Development of a Solar Powered Seeder for Pea Seeds

Abstract

One of the most profitable vegetable crops for farmers to plant is peas. Pea seeding by hand is still one of the most tedious techniques farmers use today. Pea seed sowing requires a more significant number of skilled workers. The soil is dug by one person, and the pea seeds is sown there by another. Regarding farmers, the availability of skilled labor is still another issue. Egypt has many small farms; hence, it is necessary to produce small-scale farming machinery. Thus, this research manufactures a solar-powered seeding mechanism exclusively for small farmers at a low cost to overcome the problems of a lack of labor skills, sowing times, labor cost, accurate seeding, and seed losses. Increase profit for farmers who plant vegetable crops. The machine is provided with an accurate system to achieve accurate seed distribution. A complex gear mechanism is replaced with a sensor to make seeding simpler. There is an input LCD screen to sow at various distances between seeds. The distance between rows can be maintained. Also, there is a solar tracking system, which is essential for receiving more direct sunlight. Also, the motors used are 12 volts, so they are compatible with the electricity produced from the solar panel without the need for a voltage converter, which reduces costs. Also, both fuel costs and air pollution do not exist. The study includes two experimental variables: four theoretical hill spacings of 15, 18, 21, and 24 cm and four sowing depths of 2, 3, 4, and 5 cm. The measurements include the plant's longitudinal dispersal, lateral dispersal, emergence percentage, and operating costs. The minimum values of longitudinal and lateral dispersal and the highest value of emergence percentage were obtained at a theoretical hill spacing of 24 cm and a sowing depth of 5 cm. The developed machine can lower the operational cost by 94.96%, as one skilled worker can adequate complete the seeding operation. Therefore, it is suggested to use the solar-powered system for seeding pea seeds in small-scale farming.