drive mechanism.
 The graded potatoes are picked up by the cup and
carried to furrow opener spout and realized into the
furrow.
 Contd…
 The mass of tubers needed per ha still is high, therefore, the
delivery and the refilling of seed tubers deserves attention.
Potato planter Singling of potatoes
 Contd…
 The larger the potatoes in comparison to the cups and
the higher the belt speed, the higher the share of skips
and the lower the share of multiples is.

 Therefore it is possible to use the machines in such a

way that either skips or multiples dominate.
Semi-automatic type potato planter
 Transplanter
 Transplanters: when the natural growing season is short,
transplanting of crops results in higher yields.

 The seedling development occurs under artificial climate before the

outside growing season starts.

 In some parts of the world, transplanting is used to make possible

double-cropping.

 However, crop establishment by transplanting is much more

expensive than by sowing.

 Transplanting consists of preparing seedlings in nursery and then

planting these seedlings in the prepared field.
 Contd…
 Semiautomatic transplanting machines have mechanical
transfer devices that are hand fed, yet mechanically place the
plants in the furrow

 It is commonly done for rice, vegetable and flowers.

 Equipment used for Transplanting is called Transplanter.
 Mechanisms for transplanting seedlings

 A successful transplanting system includes the following

elements:

i. Planting the seeds in a seedbed or greenhouse trays,

ii. Removing the seedlings from the seed bed with or without
retaining soil on the roots,

iii. Storage of singulated seedlings in a carrier on the

transplanter,
iv. Feeding the seedlings to the planting mechanism one at a
time,

v. Opening a furrow or hole for insertion of the seedlings, and

vi. Firming the soil around the roots of the seedlings.
 Seed metering mechanism
 The mechanism of a seed drill or fertilizer distributor which deliver
seeds or fertilizers from the hopper at selected rates is called seed
metering mechanism.
 There are a number of seed metering mechanism such
1. Volume-Based Seed Metering Mechanisms
 Stationary opening type seed meters
 External force feed type seed meters
 Fluted roller feed type
 Internal double run type
2. Singulated/Precision Seed metering mechanism
 Plate type precision seed meters
 Belt type precision seed meters
 Vacuum disc type precision seed meters
 Finger pick-up type precision seed meters
Volume-Based Seed Metering Mechanisms
 Stationary opening type seed meters

 Stationary opening type seed meters are simple devices,

essentially consisting of a seed box, an agitator and a
variable sized outlet orifice.

 The orifice size is usually adjusted by sliding a plate that

increases or decreases the size of an opening or by rotating
a plate to expose a different orifice size.

 In the stationary opening type of seed meter a rotating plate

with varying hole sizes around its periphery is used to adjust
the size of the opening in the base of the seed box.
 An adjustable plate with similar hole sizes is mounted below the base. It can be
rotated relative to the holes in the seed box to vary the size of the outlet and
hence the seeding rate.

 The agitator used to ensure seed does not bridge or otherwise fail to pass
through the opening at a reasonably uniform rate is also clearly shown. In this
case, the seed falls through the openings directly onto a spinning disc that
spreads the seed over the seedbed surface in a broadcast planting pattern.
 External force feed type seed meters

 External force feed seed metering systems employ a rotating

member in the form of a fluted or a peg/studded roller to
regulate seed flow from the seed box to the seed delivery system.
 In both cases, as the roller rotates the seed is moved and
metered by the external surface of the roller.
 Fluted roller feed type

 The general form of the fluted roller type of external force feed
seed meter.

 This type of meter essentially consists of a fluted roller, a sliding

cut-off and an adjustable flap.
 The rotating fluted roller and the stationary cut-off are moved
axially as a unit to change the exposure of the fluted roller to the
seed.

 The adjustable flap can moved closer to, or further away from,
the roller to change both the cross-section area through which
seed can move and the extent the seed has to be moved by the
roller before it can exit the meter.
 On fluted roller type meters the continuity of
seed flow from the meter depends on the
rotational speed of the roller. At higher (normal)
speeds of rotation a continuous stream of seed
is delivered from the meter.

 At below recommended speeds the seed flow

may be pulsed as each individual flute
discharges seed to the meter’s outlet.
Seed movement in fluted roller seed metering mechanism
 Internal force feed type seed meters

 Internal force feed seed metering systems, often referred

to as double run seed meters, employ a rotating member
in the form of a double-sided flanged disc.

 The width of the flange and the size of corrugations on

their internal surface differ on each side of the disc, giving
what is termed a fine and coarse side of the disc.

 As the disc rotates seed, directed to either the fine or

coarse side of the disc (hence the term double run), is
moved and metered by this corrugated internal surface of
the flange.
 Seed is directed to either the fine or the coarse side of the meter by
moving a slide or a flap inside the seed box.

