Transplanting Of Seedlings Research Articles

Non-destructive Detection of Growth and Quality in Basil Seedlings Grown in a Plant Factory

Background and objective: Basil is one of the high-value crops cultivated in plant factories. The production of uniform and healthy seedlings has a direct impact on the yield and quality of the final harvest. The objectives of this study were; (1) to ascertain whether non-destructive detecting parameters [projected canopy area (PCA) and vegetation indices (VIs)] could predict changes in growth and quality of basil seedlings, and (2) to determine the feasibility of grading basil seedlings based on PCA to establish a baseline for stable yields after transplanting.Methods: Basil seedlings were grown in 2- and 3-day irrigation cycles for 25 days after sowing, and the growth parameters and image analysis parameters using a multispectral camera were examined at regular intervals. The correlations between growth parameters and PCA/VIs were investigated to detect growth and quality of basil seedlings. At the time of transplanting, the basil seedlings were classified into grades A-D based on their PCA values, and the growth and yield after transplanting of basil seedlings in each grade were evaluated.Results: The basil seedlings in the 3-day irrigation treatment showed higher growth, and the correlation between the PCA values and the leaf area and fresh weight resulted in a coefficient of determination greater than 0.93. Among the VIs, the VARI, GI, and NGRDI were correlated with the growth and quality with coefficients of determination greater than 0.6. And, the growth and yield after transplanting were dependent on the seedling grade based on PCA values at the time of transplanting.Conclusion: This study confirmed that it is possible to predict the growth and quality of basil seedlings using non-destructive image analysis, and that the grading criteria for basil seedlings that can be expected to produce stable yields after transplanting can be determined using image analysis.

Automated Mulched Transplanting of Angelica Seedlings Using a Pneumatic Sowing Device

To address the challenges of labor-intensive, inefficient, and inconsistent manual hole sowing and transplanting of Angelica sinensis in rain-fed hilly regions of Northwest China, a pneumatic hole-sowing device was designed based on the principle of electromagnetically controlled, high-speed reciprocating cylinder motion. Considering the agronomic requirements for transplanting mulched Angelica sinensis, the device’s structure and operational parameters were optimized. The key mechanisms involved in hole sowing and seedling placement were analyzed. A pneumatic circuit system, controlled by a relay circuit, was established, and a hole-sowing mechanism with a delayed closure effect was designed. Using the Discrete Element Method (DEM) and Multi-Body Dynamics (MBD) coupling technology, a simulation of the hole-sowing process was conducted to evaluate the device’s performance and its impact on soil disturbance and hole reformation in the seedbed. Prototype device performance tests were conducted, using qualified seeding depth under mulch and hole spacing as indicators. When the theoretical hole spacing was 30 cm and the hole-sowing frequency was 60 plants/(min·row), the soil bin test results indicated a seeding depth qualification rate of 93%, a misalignment rate of 3%, and a spacing qualification rate of 83%; the field test results showed a qualified seeding depth rate under mulch of 96%, the hole misalignment rate was 5%, and the spacing qualified rate was 86%. The pneumatic hole-sowing device’s performance meets the agronomic requirements for vertical transplanting of Angelica sinensis seedlings. This research can serve as a reference for designing planting machinery for rhizomatous medicinal plants.

Off-Season Seedling Production of Sikkim Local Cucumber (Cucumis sativus) under Polytunnel of Different Heights

The present study was conducted by Dept of Horticulture, Sikkim University, Gangtok at Nandok village, East Sikkim, Sikkim during 2015-2016 with the objectives to compare the effect of different dates of sowing and different height of poly-tunnel on cucumber seedling growth and to compare the morphological and physiological behavior of seedlings under poly-tunnel and open field conditions. The seeds of local cucumber were collected from Nandok village, East Sikkim. The raised bed of 3 m long, 1 m wide and 15 cm height were prepared before constructing the frame structure over it. The sowing was done on 15th December, 1st January and 15th January under open condition, 2.0 ft, 2.5 ft and 3 ft polytunnels and altogether twelve treatments were done with three replications under CRD. The highest average temperature range throughout the growing period of cucumber seedlings was recorded in treatment T10 (20-240C) i.e., 15th January sowing in 2.5 ft poly-tunnel. Temperature played significant role in germination of seed and establishment of seedlings. The treatment T10 (15th January+2.5 ft polyhouse) was observed to be best having germination % (72%), minimum days needed for transplanting of seedlings (34), maximum number of seedlings (25), maximum height of seedlings (12.5 cm), leaf area (57 cm²), net photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance (26.2 µmol/m²/s, 8.8 mmol/m²/s, 1.13 mmol/m²/s) respectively. The significant difference was observed in polytunnel as compared to control (open field). The advancement of nearly one month in harvesting of cucumber is able to fetch higher returns to growers and is beneficial to them.

