A PORTABLE PRECISION FLUID PLANTER FOR PRE-GERMINATED VEGETABLE SEEDS

The successful completion of this research will result in an integrated system for germinating and planting germinated seeds on the farm. It will demonstrate the capability of the system to germinate the required quality and quantity of seeds, plant a 10-acre field/day, and provide data on the system precision (1- seed proportion, seed depth, soil cover, alignment, and plant spacing), the labor savings, energy savings and soil compaction reduction vs transplanting, and crop stand produced by the system. The information gained from this research will provide key information to the system's potential early adopters as proof of the system's performance. Growers, consultants and volunteer participants have clearly indicated that we must demonstrate a system in the field to gain early adopters of this novel approach.Objective 1: Determine the optimal control parameters that produce the most-uniform batch of germinated tomato seeds.Objective 1 milestone/metric: This Objective will be met when we have compiled tables showing the distribution of radicle length and percent germination at discrete time intervals so the system can be configured to produce optimal batches of germinated tomato seeds.Objective 2: Determine the maximum radicle length of a tomato seed that the planting system can process without clogging the system or damaging the seeds.Objective 2 milestone/metric: The percentage of seeds that pass through the system successfully will be calculated for each set of seeds of a specific radicle length. The radicle length with the highest percentage of seed successfully passing through the system undamaged will be designated as optimal. We will be successful when this radicle length is determined.Objective 3. Demonstrate and evaluate a field-scale germination system to prepare large, uniform batches of germinated tomato seeds to meet planter requirements.Objective 3 milestone/metric: A percentage of the tomato seeds put into the system for germination will show signs of growth by visual inspection for an emerging radicle. The germination rate of the seeds used will be considered when calculating the success level. The Objective will be successful when the field scale germination system produces a batch of germinated seeds that meet the requirements of the planter as determined in Objectives 1 and 2.Objective 4: Evaluate field-scale planter performance in open field trials.Objective 4 milestone/metric: Key performance factors to evaluate:Single-seed extrusion/crop stand - Is there a performance variation over periods equivalent to field-level requirements (continuous planting for hours)? The targeted 1-seed extrusion and resulting crop stand is 90%.Time to plant--Does the system meet time performance goals, and if not, is the singulation module performance a factor in not meeting this goal? Does the singulation system frequently stop the planter to locate seeds to be planted? The target is planting 1 acre per hour on average over a 10-hour period.Seed spacing - Does the planter speed control by the singulation system affect spacing? Spacing is consistently within +/- 10% of the target for fresh market tomatoes, commonly 24" apart.Seed placement depth - Does the planter place the seeds at the programmed depth? Typically, seed-placement data is related to the placement of dry seeds to ensure good germination. Little published information is available on optimal depth for germinated seeds. For this factor, 100% of the seeds must be covered with soil and no deeper than twice the target depth for planting dry tomato seeds in seed-starting trays - ¼".Crop stand - how well does the system produce a uniform crop stand?Gel performance - does a large gel volume produce any new issues?The results of these objectives must demonstrate to potential investors/partners/customers that the system is capable of the following:will plant a tomato crop in actual field conditions that grows as well as a crop grown using transplants at equivalent or lower overall costs;the spacing between plants in a row is consistent with the requirements for field-grown tomatoes (at least as accurate as incumbent methods);the labor required to plant a crop with the system is 90% less than the labor required to transplant a similar crop of tomatoes;the system can operate in the field for the time required to plant 10 acres of tomatoes at approximately 4,500 plants per acre andthe system weight in the field is at least 50% lighter than the incumbent transplanting systems used by commercial growers.