_——__— — ._____— ”'— __'_____‘ WI 4N4 I014 CDU'I—i A STUDY OF PRiNClPLES AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCE. OF MECHANICAL SUGAR BEST SEED PL—ANTERS ”Shoe-is for the Degree of M. S. WCHIGAN S'E‘ATE COLLEGE Herbert Ernesi Hentsche? 15346 , tin-I OI «- n M495 This is to certify that the thesis entitled "A STUDY OF PRINCIPLES AFFECTING THE PERFORI‘IIAIICE 0F MECHANICAL SUGAR FEET SLED FLANTERS." presented bg HERPRRT ERNEST PENTSCHLL has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for _I'_' ’_-_S_'_-___degree in Agriculture nam229flz€r 3» 1946 f. Ltltlvll: .. hi... ... .I........HV 1. . . Nu (Sui rial A STUDY OF PRINCIPLES AFFECTING THE PERFORMANCE OF MECHANICAL SUGAR BEET SEED PLANTIBS .A S T‘U D Y O F P R I N C I P L E S .A F F E C T I N G T H E P D R F O R M.A.N C E O I M‘B C H A,N I C A.L S U'G-A.R B E E T S E E D IP L A.N T E R S By Herbert Ernest Hentechel m A THESIS Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of Michigan State College of Agriculture and Applied Science in the partial ful- fillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE Department of Agricultural Engineering 1946 THESlS ACKNO‘.‘:‘"I.EDGl.’E HTS The author wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to the Farmers and manufactures Beet Sugar Association who provided the funds for the Fellow~ ship under which this work was conducted. Acknowledgment is also due Professor A. W. Farrell and mr. C. M. Hansen of the Agricultural Engineering Department, and Dr. N. S. Hall, Soil Science Department, Nfichigan State College, for their assistance and guidance in planning and carrying out this work. Q“ at J 4 ”Ajax-0'; a Luv 5 ‘3. TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION - ...... - .............. HISTORY OF SUGAR BEET PLANTING EQUIPMENT AND TECHNIQUES - THE EXPERIMENTAL PLANTER - - - - - - - - .. ...... ." Development 23 the Experimental Planter - - - - .. Description _o_f_ Planter in General - ----- - Description 2;: Individual Units - - - - - - .. - - Rotary Tillage Unit - - - .. - - - ...... CompactingUnit -—------------- Furrow Opening and Metering Unit ..... - The Farrow Closing Units .......... The Check or Standard Unit .......... FIELD PROCEDURE IN PLANTING .............. Germinator Test - - - - — - - - - - - - - - - - - Planting Procedure ............. .. - WEATHER ------ - ................. TEST PLOT ------- .. ......... .. ..... DETERMINATION OF EMERGENCE RATE - - .- - ........ PRESENTATION OF DATA ............ .. .. .. .. - GROUPING OF TREATMENT RESULTS ............. DISCUSSION OF RE CONCLUSION - - LITERATURE CITED SIILTS ----- - - - II D ------ - 14 14 19 19 19 21 21 22 22 24 26 31 31 53 INTRODUCTION: The combined work of industry, experiment stations, and private research organizations have produced an amazing amount of modern equipment and machines to help the farmer perform his duties better and easier. Machines eliminate a large amount of hand labor that has always been a part of agricultural production. many crops have already been completely mechanized, while others are only in the beginning phase of mechanization. Up to about 10 years ago mechanization had had very little effect upon the sugar beet crop. It has always required a great amount of hand labor in planting, blocking, thinning, weeding, and harvesting. Actual mechanization of the raising of sugar beets has been in effect since before 1879 when mechanical planters were used in the best fields of Europe (10). The planters were inefficient, but did serve to place enough whole seed, containing three to five germs per seedball, in the ground to produce a solid row of plants that could be blocked and thinned to the desired stand. Labor was plentiful up to 1940 and could be obtained to do the extra work of blocking and thinning at‘a very low wage. In the present day, with labor a critical factor, it is imperative that mechanical equipment be developed that will all but eliminate the necessity of much hand labor in blocking and thinning. To accomplish this end it is necessary to attempt to develop planters and planting techniques that will produce a seedling for every germ.placed in the seed bed. Buschlen (2) reports, from.preliminary greenhouse and small plot tests, that the emergence of uncoated segmented seed is, on the average, only 39% of the potential plants; while Bainer (1) reports that in general, under average-conditions, field germination is