Cost of Productions and Partial Budget Analysis of Coffee (<i>Coffea arabica</i> L.) Seedling Across Various Pot Sizes and Biochar-Based Media Preparations

Coffee cultivation mainly lies in the production of coffee seedlings with desirable characteristics under the recommended nursery management operations. Any improper handling made at early stage would remain to cause poor field performances. Biochar is considered as a soil conditioner and a carrier for plant nutrients, which improve the different soil functions, as an amendment to improve soil fertility, soil pH, available phosphorus, organic carbon, and water retention. The experiment was conducted to provide detail information on production costs and gross net profits of reduced sizes poly bag and biochar application used for coffee seedling production under small scale farmers. Biochar to topsoil blended at 1:3 ratio was found to increase (SVI) over the local and standard practice by 66.50% and 7.50%, respectively. Hence, combined effects of reduced pot size (13x19cm) with biochar mixed topsoil 1:3 noticed to significantly improve soil chemical conditions and growth response of coffee seedlings under nursery conditions at the study area. Besides, the result of simple partial budget analysis indicated the cost effectiveness with reduced polybag sizes as compared to the conventional pot sizes, especially for production, transportation and early stage field transplanting of quality coffee seedlings in large quantities. However, it is imperative to assess the effects of the present promising pot size and pot media treatments under field performance by considering growth, yield, and quality performances and profitability to smallholder coffee farmers over locations and year in the study area and other similar agro ecological zones in the country.

Growing Vigorous Potato Seedlings in Plug Trays

AbstractRaising vigorous and healthy potato seedlings from hybrid true potato seeds (TPS) under nursery conditions is critical for ease of field transplanting and seedling crop establishment as well as for a productive seed or ware crop. The use of plugs in seedling production systems is an important technique utilised to ease transplanting of seedlings and refine seedling production in seedling nurseries. While holding multiple advantages over other transplant production systems, multiple factors still influence the success of seedling production in plug trays. In this study, we explore the effects of substrate properties, type and volume; watering intervals; and nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) levels in nutrient solution on seedling vigour attributes in potato seedlings grown in plug trays under climate room conditions. The choice of substrate strongly influenced seedling attributes with more favourable performance in substrates with higher water holding capacity. Increasing plug volume also enhanced seedling attributes including dry biomass, leaf area and root to shoot ratios such that seedling performance was best in plug volumes > 22.5 cm3. A watering schedule with a high frequency was more favourable considering that longer intervals between watering events led to significant declines in seedling attributes. While the effects of increased P in solution were not conclusive, depending on genotype, increasing N in solution led to enhanced seedling attributes, with a nutrient sufficiency met at 200 mg L−1 N in solution. These findings further contribute to the current knowledge on factors influencing success in seedling production of potato seedlings developed from hybrid true potato seeds.

Suitability of Young Seedling Transplantation for Organic Rice Cultivation under Shallow Water Conditions

Suitability of Young Seedling Transplantation for Organic Rice Cultivation under Shallow Water Conditions

Growth parameters and economics of rice varieties under aged seedling transplantation in north coastal Andhra Pradesh

Growth parameters and economics of rice varieties under aged seedling transplantation in north coastal Andhra Pradesh

