Development of autonomous navigation system for rice transplanter

Rice transplanting requires the operator to manipulate the rice transplanter in straight trajectories.Various markers are proposed to help experienced drivers in keeping straightforward and parallel to the previous path,which are extremely boring in terms of large-scale fields.The objective of this research was to develop an autonomous navigation system that automatically guided a rice transplanter working along predetermined paths in the field.The rice transplanter used in this research was commercially available and originally manually-operated.An automatic manipulating system was developed instead of manual functions including steering,stop,going forward and reverse.A sensor fusion algorithm was adopted to integrate measurements of the Real-Time Kinematic Global Navigation Satellite System(RTK-GNSS)and Inertial Measurement Unit(IMU),and calculate the absolute moving direction under the UTM coordinate system.A headland turning control method was proposed to ensure a robust turning process considering that the rice transplanter featured a small turning radius and a relatively large slip rate at extreme steering angles.Experiments were designed and conducted to verify the performance of the newly developed autonomous navigation system.Results showed that both lateral and heading errors were less than 8 cm and 3 degrees,respectively,in terms of following straight paths.And headland turns were robustly executed according to the required pattern.

Research on vibration reduction test and frame modal analysis of rice transplanter based on vibration evaluation

The chassis of rice transplanter tends to vibrate severely in the severe working environment,causing a severe effect on the operational performance and driving comfort.In order to avoid this situation,this paper constructs a vibration evaluation system of the rice transplanter and carries out experimental analysis.According to the optimal acceleration sensor placement scheme,a test platform system was designed.Taking the high-speed transplanter chassis as the research object,this study carried out the experiments modal analysis and optimization on the chassis.The three-dimensional model of the transplanting machine chassis established by SolidWorks was imported into ANSYS Workbench for finite element modal simulation analysis.Comparing the two modal analyses,it is found that the results data of the two analysis methods were very close.After optimization,the length x1,the section width x2 and the thickness of the hollow beam x3 of the main load-bearing beam of the frame were as follows:x1=1641.5 mm,x2=26.7 mm,x3=5 mm,respectively.The maximum overshoot of the low-level system was reduced by 28.57%.It has been verified that the vibration of the whole machine has been effectively reduced.

Compact plant type rice has higher lodging and N resistance under machine transplanting

To identify the major factors that contribute to the difference in lodging among different rice varieties under machine transplanting and their responses to nitrogen(N),field experiments were conducted at Danyang County(a representative eco-site of the Lower Yangtze River)in Jiangsu Province,China in 2017 and 2018,22 hybrid indica varieties(HIs),22 inbred japonica varieties(IJs)and two indica japonica hybrid varieties(IJHs)were transplanted by machine with three N rates(N0,N150 and N300,0,150 and 300 kg ha–1,respectively).Lodging-related physical parameters,morphological characteristics and apparent transport rates of dry matter were examined.Significant difference in yield was observed among different types of rice,and followed by IJs<HIs<IJHs.The average lodging index(LI)of hybrid varieties(HIs and IJHs)was higher than that of the inbred varieties(IJs)with higher plant height;moreover,lower apparent export rate of dry matter resulted lower LI in IJHs than in HIs.The HIs had a large difference in the LI,which came from the difference in bending stress(BS)induced by the difference in the apparent export rate of dry matter,varieties with lower leaf angle of upper three leaves possess strong lodging resistance capacity;however,the gap among the IJs was due to the difference in the cross section modulus(Z).The LI in the IJs or IJHs increased slightly with the increased N application,and there was no lodging incidence under the high N level,which was due to the low leaf angle and barely changed under high N;there was a significant interaction between varieties(HIs)and N rates in lodging rate and LI,varieties with lower leaf angle of upper three leaves were resistant to high N.These results suggest that compact plant type rice has higher lodging and N resistance at machine-transplanting method.

Correlation of Leaf and Root Senescence During Ripening in Dry Seeded and Transplanted Rice

Dry seeding is a resource-saving rice establishment method. With an equivalent yield, dry seeded flooded rice （DSR） has been considered as a replacement for traditional transplanted flooded rice （TFR）. However, the differences in leaf and root senescence during grain filling between DSR and TFR were seldom identified. In this study, the root length, root tip number and leaf senescence of rice varieties Huanghuazhan and Yangliangyou 6 during ripening were compared between DSR and TFR. Results showed that top three leaves in DSR had the characteristics of relatively lower SPAD value, lower N content and premature leaf senescence. In addition, both the total root length and total root tip number of DSR were significantly lower than those of TFR. In conclusion, premature and quick leaf senescence was related with inadequate root length and root tip number during ripening, which might result from the deficiency of nitrogen supply in DSR. Techniques on improving leaf nitrogen status and delaying the leaf senescence during grain-filling in DSR should be developed in future researches.

