Effects of Various Planters on Emergence and Seed Distribution Uniformity of Sunflower

Abstract

In this study, four different type seeders were evaluated for seed spacing, depth uniformity, and plant emergence at three forward speeds (3.6, 5.4, and 7.2 km h-1). The planter types were: no-till planter, precision vacuum planter, universal planter, and semi-automatic potato planter. The sowing uniformity of the horizontal distribution of seeds was described by using the multiple index, the miss index, the quality of feed index, and the precision in addition to the means and standard deviations of the sample methods. Uniformity of planting depth of seeds was described using the mean, standard deviation and the coefficient of variation of the sample methods. Plant emergence ratios were evaluated by mean emergence time, emergence rate indexes, and emergence percentage. The best seed spacing uniformity and seed emergence ratio were obtained with the no-till planter, and the best seed depth uniformity was obtained with the precision vacuum planter. Forward speed significantly affected only the mean emergence time (P < 0.05). As forward speed increased, mean emergence time decreased.