Design and Fabrication of an Autonomous Rice Transplanter

The goal of this study was to create a prototype of an automatically guided rice transplanter using a Pixhauk flight controller, 3DR telemetry, Raspberry Pi, Tof sensor, gyro sensor, and other GPS navigation sensors to determine the field performance of that machine. GPS was used to obtain data such as location, direction, and speed, whereas machine vision can provide a navigation line. The next position of the transplanter can be determined using feature points extracted from the navigation line. The controller area network bus complies with the actuator control command and data communication protocols. Electrical actuators control steering and transmission based on a vehicle's location in a field. The percentage of missing, buried, and floating hills was observed to be 1.6%, 1.4%, and 3.0%, respectively, as the maximum values were found in clay soil at T1. Over time, percentages of losses decreased, and the lowest percentage of losses was given. The lowest percentage of missing, buried, and floating hills was found at 0.8%, 0.2%, and 0.8%, respectively, in clay loam soil at T5. Planting efficiency improved, and losses decreased as treatment levels upgraded. Clay loam soil in T5 had the highest planting efficiency percentage (88%), whereas clay soil in T1 had the lowest (61%) proportion. The findings indicated that T4 and T5 enhanced rice output by decreasing the losses incurred during seedling transplantation. The study suggested that the developed rice transplanter might be suitable for planting rice seedlings to establish meaningful mechanization through precision agriculture technology.

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) growth and productivity under different sowing methods, mulching and foliar feeding of nutrients

The present experiment was conducted during rainy (kharif) seasons of 2020 and 2021 at College of Agriculture, Swami Keshwanand Rajasthan Agricultural University, Bikaner, Rajasthan to determine the effect of sowing technique, mulching, and NPK foliar fertilization on growth, yield, and yield attributes of pearl millet [Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.] in arid circumstances. Experiment consisted of 3 sowing methods, viz. direct seed sowing (45 cm × 15 cm); 2-week-old seedling (60 cm × 22.5 cm); and 4-week-old seedling (60 cm × 22.5 cm) transplanting; and 3 mulches, viz. no mulch; dust mulch; and straw mulch assigned to main-plot and 2 levels of NPK foliar fertilization [control and NPK @1% foliar spray at 35 and 50 DAS (days after sowing)] assigned to sub-plot. Results showed that transplanting 4-week-old seedlings led to significantly higher plant height (170.1 cm), dry-matter accumulation (133.6 g), total and effective tillers (3.41 and 3.14), ear head length (24 cm), ear head girth (2.28 cm), weight of ear head (31.5 g), grains/ear (1964), weight of grains/ear (18.9 g), comparable to 2-week seedling transplanting. The grain yield (2396 kg/ha) and straw yield (6640 kg/ha) were significantly superior with 4-week-old seedlings over 2-week seedling by 8.2, 5.4% on pooled basis. Straw mulch exhibited superior most for growth and yield parameters, followed by dust mulch. Additionally, NPK @1% foliar spray at 35 and 50 DAS resulted in significantly higher plant height (170.5 cm), dry-matter accumulation (131.6 g), ear head length (23.7 cm), ear head girth (2.27 cm), weight of ear head (31.1 g), grains/ear (1921), weight of grains/ear (18.5 g), compared to the control. The grain yield (2303 kg/ha) and straw yield (6548 kg/ha) were significantly superior with NPK @1% by 9.5% and 11% over control. In conclusion, the combination of transplanting 4-week-old seedlings, straw mulch and NPK @1% foliar spray offering a potential solution for enhancing agricultural productivity in the region.

Design and control of a side dense transplanting machine for sweet potato seedlings on mulch film

At present, China is the leading country in sweet potato cultivation worldwide. However, there are still several problems such as high labor intensity, low efficiency of manual transplanting, and lack of machinery for side transplanting for sweet potato seedlings on mulch film. Therefore, a side dense transplanting machine for sweet potato seedlings on mulch film is designed, using a multi-row side transplanting method. It is mainly composed of a transplanting device, a seedling conveying device, a traveling device, and a control system. Based on the agronomic requirements for sweet potato transplanting, the study focuses on the structure and working principle of the complete machine. It involves the detailed structural design and motion analysis of the crank-rocker and cam of the transplanting device. Based on the sweet potato seedlings transportation plan, parameters such as the vertical height of the seedling conveying device, the size of the support frame, and the relative relationship between position of the transplanting device are determined. To ensure the smooth transplantation of sweet potato seedlings, the motor parameters required for each device are calculated and determined. An Arduino control system is developed to manage the coordinated movement of each device. Positioning components are integrated to ensure accurate coordination between the transplanting device and the seedling conveying device. This setup enables the seedling claws to pick sweet potato seedlings and perform the side transplanting on the mulch film. Field test results show the missed rate of seedlings, the qualified rate of transplanting and the qualified rate of transplanting depth are 4.13 %, 91.62 % and 93.86 % respectively. The transplant spacing coefficient of variation and the average spacing between seedlings are 1.90 and 177.06 mm respectively. All indicators of the transplanting machine meet the agronomic requirements for side dense transplanting for sweet potato seedlings on mulch film. The transplanting machine is integrated with sweet potato seedling transplanting agronomy, achieving mechanized transplanting of sweet potato seedlings, reducing labor intensity, and promoting the quality and efficiency of sweet potato production. This research provides a reference for the development of sweet potato seedlings transplanting equipment.