 Typically, the coarse side is used to meter larger seed while the fine
side is used to meter smaller seed. For very high seeding rates, small
seed may be directed through the coarse side of the meter.
 Precision seed metering devices
 Unlike mass flow seed meters, precision meters attempt to
meter single seeds.

 While there is a large range of precision metering devices,

most can be broadly classified as ‘plate’, ‘belt’, ‘disc’, ‘drum’
or ‘finger’ types.

 Classification largely depends on the design and/or shape of

the principle moving element that enables seed singulation
(i.e. the selection of single seeds from the seed lot).
 Plate type precision seed meters
 Plate planters are taken to be those that principally use
a moving plate with indents, i.e. holes, cells or cups,
around its periphery.

 Metering performance is generally highly dependent on

matching the size (length, breadth and thickness) of the
indents to the size of the seed.

 Plate meters can be sub-classified as ‘horizontal plate’,

‘inclined plate’ or ‘vertical plate’ types.
Singulated seed metering mechanism
Seed movement in plate type seed meters
 Horizontal plate type precision seed meter

 The plate has a number of holes or cells

around its periphery and a portion of the plate is
exposed to the seed.
 Inclined plate type precision seed meter

Inclined plate meters have the same components and

operating principle as the horizontal plate meter except the
plate rotates in an inclined plane.
 Belt type precision seed meters
 Belt type precision seed meters are similar to mechanical plate
meters in the principle of operation but differ substantially in that
the plate is replaced by a continuous rubberised belt of fixed
width and thickness with holes, compatible to the seed size,
equally spaced along its length.
An example of the belt and base plate combination for a small round seed and
large cylindrical seed .
 Vacuum disc type precision seed meters

 This system consists of a seed box, a split housing, a vertical

rotating disc that has a row of holes around its circumference,
and a fan or blower.

 The disc differs from the plate used in plate type precision meters
in that the seeds do not fall into, nor pass through, the hole and
disc thickness plays no part in the singulation process.

 Further there is no need to correctly match the seed size to the

hole size, other than ensuring the hole diameter is smaller than
the smallest cross sectional dimension of the seed in the seed lot,
i.e. small enough to ensure that seeds cannot pass through the
hole.
Principle of vacuum disc type precision seed meters
 The disc rotates between the two
halves of the housing and is exposed
to a negative pressure (vacuum) on
one side and to the seed on the other.

 As the disc rotates, each hole passes

through the seed lot and picks up one
or a number of seeds as a result of the
pressure difference across the disc, i.e.
seeds are held by suction to the hole.

 As the disc continues to rotate, the

seeds attached to a hole are subjected
to the effects of a wiper .

 The single seeds are then carried by

the disc towards the base of the meter
where the pressure difference is
removed and the seed falls into the
seed delivery system.
Air Planter: Seed drum
Air planter: Vacuum disk
 Finger pick-up type precision seed meters
 The finger pick-up (or plate-less)
precision seed meter was initially
developed in an attempt to
overcome the inconvenience of
having to change the hole size and
hence the plate, disc or drum every
time a different seed size was to be
metered.

 Seeds fall from the seed box to the

pick-up chamber in which a number
of spring-loaded, cam-operated
fingers rotate in a vertical plane.

 As the fingers move towards the

base of the chamber, the cam
causes the individual finger bars to
rotate so that the finger’s leading
edge lifts away from the stationary
backing plate.
 As it moves through the seed lot, the cam allows the finger to close so
that it traps one or more seeds between it and the backing plate.

 Trapped seeds are elevated from the

seed lot and pass over two indented
areas on the backing plate, where
singulation occurs.
 The single seed remaining in the
finger is deposited through a hole
towards the top of the backing plate
into a conveying system.
 This maintains the seed spacing until
it is deposited into the seed delivery
system at the base of the meter.
Finger pickup mechanism
Cup feed mechanisms
 Selection of seed meter type
 No one seed metering system can meet the requirements of all
crop types.

 An informed decision can only be made if the following

information is known for each of the crops to be planted:
• The established population required and the expected
levels of both germination and field emergence;
• The range of agronomically acceptable row spacing's;
• The sensitivity of crop yield to the evenness of plant
spacing along the row; and
• The physical properties of the seed: seed size and variation
in seed size, seed shape and seed fragility in particular.
 Type of furrow openers
 The furrow opener is the specific device that opens the
furrow into which the seed is placed.

 The opener may incorporate or enclose a portion of the

seed delivery system and/or the seed boot that
facilitates seed placement in the furrow.

 Most furrow openers can be broadly classified as

runner, concave disc, disc coulter, bio-blade, tine, punch
or powered.
Function and mechanism of furrow openers
 Runner type openers
 Runner type furrow openers tend to form a furrow by
displacing soil downwards and outwards (i.e. press out a
furrow).

