Design, Construction and Evaluation of Semi-Automatic Transplanter with Conical Distributing Cups

Semi-automatic tomato transplanter with conical distributing cups was designed, constructed and evaluated for mechanical transplanting of tomatoes seedlings. In this device, individual seedling was placed inside the cone bowls, by a mechanical distributer, and fell down into a previously plowed furrow via a tube. Cultivation accuracy variables including seedling spacing on the row, mechanical damages to seedlings, and seedling establishment angle, created with vertical line, were investigated. Tests used a factorial randomized complete block design with ten replications. The treatments included traveling speed (1, 2, and 3 kmh-1) and depth of roots established in the soil (5 and 10 cm). Results showed that the interactions between traveling speed and depth of cultivation did not affect the variables studied and the traveling speed factor was significant only at seedling establishment angle and mechanical damage to seedling; this factor had no significant effects on spacing. Also, cultivation depth was effective only at the deployment angle. Results indicated that the most appropriate traveling speed and depth of planting were 2 kmh-1 and 5 cm respectively. The capacity of the machine in this traveling speed, in single-row, was found 0.08 hah-1, theoretically.