Design and Experiment of Dual-Row Seedling Pick-Up Device for High-Speed Automatic Transplanting Machine

To address the inefficiency and instability of automatic transplanting machines, a dual-row seedling pick-up device and its corresponding control system were developed. Existing seedling end-effectors are primarily mechanically controlled, and the seedling needles can easily cause damage to the interior of the bowl. In order to reduce the damage inflicted by the end-effectors to the bowl, this paper conducted a mechanical analysis of the end-effector. At the same time, a buffer optimization analysis was conducted on the operation of the end-effector, and a flexible pneumatic end-effector for seedling picking was designed. The control system combined the detection of multiple sensors to monitor the process of seedling picking and throwing. By coordinating the lifting cylinder and clamping cylinder, the system effectively reduced seedling pot damage while improving seedling picking efficiency. By setting the operating parameters of the servo motor, the goal of low-speed and high-efficiency seedling picking was achieved. To evaluate the performance of the control system, the linear displacement sensors and acceleration testing systems were used to analyze the performance of the seedling throwing. The results showed that the seedling picking efficiency could reach 180 plants min−1, with no significant difference between the actual measured moving distance and the theoretical setting distance. The positioning error remained stable between 0.5 and 0.9 mm, which met the requirements for seedling picking accuracy. The buffer optimization design reduced the peak acceleration of the end-effector from −22.1 m/s2 to −13.4 m/s2, and the peak value was reduced by 39.4%, which proved the significant effectiveness of the buffer design. A performance test was conducted using 128-hole seed trays and 33-day-old cabbage seedlings for seedling picking and throwing. When the planting frequency reached 90 plants/row·min−1, the average success rate of picking and throwing seedlings was 97.3%. This indicates that the various components of the designed seedling pick-up device work in good coordination during operation, and the control system operates stably. Technical requirements for the automatic mechanical transplanting of tray seedlings were achieved, which can provide reference for research on automatic transplanting machines.

In vitro plant regeneration and bioactive metabolite production of endangered medicinal plant Fritillaria cirrhosa

The bulb of Fritillaria cirrhosa D. Don is widely used for the anti-asthmatic, anti-tussive, and anti-cancer agents, etc., while the yield is limited by an endangered status, a long juvenile phase, and restricted growth habitat. Ancillary approaches to improve the bulb yield by micropropagation and bioactive metabolites production by bioreactor have not been established. Here is reported the plant regeneration, suspension cell culture, and bioactive metabolite production at different treatments. The embryogenic calli were successfully induced via the histomorphological identification. The highest proliferation times (4.11-fold) were observed with a select combination of hormones [NAA (0.2 mg/L) + 6-BA (1.0 mg/L) + GA3 (1.0 mg/L)] and culture conditions (red light and 20 °C), the highest content of imperialine (0.13 mg/g) was observed under blue light, total phenolic (0.52 mg/g) under red light, polysaccharides (36.57 mg/g) and total flavonoids (2.67 mg/g) as well as antioxidant capacity under white light. The plantlets were regenerated within 125 d from the induced embryogenic calli to acclimation and transplantation of seedlings. For the suspension cell culture, a 6.30-, 1.78-, 1.37-, and 1.51-fold increase of proliferation times, imperialine, polysaccharides, and total phenolic contents was observed at 40 d, respectively. Based on the above observations, an effective and complete in vitro approach has been proposed to regenerate plants and produce bioactive metabolites in F. cirrhosa.