 The front section of the opener is ‘V’-shaped (in transverse

cross-section) and extends below the wider rear portion.

 As the opener is drawn forward (in a sliding action) it displaces

soil downwards and outwards to form a distinctly ‘V’-shaped
furrow.

 The side plates of the wider, split rear portion of the opener
helps prevent soil falling back into the furrow before the seed
is placed.
 In general, runner openers can be classified as full runner types or stub runner
types on the basis of the rake and included angle of the leading blade section.

Full runner types

Stub runner types

 Concave disc type openers
 Concave disc openers essentially use a single, small-diameter
concave disc that is drawn at an angle to the direction of travel
to open the furrow into which the seed is placed.

 As the disc moves forward, the soil is cut, displaced upwards

and deposited to one side of the ‘U’- shaped furrow that
results.

 The angle of the disc to the direction of travel enables a

dropper tube, located towards the rear of, and protected by,
the disc, to place seed before any significant amount of soil
flows back into the furrow.
 Contd…
 Disc diameter, disc concavity, disc angle (to both the vertical and
direction of travel) and forward speed of operation are the major
determinants of the performance of concave disc type openers.
 Disc coulter type openers
 Disc coulter type furrow openers utilise flat, rather than concave,
discs and are available as single, double and triple disc types.

 Although flat, plain and notched disc coulter types can be used
independently as a furrow opener, they differ from soil and
residue cutting type disc coulters in that they are drawn at an
angle to the direction of travel so as to cut and displace soil to
form a furrow.

 Broadly classified as single, double or triple disc coulter types on
the basis of the number of disc coulters used in the design,
further classifications within each type can be made on the basis
of the particular type and/or configuration of the discs used.
General types of disc coulter furrow
openers
 Tine type openers
 Tine openers have rake angles (i.e. the angle made
between the leading edge of the opener and the
direction of travel) of less than 90 degrees.

 Tine type openers tend to ‘dig’ a furrow by

penetrating the soil and displacing soil upward and
outward to form a ‘U’ or ‘V’-shaped furrow.

 Under high surface residue conditions tine type

openers need to be preceded by a soil and residue
cutting device to cut the surface residue.
 Contd…
 Tine openers can be broadly
classified as ‘dedicated’ or
‘dual purpose’.

 In general terms, dedicated

tine types are relatively
narrow and have been
specifically designed for use
on planting equipment.

 Dual purpose types are

generally wider and include
those that have been selected
from the range of tine type
ground tools traditionally
used on both tillage and
planting equipment.
 Contd…
 Dedicated tine type openers are those developed
specifically for use as furrow openers and can be
broadly classified as either ‘point’, ‘knife’, ‘inverted T’ or
‘shoe’ types .
 Contd…
 Dual-purpose tine type openers are essentially secondary tillage
tools that have been selected to open furrows for seed
placement.
 The three general forms of dual-purpose tine type furrow
openers are points, sweeps and duck-foot.
 Seed firming devices
 Seed firming devices are designed to press uncovered seed
into the soil at the base of the seed furrow to improve
seed/soil contact.

 While seed firming devices are commonly incorporated in

the design of specialised horticultural planting machines
using a runner type furrow, their use in other applications
has been largely confined to machines using a double disc
coulter type furrow opener.

 Most seed firming devices press the seed into the base of
the furrow with either a rolling or a sliding action and can be
broadly classified as either seed firming wheels or seed
firming slides.
 A seed-firming wheel
following a runner type
furrow opener

A slide type seed firming device fitted

to the dropper tube
 Seed covering devices
 Seed covering devices are specifically designed to promote
soil flow back into the furrow to cover the seed after
placement and/or firming.

 They play an important role in promoting and stabilising

conditions conducive to rapid seed germination and
influencing seed emergence and establishment through the
manipulation of the depth of soil cover over the seed.

 The wide range of dedicated (i.e. row specific, rather than

non row specific types) seed covering devices can be
generally classified as chain, concave disc, finger, knife,
paddle, tine, disc coulter or finger wheel.
General types of dedicated soil covering devices
Operational requirements of seed delivery systems

 Seed delivery systems include those devices that convey the

seed from the meter to the device that deposits the seed on
the soil surface or in the furrow.

 To placement accuracy (i.e. the uniformity of seed spacing

along the furrow or row), the delivery tube, where used, are
that :

 They are as short, straight and rigid as possible;

 They have the smallest adequate cross-sectional area;
 They have a smooth interior surface; and
 They terminate, where possible, with a rearward deflection.
 Types of seed delivery systems

Most delivery systems

can be broadly
classified as:

 Gravity drop;
 Mechanical assist;
or
 Pneumatic.
 Contd…

Mechanical assist;
 Spinning ,
 Oscillating ,
 Conveyor
 Contd…
Pneumatic ‘delivery only’ systems