Development and Evaluation of Solenoid-Actuated Check Valve for Electro-Mechanical Inclined Plate Metering System Under Laboratory Conditions

The seeds in the conventional seed metering mechanism are metered and transferred through seed tube to the furrow created by the furrow opener. In this type of delivery, non-uniformity occurs due to the uncontrolled seed falling through seed tube from the metering device to the furrow. In conventional precision planters, the seed rate is controlled, whereas placement of seeds in furrow cannot be controlled. To achieve control over seed placement in the furrow, the solenoid-actuated check valves have been developed and fixed to the electro mechanical inclined metering system. The check valve system was tested with an opto electronic measurement system in laboratory conditions. For CO 6 variety of maize seeds, the quality feed index, missing index, multiple index and precision indexes found out as 86.2 – 89.6 %, 8 – 11.8 %, 1.9 – 2.9 % and 14.6 to 16.5 %, respectively. Using solenoidactuated check valve, the precision index of the developed electro mechanic metering system (14.6 – 16.5 %) increased.