less than 50%. -2- One of the main prdblems in the mechanization of sugar beets, therefore, is to develop equipment to determine the effects of various methods of mechanical seed bed preparation with reference to tillage, placing of seed, seed coverage, and soil compactness over the seed, in an effort to increase the emergence rate. HISTORY OF SUGAR BEET PLANTING, EQUIPMENT AND TECHNIQUES: The placing of the sugar beet seed in the ground by mechanical means was given very little attention until the early 19303. Up to then, and to some extent even now, the seed was planted with a grain drill by closing off several of the seed chutes to produce the desired row'widths. thle seed was sown at the rate of 20 to 30 lbs. per acre. During world war I a four row beet drill, with a common seed box, was in use in the beet field. It varied very little from the grain drill in principle (4). About 15 years ago a beet and bean drill was developed as a four row planter with individual seed and fertilizer hoppers for each row. The seed was still metered to the ground by a fluted or double run feed as was commonly used in the grain drill. In 1933 an interrupted-feed drill was developed and tested the next four years with excellent results reported in 1938 (6). The machine was designed to drop seed for 3 inches in the row and then skip 6 inches, plant- ing at the rate of four pounds of seed per acre. It reduced hand thinning considerably and caused the remaining plants to be disturbed less in thinning and weeding. In 1938, Garner and Sanders (3) concluded four years of experiments at the School of Agriculture at Cambridge, on the optimum spacing of sugar -3- beets with the idea of reducing hand-labor and increasing horse-hoeing. In 1939 Nervine and NbBirney (7) reported on the amount of research work'being carried on to develop single seed type planters so that uniformly spaced planting could be obtained. The results, however, were not very encouraging. All these developments in sugar beet planters did tend to eliminate considerable of the hand or "steep labor." "The sugar beet seedball, however, contains on the average, more than one germ each. Regardless of method of planting, each seedball may produce from none to several seedlings, making finger thinning imperative if a uniform.distribution of single seed- lings is to be obtained. A reduction in the number of germs per seedball will materially reduce the hand labor of thinning. Mereover, if the beets are to be thinned mechanically, or with a long handled hoe, the percentage of potential singles are greatly increased"(1). Attempts have been made to produce a single germ seedball through plant breeding. Thez'esults have not been satisfactory. "Dr.'W. Knolle of the Institute of Land machines at Bella, Germany, developed a process prior to 1940 for cracking sugar beet seed in an endeavor to reduce the number of germs per seedball. This process was at once commercialized and a limited amount of seed was made available that year. Correspondence with the director of the experiment station at Holle yielded no technical information about the process"(l). The University of California started an investigation in 1940 in an effort to PPOduGe a single germ unit by mechanical means. In 1941 a labora- tory machine was built for breaking the seedball into segments of approxi- mately one germ. The shearing process proved a great success in 1942. -4- Bainer (3) reports that experience resulting from the use of sheared seed on several thousand acres in 1942 indicates that seeding rates of four to seven pounds per acre produce sufficient seedlings to give satisfactory final stands. The use of segmented or sheared seed increased rapidly since 1942. The Sugar Beet Journal (8) reports that 70% of all the beets planted in the Eastern area in 1946 were planted with segmented seed. In 1945 Buschlen (2) reported that the effect of the introduction of segmented seed may be the turning point in the history of the sugar beet industry. The rapid expansion of the use of segmented seed necessitated the development of seed metering units to handle the smaller single germ cells. A number of metering units were developed and modified since 1943. A satisfactory modified seed metering unit was developed for the internal-run type of feed mechanism. The external fluted-feed mechanism was also modified satisfactorily for the smaller seeds. An experimental distributed