Prediction of Seed Rate Accuracy of Inclined Plate Metering Unit

The seed rate for rainfed paddy crop varies from 50 to 120 kg/ha. Therefore, the selection of seed metering device is crucial to meet the farm requirement and timeliness of operation. Though different types of seed metering mechanisms are marketed in India, single or two seed metered mechanical mechanisms are becoming popular as their seeding performance is relatively better. To develop and evaluate the performance of such mechanisms quickly and optimize the parameters, some of the engineering properties of three varieties of paddy viz. Indira Rajeshwari, Indira Maheshwari and Mahamaya were determined and a grease belt test stand was developed at IGKV, Raipur. In laboratory test the metering device was tested at all three inclination angles and forward speeds viz. 50°, 45°, 40° and 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 km/h, respectively. The variation in seed rate was dependant on inclination angle of metering plate and forward speed. Optimum seed rate ranged from 58 to 59 seeds per square meter for all three varieties of paddy at an inclination angle of 45° at all forward speeds.