PLANTING ROW CROPS WITH MOVING IRRIGATION SYSTEMS
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abstract
The development of moving truss irrigation machines capable of performing all functions necessary to produce a crop could revolutionized agricultural production systems and replace high horsepower tractors with multiple pieces of equipment. A row crop planting system for moving irrigation machines is presented which may bring an all inclusive system closer to reality. The system is called a mobile irrigator planting system (MIPS) and consists of (1) a seed germination/gel mixing system, (2) a non-destructive seed transfer and injection system, and (3) a seed distribution and planting system located on a continuous-move irrigation system. The 600 m prototype distribution system was divided into ten 16-row planting manifolds, each programmably controlled to accomplish uniform seed discharge. Stationary performance evaluation resulted in between manifold seed distribution coefficients of variation of 0.09, 0.12, and 0.10 for corn, cotton, and grain sorghum, respectively. Initial field planting trials produced plant stands and yields that compared favorably to those planted with a conventional planter. Preplant fertilizer application using the trenching nozzle of the planting system and additional fertilizer injection into the irrigation water during the growing season, resulted in either equal or significantly greater yields than those obtained by conventional preplant chisel application.
