Abstract
Cutting mechanisms in existing grafting machines are unable to completely cut through the rootstock growth point and can easily damage seedlings. During the mechanical operation of splice grafting, the cutting angle of the rootstock is an essential factor for ensuring the quality and survival rate of grafting seedlings and a stable process for grafting robots. Therefore, in this study, commonly used grafting rootstocks, e.g., cucurbita moschata, and calabash gourd were used as research objects for studying and analyzing the cutting angle of a splice grafting method. The morphological and structural parameters of the rootstock and scion were measured, and a structural model of the internal cavity of the rootstock was constructed using an image analysis method. The critical cutting angles for the cucurbita moschata and calabash gourd seedlings were obtained. According to the analysis, the grafting cutting angles for cucumber seedlings matching with cucurbita moschata seedlings were 20° and 25°, respectively, and the fitting rate of the cutting surface of the rootstock and scion was 99.04%. A cutting mechanism for the rootstock growth point and geometric model of the cutting operation were established, and the structural parameters of the mechanism and cutting angle adjustment were optimized. A cutting performance test showed that the success rate of the pressing the cotyledons of cucurbita moschata seedlings was 96.67%, and the success rate of cutting was 98%. The cutting accuracy was 96.8%, and the cutting surface fitting rate of the rootstock and scion was 98.61%. The latter differed by 0.43% from the theoretical rate but met the requirements for the splice grafting method. Thus, this study can provide a reference for the design of a cutting mechanism for a grafting robot. Keywords: grafting robot, rootstock cavity, cutting angle, matched grafting, parameter optimization, cucurbit DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20201305.5803 Citation: Jiang K, Zhang Q, Chen L P, Guo W Z, Zheng W G. Design and optimization on rootstock cutting mechanism of grafting robot for cucurbit. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2020; 13(5): 117–124.
Highlights
Grafting is an important part of the production process of industrial seedlings, and the corresponding labor accounts for 20%-30% of the entire process of seedling cultivation[1]
When an appropriate cutting angle is determined for the rootstock in the splice method, it can avoid the exposure of the rootstock incision from the cavity and realize matched grafting of the rootstock and scion
Note: there are 50 test samples in each group. To solve problems such as the incomplete removal of rootstock growth points and the low precision of cutting mechanisms in existing grafting machines, an internal cavity structure model of cucurbita moschata and calabash gourd seedings was established using image processing technology, and their critical cutting angles were determined as 19.57°and 23.58°, respectively
Summary
Grafting is an important part of the production process of industrial seedlings, and the corresponding labor accounts for 20%-30% of the entire process of seedling cultivation[1]. As splice grafting requires the rootstock growth point and cotyledon to be removed at once, after the operation using this method, the standard flatness of the incision angle is good, the docking fit is high, and the grafted seedlings can be synthesized quickly. When an appropriate cutting angle is determined for the rootstock in the splice method, it can avoid the exposure of the rootstock incision from the cavity and realize matched grafting of the rootstock and scion. This provides an important guarantee, i.e., for the mechanical grafting to improve the grafting accuracy and quality[20,21,22]. The area was observed with a Leica M205FA body microscope (Company: Leica Mikrosysteme Vertrieb GmbH, Address: Ernst-Leitz-Strasse 17-37, Wetzlar, 35578 Germany ) to obtain the cavity structure image and geometric feature information of the growth point[16], as shown in Figure 1. α0 and α1 denote the critical cutting angle and actual cutting angle of the rootstock, respectively
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