Root Zone Water Management Effects on Soil Hydrothermal Properties and Sweet Potato Yield.

Sufficient soil moisture is required to ensure the successful transplantation of sweet potato seedlings. Thus, reasonable water management is essential for achieving high quality and yield in sweet potato production. We conducted field experiments in northern China, planted on 18 May and harvested on 18 October 2021, at the Nancun Experimental Base of Qingdao Agricultural University. Three water management treatments were tested for sweet potato seedlings after transplanting: hole irrigation (W1), optimized drip irrigation (W2), and traditional drip irrigation (W3). The variation characteristics of soil volumetric water content, soil temperature, and soil CO2 concentration in the root zone were monitored in situ for 0-50 days. The agronomy, root morphology, photosynthetic parameters, 13C accumulation, yield, and yield components of sweet potato were determined. The results showed that soil VWC was maintained at 22-25% and 27-32% in the hole irrigation and combined drip irrigation treatments, respectively, from 0 to 30 days after transplanting. However, there was no significant difference between the traditional (W3) and optimized (W2) drip irrigation systems. From 30 to 50 days after transplanting, the VWC decreased significantly in all treatments, with significant differences among all treatments. Soil CO2 concentrations were positively correlated with VWC from 0 to 30 days after transplanting but gradually increased from 30 to 50 days, with significant differences among treatments. Soil temperature varied with fluctuations in air temperature, with no significant differences among treatments. Sweet potato survival rates were significantly lower in the hole irrigation treatments than in the drip irrigation treatments, with no significant difference between W2 and W3. The aboveground biomass, photosynthetic parameters, and leaf area index were significantly higher under drip irrigation than under hole irrigation, and values were higher in W3 than in W2. However, the total root length, root volume, and 13C partitioning rate were higher in W2 than in W3. These findings suggest that excessive drip irrigation can lead to an imbalance in sweet potato reservoir sources. Compared with W1, the W2 and W3 treatments exhibited significant yield increases of 42.98% and 36.49%, respectively. The W2 treatment had the lowest sweet potato deformity rate.

Studies on Crop Weather Calendar of Brinjal Crop in Eastern Uttar Pradesh, India

An investigation was carried out on studies of crop weather calendar on brinjal crop in Eastern Uttar Pradesh has been prepared with objectives to study climatic normal of past 21 years from 2000-21 at Department of Agricultural Meteorology, College of Agriculture, Acharya Narendra Dev University of Agriculture and Technology, Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh. Climatic data for brinjal crop in Kharif season has been taken from 27th to 48th Standard Meteorological Week (SMW). From the crop weather calendar of brinjal, it was revealed that low temperatures are lethal for brinjal seedlings, so temperature should not be less than 18 °C before the transplanting of the brinjal seedlings into the field. Rainfall during vegetative stage was 140-150 mm found congenial for the better yield of the plant. The growth of the crops is severely affected when temperature falls below 17 °C. It can be successfully grown as a rainy season and summer season crop. It was revealed that, Tmax 23.3-31.8 °C, Tmin 8.4-25.1 °C, rainfall of 0.5-10 mm during 31st to 45th SMW with RHm 90.9-95.6% and RHe 52.1-79.6 were found conducive conditions for the infestation of shoot/fruit borer. It was observed that Fusarium wilt of brinjal was significant during October (41st week) to December (52nd week), when Tmax 23.5- 33.0 °C, Tmin 12.1-26.7 °C, RHm 83.9-87.8%, RHe 48.1-71.5% and rainfall of 0-0.75 mm. It has been found that the severity of fusarium wilt increases with decrease in temperature and high relative humidity and very low rainfall.