hill plate was developed for use on the low drOp or low can planter in 1943. "A seeding rate of two pounds per acre was used with an average of 4.5 seeds per hill. The center distance of the hills was approximately 10 inches. Since the field germination amounts to less than 50%, it was anticipated that the likelihood of obtaining one or two plants per hill was possible. This condition would eliminate hand thinning entirely. Extra plants in the hill could be treated as weeds during the normal hoeing operation" (1). Data on further tests of this planter are not now available. -5- Some planters have been modified in the last year to reduce the seeding rate to one and a half to two pounds per acre. One company at present is testing a very low drop planter. The purpose of this type of planter is to give gravity less time to work on the single germ cells to cause bunching orbouncing of the seeds in the furrOW. In the spring of 1945, Higgins, McKinley, Vfitherspoon, and thkel (5) started experimental work on a vacuum planter, using a new principle of vacumm selection of seed. Some encouraging results in grease-board trials and actual field plantings were obtained. In 1945 the Dow Chemical Company (2) started research and experimental work on pelleting the segmented seed to produce a seed thd: is uniformly round and of a size that is easier to work with in designing planters. Good results were reported in the development of the coating process, but a uniform stand, as was anticipated, was not obtained the first year. Further tests are being made on seed pelleting and increasing emergence by adding plant nutrients, insecticides and fungicides to the coating material. TEE EXPERIMENTAL PLANTER: Development 22 the Experimental Planter The construction of a planting machine incorporating a number of variable units to test various planting methods, techniques, and equipment was the first problem. In order to determine the various components of the machine, the points to be investigated were outlined as follows: 1. To study the effects of varying degrees of soil fineness. 2. To study the effects of soil compactness prior to planting. 3. To study the effects of various degrees of soil-seed contact. 4. To study the effects of soil compactness over the seed. 5. To study the effects of various types of furrow openers. 6. To study the effects of various methods of seed covering. The drawing, Fig. 1, was considered as containing the essential units to aid in carrying out the above studies. It was made as the preliminary work was accomplished in establishing the need for the studies. A means at checking the experimental trials with that of present planters was also determined as essential. A standard planting unit was added to the machine for this purpose. This necessitated changing the preliminary design to include the standard planting unit. The completed planter is shown in Figure 2. Description 23 the Planter in General: The planter was constructed in the research laboratories of the Agricultural Engineering Department at Michigan State College. It in- corporated the use of a rotary-tillage unit for better fitting of the seed bed; two interchangeable compacting units in the form of a section of a unltipacker and a heavy flat roller, to test the effects of soil compact- ness prior to planting; two interchangeable furrow openers; and a furrow closing unit and press wheel to test the various degrees of soil-seed contact, soil compactness over seed, and seed covering. The planter was designed to plant two rows at a time; an experimental row, and a check row or standard row. The standard planter was attached to the machine so that it would Operate in much the same manner as the . .89an poem new-am Havoc-nanomxm maiden hgaaaoam .a .wfl. —--_. _.-.... -76- 2050mm uF<§§5“qu :58 3 43H j? 4;? .513; S , Date Treat- :_ 3rd 3 a3 é 4', :3 5' $94 Depth of planted ments 4255'}: +23 H a as o p bro planting as as 3 SE a a. as as in 1" 1;; 2" June 1 X X X X 71 75 57 65 25 2 X X X X 99 95 99 65 June 3 X X, X X 82 80 71 44 26 4 X X. X X 57 66 68 49 July 5 x x x x 38 58 71 55 1 X X X X 45 82 99 78 7 X X X X 41 92 87 79 8 X X. X X 34 52 75 52 9 X X X 37 80 72 52 July 10 X X X 90 25 91 86 2 11 X X X. 34 74 75 50 12 X X X 40 101 75 32 13 X X X 9 51 93 54 14 X X X 56 129 99 106 15 X X X 45 101 111 125 July 16 X X X 34 61 71 68 3 17 X X 81 94 67 4O 18 X X 117 98 99 68 19 X X 162 159 130 119 July 20 x x 64 119 77 64.