Mechanized Transplanting of Rice(Oryza sativa L.)in Nonpuddled and No-Till Conditions in the Rice-Wheat Cropping System in Haryana,India

The common practice of establishing rice in the rice-wheat system in India is manual transplanting of seedlings in the puddled soil. Besides being costly, cumbersome, and time consuming, puddling results in degradation of soil and the formation of a hard pan, which impedes root growth of subsequent upland crops. In addition, decreased availability and increasing cost of labor have increased the cost of rice cultivation through conventional methods. Because of these concerns, there is a need for mechanized transplanting of rice which is less labor-intensive and can ensure optimum plant population under nonpuddled and/or no-till conditions. A large number of on-farm trials were conducted at farmers’ fields in Haryana, India, from 2006 to 2010 to evaluate the performance of the mechanical transplanted rice (MTR) under nonpuddled and no-till situations as compared to conventional puddled transplant rice (CPTR). Compared with CPTR, nonpuddled MTR produced 3%-11% higher grain yield in different years. Rice cultivars, viz. HKR47, HKR127, PR113, PR114, PB1, PB1121, CSR30, and Arize6129, performed consistently better under nonpuddled MTR as compared to CPTR. Performance of different cultivars (PR113, PR114, HKR47, and Pusa 44) was also better under no-till MTR as compared to CPTR. The “basmati” cultivar CSR30 performed equally in no-till MTR and CPTR systems. The results of our study suggest that rice can be easily grown under nonpuddled and no-till conditions with yield advantages over the CPTR system. Even in the case of similar yield between CPTR and MTR systems, the MTR system will help in reducing labor requirement and ultimately, will increase overall profits to farmers.

TSC1 enables plastid development under dark conditions, contributing to rice adaptation to transplantation shock

Since its domestication from wild rice thousands of years ago, rice has been cultivated largely through transplantation. During transplantation from the nursery to the paddy field, rice seedlings experience transplantation shock which affects their physiology and production.However, the mechanisms underlying transplantation shock and rice adaptation to this shock are largely unknown. Here,we isolated a transplant-sensitive chloroplast-deficient（tsc_1）rice mutant that produces albino leaves after transplantation.Blocking light from reaching the juvenile leaves and leaf primordia caused chloroplast deficiencies in transplanted tsc_1 seedlings. TSC_1 encodes a noncanonical adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette（ABC） transporter homologous to At NAP_（14） and is of cyanobacterial origin. We demonstrate that TSC_1 controls plastid development in rice under dark conditions, and functions independently of light signaling.However, light rescued the tsc_1 mutant phenotype in a spectrum-independent manner. TSC_1 was upregulated following transplantation, and modulated the iron and copper levels, thereby regulating prolamellar body formation during the early P_4 stage of leaf development. Therefore, TSC_1 is indispensable for plastid development in the absence of light,and contributes to adaptation to transplantation shock.Our study provides insight into the regulation of plastid development and establishes a framework for improving recovery from transplantation shock in rice.

New type of transverse moving box mechanism for pot seedling transplanting machine

The existing moving box mechanism pot seedling transplanting machine on the market moves too fast when the picked seedling is collected,which negatively impacts the seedling picking performance.In order to improve the performance,two types of variable speed continuous moving box schemes were designed in this study.The first scheme was to apply a spiral-gear moving box spiral shaft with sine curve characteristics in the box moving mechanism,whereas the second one was to change the circular gear in the moving box into an elliptical gear with a speed shifting transmission mechanism.The working mechanism of the mechanical structure was analyzed,and the kinematic model was established.A dynamic analysis of the slider mechanism was performed.A virtual prototype was established according to agronomic parameters,and the virtual prototype experiments were conducted in ADAMS.The physical prototype and the high-speed photography experiment were performed on the test bench of a transplanting machine frame.The theoretical analysis,virtual prototype and physical prototype test results were consistent,which verified the validity of the theoretical model,virtual prototype and physical prototype and ensured the feasibility of the system.

Geometrical design of variable ratio tooth profile based on Boolean subtraction operation and a novel modification method

Variable transmission ratio racks show great potential in rice transplanters as a key component of variable transmission ratio steering to balance steering portability and sensitivity.The objective of this study was to develop a novel geometrical design method to achieve quick,high-quality modeling of the free curvilinear tooth profile of a variable transmission ratio rack.First,a discrete envelope motion 3D model was established between the pinion-sector and the variable transmission ratio rack blank based on the mapping relationship between the rotation angle of the pinion-sector and the displacement of the rack,according to the variable transmission ratio function.Based on the loop Boolean subtraction operation,which removed the pinion-sector from the rack blank during all moments of the discrete motion process,the final complex changing tooth shape of the variable transmission ratio rack was enveloped.Then,since Boolean cutting residues made the variable ratio tooth surface fluctuant and eventually affected the precision of the model,this study proposed a modification method for establishing a smooth and continuous tooth profile.First,a novel fitting algorithm used approximate variable ratio tooth profile points extracted from the Boolean cutting marks and generated a series of variable ratio tooth profiles by utilizing B-spline with different orders.Next,based on a transmission stability simulation,the variable ratio tooth profile with optimal dynamic performance was selected as the final design.Finally,tests contrasting the transmission stability of the machining samples of the initial variable ratio tooth profile and the final variable ratio tooth profile were conducted.The results indicated that the final variable ratio tooth profile is more effective than the initial variable ratio tooth profile.Therefore,the proposed variable ratio tooth profile modeling and modification method for eliminating Boolean cutting residues and improving surface accuracy is proved to be feasible.