Conceptualization and development of a semi-automatic vegetable transplanter prototype for small landholdings

The process of seedling transplantation has significant importance within the realm of mechanical vegetable production in contemporary agriculture. A prototype of a two-row tractor-mounted semi-automatic vegetable seedling transplanter (SVT) was conceptualized and developed for small agricultural holdings. The functional behaviour of the prototype was examined with computer-aided design tools, and the various units of the prototype have been finalized. To develop the prototype, the feeding, metering, transplanting, drive train, and soil compacting/covering unit of the machine were developed and constructed using materials readily accessible locally. The machine has a set row-to-row spacing of 600 mm, and it may alter the plant-to-plant spacing when the machine's forward speed changes. The pace was customized to achieve the required 450 mm plant-to-plant spacing. A 12:1 speed reduction gearbox was used for the proper metering of seedlings. The effect of independent factors, namely tray cell type, feeding mechanism, soil covering/compacting wheel angle, and age of seedling, on the machine's actual field capacity (AFC) was examined. The prototype underwent preliminary field testing to assess the functional viability, and the functioning was satisfactory. The main effect of the feeding mechanism and soil covering/compacting wheel angle on AFC was statistically significant at 5 % for tomato and brinjal whereas their first-order interaction was found statistically significant on AFC for tomatoes. The findings demonstrate that this study's prototype can be marketed or used to further vegetable production studies.

The use of Groasis Waterboxx devices to improve mineland reclamation efforts by increasing transplant survival and growth of five native woody species

The reclamation of disturbed lands worldwide is a difficult and increasing problem. In the Mountain West region of the United States, mining activities commonly occur in zones dominated by native woody plants. The restoration of woody plants in these areas is challenging, and direct seeding efforts result in poor seedling emergence and establishment. Therefore, seedling transplants are often used, but they frequently experience high mortality during the first year, particularly due to summer stresses. We evaluated if the Groasis Waterboxx device could be used to mitigate drought stress on seedling transplants and improve their establishment on a reclaimed waste rock dump. The Waterboxx device collects precipitation into a polypropylene reservoir and slowly dispenses water onto the soil next to the seedling. To test such a hypothesis, 400 seedlings from five native woody plants (Atriplex canescens, Cercocarpus ledifolius, Pinus edulis, Purshia tridentata, and Rhus glabra) were planted with and without a Waterboxx. The Waterboxx device improved soil water potential, at 40 cm, it took 1 month longer to go below −1 MPa under a Waterboxx. Survival increased 30–65% in four of the five species, and seedling vigor increased for three of the five species. Vigor was higher with all plant species at both planting times and was significantly better in 50% of comparisons. Results support the use of the Waterboxx for improving seedling establishment on mineland overburden sites in the semiarid mountain west. The effectiveness of the Waterboxx device provides merit for future testing where drought challenges seedling establishment.

Morphophysiological comparison of seedlings of Solanum lycopersicum obtained with substrate in tray

The seedbed phase is decisive in the use of quality seedlings for transplanting. This research aimed to evaluate the differentiated vegetative response of tomato cultivars (Solanum lycopersicum L.) to two substrates under tray conditions. The experiment was carried out at the University of Pinar del Río, Cuba. The cultivars 'Celeste', 'Desquite', 'Grandioso' and 'Radiante' were used in a completely randomized design with factorial arrangement (factors: substrate and cultivar). The substrates were made from Fersialitic soil, organic materials (humus or peat) and rice husks. Sowing was carried out in trays with 40 alveoli (tubes), with a capacity for 70 g of substrate each. The substrates used guaranteed adequate morphophysiological development of tomato seedlings, regardless of the cultivar evaluated, although 'Desquite' presented the lowest absolute growth rate. With the use of the substrate based on soil, humus and rice husk, the number of seedlings useful for transplanting increased by 5%, which guarantees a reduction in the number of trays and volume of substrate used in this phase of crop.

Mechanical Characteristics Testing and Parameter Optimization of Rapeseed Blanket Seedling Conveying for Transplanters