- 18 21 X X X X 14 6O 75 109 22 X X X X 13 57 115 125 -25- GROUPING OF TREATMENT RESULTS: All of the data were tabulated into major groups according to depth of planting. The major groups were then broken into minor groups according to the percentage of emergence. Groupings were made as follows: major groups: Group A - Treatments planted at the half inch depth (Table II.) Grpup B - " " " " one inch depth (Table III.) Group C - " " " " one and one half inch depth (Table IV.) Group D - " " " " two inch depth (Table V.) Liner groups: Low emergence group - Treatments from.which the emergence rate was less than 85% of the standard emergence rate. 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DISCUSSION OF RESULTS; At all four depths of planting, the use of rotary-tiller, compacting unit and shoe-type furrow opener, did not appreciably effect the rate of emergence as compared with the rate obtained with the standard planter. Interchanging the position of the seed press wheel and covering shoe did not effect the emergence rate appreciably. At all depths the boat-type furrOW'0pener appeared to have some merit. over the shoe-type, in its use as an integral part of the planter. Twenty- five of the 30 trials falling in the average and high emergence groups used the boat-type furrow opener. CONCLUSIONS: 1. When the method of metering seed is kept constant in planting sugar beets at the deeper levels, under conditions prevailing during these trials, the depth of planting generally had a greater effect upon emergence than did the method of fitting the seed bed and planting the seed. The trials at the one inch depth gave better results than those at the other depths. 2. Under the conditions prevailing during these trials, the use of the rotary tiller and compacting units in fitting and compacting the seed bed is of no value as a part of the planting procedure. The normal preparation of the seed bed evidently breaks the soil up into particles that are small enough to promote good germination. The use of the rotary-tillage unit may have some value as a part of the planter under planting conditions when the seed bed has not been -32... normally prepared, or when the soil has been.packed excessively by heavy rains prior to planting. Trials were not made using the rotary-tiller under conditions of that kind. 3. In most of the trials, the use of the boat-type furrow opener proved superior to the conventional shoe-type opener. The opening of a furrow by pushing the soil aside and down, leaving a firm furrow bottom for the seed, is evidently the reason for an emergence rate greater than that obtained with the standard planter. 4. Under conditions prevailing in these tests, the addition of supplemental tillage and furrow closing units to the planter did not improve the rate of emergence over that obtained by the use of present day planters. -33- LITERATURE C ITED : 1. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Bainer, Roy 1943. NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN SUGAR BEET PRODUCTION. Ag. Eng. Jour. V01. 24, N0. 8, pp. 255-2580 Buschlen, M. J. 1945. SUGAR BEET JOURNAL. Vol. 10, pp. 55-56 Garner, F. H., Sanders, H. G. 1939. SPACING OF SUGAR BRET. Jour. of Min. of Ag. pp. 1198-1201. Harris, F. So 1918. THE SUGAR BEET IN AMERICA. 13. 114. Higgins, F. H. 1945. VACUUM PLANTER NEWEST DEVELOPMENT FOR CONTROLLED SUGAR BEET SEEDING. Implement record. Sept. pp 25 and 64. International Sugar Journal. 1940. AN'IMPROVED BEET DRILL. pp 23-24. mervine, E. M. and NbBirney, S. W. 1939. MECHANIZATION OF SUGAR BRET PRODUCTION. Ag. Eng. Jour. Vol. 20, No. 10, pp. 389-392 and 394. Sugar Beet Journal. 1946. SUGAR BRET CROP NOTEWORTHY THIS YEAR. V01. 12, No. 1., pp. 4 and 50 Veatch, J. 0., Tyson, J., Biebesheimer, P. P., Moon, J. W. 1928- SOIL SURVEY HILLSDALE COUNTY, MICHIGAN. Bureau of Chemistry and Soils. U.S.D.A., No. 10, pp. 13-14. Ware, L. S. 1879. THE SUGAR BEET. p. 171. ROOM USE ONLY . = " . ' I \ l ' l u . ' ‘ V I ‘ I . R . I ' I . . p ‘ \- I ‘ ,~ . ‘ I . 0 " I ' v ' x \ . . - . -5 ' ' J ' A h ' ‘ . - -a J .I. . 4 v u I . I \ ' / U . '\ f. l a . , n » . . ' a u 1 n A ' . l ' , | o ‘ . v. . ‘ I 5‘ }‘ t a . u I V I ' . , ' Y v—wv “Vi . r. — 7 I l ‘ o ‘ ‘ i \ r I - 1 . | x, . .' ' ‘ v I . . l . \ I " l : . I ‘ I ’ I \ ‘ Y‘ . ' u ‘ 5 I . ' l I I \ . l V . I y ‘ - I ' ‘ ‘ I I I . . J \ A I I ' I I ' . I ' ' . I ‘ r ‘ ' ' ' . IaésaliIII . . 7-1.1.