Field experimental study on optimal design of the rotary strip-till tools applied in rice-wheat rotation cropping system

The rice-wheat rotation system plays a significant role in Asian agriculture.The introduction of strip-tillage into the rice-wheat system for wheat planting offers a way to use conservation tillage practices to improve the seedbed quality,retain residue between rows and reduce energy input.A field experiment was conducted using an in-situ test rig.Three types of blade(bent C,straight and hoe)were evaluated in four tool configurations at four rotary speeds(180 r/min,280 r/min,380 r/min and 510 r/min)in a paddy soil.Furrow shape parameters,tillage-induced soil structures and energy consumption were assessed.Results showed that the straight blade configuration failed to create a continuous furrow at either 180 r/min or 510 r/min.The bent C blade configuration produced a uniform furrow profile but its furrow backfill was poor and unsuitable for seeding.The hoe blade configuration cut a continuous furrow and better tillage-induced soil structure,but it produced a much wider and non-uniform furrow shape.The mixed blade configuration(central hoe blades with two straight blades aside)provided a uniform furrow with good backfill and fine tilth by utilizing both the cutting effect of straight blades on the furrow boundaries and tensile fracturing of the furrow soil by the hoe blades.The torque of the mixed blade configuration was comparable with the bent C blade but was less than the hoe blades.Hence,a mixed blade configuration was recommended for rotary strip-tillage seeding using in rice-wheat system.

Trunk detection based on laser radar and vision data fusion

Tree trunks detection and their location information are needed to perform effective production and management in forestry and fruit farming.A novel algorithm based on data fusion with a vision camera and a 2D laser scanner was developed to detect tree trunks accurately.The transformation was built from a laser coordinate system to an image coordinate system,and the model of a rectangle calibration plate with two inward concave regions was established to implement data alignment between two sensors data.Then,data fusion and decision with Dempster-Shafer theory were achieved through integration of decision level after designing and determining basic probability assignments of regions of interesting(RoIs)for laser and vision data respectively.Tree trunk width was calculated by using laser data to determine basic probability assignments of RoIs of laser data.And a stripping segmentation algorithm was presented to determine basic probability assignments of RoIs of vision data,by calculating the matching level of RoIs like tree trunks.A robot platform was used to acquire data from sensors and to perform the developed tree trunk detection algorithm.Combined calibration tests were conducted to calculate a conversion matrix transforming from the laser coordinate system to the image coordinate system,and then field experiments were carried out in a real pear orchard under sunny and cloudy conditions,with trunk width measurement of 120 trees and 40 images processed by the presented stripping segmentation algorithm.Results showed the algorithm was successful to detect tree trunks and data fusion improved the ability for tree trunk detection.This algorithm could provide a new method for tree trunk detection and accurate production and management in orchards.

Discrete element method simulation of disc type furrow openers in paddy soil

For granular materials,discrete element modeling is one of the best computer tools to simulate their behavior and interactions.A field experiment was carried out to evaluate the performance of disc furrow openers in paddy soil.Discrete element simulation was done to develop a 3D DEM model for notched,toothed and double disc furrow openers using EDEM software.Hertz Mindlin contact model with bonding was applied for simulation to fulfill the obligations of the soil moisture and bonding between the cohesive particles.Simulated and field experimental data were compared to determine the applicability in the different working conditions.The results of the simulation validated the applicability of the Hertz-Mindlin contact model with bonding to simulate the no till paddy soil using an extremely narrow tillage tool.The calibrated value of normal and shear stiffness was 5×10^(7)N/m,and the calibrated value of bond normal and shear strength was 3×10^(7)Pa.The relative error(-1.7%to 20.6%)for the double disc furrow opener was lower as compared with that notch typed(29.2%to 44.4%)and toothed type(31.5%to 45.9%)furrow openers.

A protocol of field-based phenotyping procedure for no-till wheat root system architecture based on data-driven model-assist

Field-based phenotyping(FBP)of crop root systemarchitecture(RSA)provides away to quantify the root growth and distribution in fieldwith a smaller scale.Studies on a better understanding of the interrelations between field crop root physiological traits,root developmental phases and environmental changes are hindered due to deficiency of in situ root system architecture testing and quantitative methods for field crop.The present study aimed to propose a protocol for field-based wheat root system architecture with technical details of key operational procedures.Phenotyping of RSA traits from root spatial coordinate data acquisition and visualization software presented scaled illustrations of wheat RSA dynamics and root developmental phases which also revealed the root topological heterogeneities,eitherwithin a plant oramong individuals.Percentage of horizontal and vertical soil coverage by root showed that root foraging capability along soil depth was better than within the horizontal dimension.In brief,our data indicated that FBP ofwheat RSA could be achieved using the protocol of datadriven model-assisted phenotyping procedure.The proposed protocol was demonstrated useful for FBP of RSAs.It was proved effective to illustrate the topological structures of the wheat root system and to quantify RSAderived parameters,this could be a useful tool for characterizing and analyzing the structural distortion,heterogeneous distribution and the soil space exploration characteristics of wheat root.