Rapeseed blanket seedling transplanters have developed rapidly due to their high efficiency and adaptability to the soil in many areas of China. However, during the transplanter’s longitudinal seedling conveying process, seedling blanket compression leads to inaccurate conveying and thus declined seedling picking performance. In this paper, a mechanical compression test was carried out on rapeseed seedling blankets. The longitudinal compression force of the rapeseed seedling blanket on a transplanter was calculated through mechanical analysis. A compression model of the rapeseed seedling blanket was established to determine how the blanket’s mechanical characteristics and the device’s structural parameters affect blanket compression. In addition, with the index of longitudinal compression Y1, the coefficient of variation in the longitudinal seedling conveying distance Y2, and the qualified-block-cutting rate Y3, the interactive influence between the seedling tray tilt angle A, the seedling blanket moisture content B, and the seedling blanket thickness C were analyzed using response surface analysis. Aiming to reduce blanket compression and enhance the accuracy of longitudinal seedling conveying and block-cutting quality, the optimized results show that the predicted optimal parameters were a 50.14° seedling tray tilt angle, a 71.86% seedling blanket moisture content, and a 22.13 mm seedling blanket thickness. Using these optimized parameters, the transplanter achieved a blanket longitudinal compression of 18.17 mm, a coefficient of variation in the longitudinal seedling conveying distance of 1.142, and a qualified-block-cutting rate of 90%. Subsequently, a validation test was performed, revealing a high degree of conformity between the optimization model and the experimental data. Thus, the predicted optimal parameters can provide significantly reduced compression and a high seedling conveying performance. The results of this study provide theoretical and empirical support for the optimized design and operation of mechanized rapeseed blanket seedling transplanting.

Seedling-YOLO: High-Efficiency Target Detection Algorithm for Field Broccoli Seedling Transplanting Quality Based on YOLOv7-Tiny

The rapid and accurate detection of broccoli seedling planting quality is crucial for the implementation of robotic intelligent field management. However, existing algorithms often face issues of false detections and missed detections when identifying the categories of broccoli planting quality. For instance, the similarity between the features of broccoli root balls and soil, along with the potential for being obscured by leaves, leads to false detections of “exposed seedlings”. Additionally, features left by the end effector resemble the background, making the detection of the “missed hills” category challenging. Moreover, existing algorithms require substantial computational resources and memory. To address these challenges, we developed Seedling-YOLO, a deep-learning model dedicated to the visual detection of broccoli planting quality. Initially, we designed a new module, the Efficient Layer Aggregation Networks-Pconv (ELAN_P), utilizing partial convolution (Pconv). This module serves as the backbone feature extraction network, effectively reducing redundant calculations. Furthermore, the model incorporates the Content-aware ReAssembly of Features (CARAFE) and Coordinate Attention (CA), enhancing its focus on the long-range spatial information of challenging-to-detect samples. Experimental results demonstrate that our Seedling-YOLO model outperforms YOLOv4-tiny, YOLOv5s, YOLOv7-tiny, and YOLOv7 in terms of speed and precision, particularly in detecting ‘exposed seedlings’ and ‘missed hills’-key categories impacting yield, with Average Precision (AP) values of 94.2% and 92.2%, respectively. The model achieved a mean Average Precision of 0.5 (mAP@0.5) of 94.3% and a frame rate of 29.7 frames per second (FPS). In field tests conducted with double-row vegetable ridges at a plant spacing of 0.4 m and robot speed of 0.6 m/s, Seedling-YOLO exhibited optimal efficiency and precision. It achieved an actual detection precision of 93% and a detection efficiency of 180 plants/min, meeting the requirements for real-time and precise detection. This model can be deployed on seedling replenishment robots, providing a visual solution for robots, thereby enhancing vegetable yield.

Impact of participatory guarantee systems on sustainability outcomes: the case of vegetable farming in Vietnam

ABSTRACT Sustainable food systems require mechanisms that assure consumers about the sustainability of agricultural production. Building on the existing literature on the impact of sustainability standards, this study is the first to assess the effectiveness of participatory guarantee systems (PGS) for the certification of organic produce. The study uses representative farm-level data on local vegetable value chains in northern Vietnam and uses a broad set of sustainability outcomes as well as counterfactual analysis, including systematic robustness checks. The results show that PGS significantly improves farm profitability (+117%), agroecology performance (+40%), and gives farmers more choice of sales channels (+23%). However, PGS had no significant effect on returns to labour and reduced the average crop yield. Capacity development on nursery practices, transplanting of healthy seedlings rather than direct seeding, reduced tillage, and collective crop planning and management are some of the innovations that can counter adverse effects on crop yields, increase soil health as well as improve returns to labour, and thus attract more youth to farming. Overall, the study shows that organic PGS can make vegetable production more economically viable and more agroecologically sustainable.