Minimum or no-till seeding technology is the core of conservation tillage, which can effectively reduce soil degradation by water and wind erosion. It is an essential part of agricultural modernization. The anti-blocking technology is the key to realize minimum or no-till seeding technology. According to the principle, it can be divided into three types: straw-flowing type, gravity-cutting stubble type, and power-driven type. Emphasis is placed on the anti-blocking principle, technical characteristics, and development trends of minimum or no till seeders based on three different anti-blocking principles. In view of analyzing and summarizing the advantages and disadvantages of three technologies and typical machines, the future development trends of minimum or no-till seeders were prospected as follows: (1) strengthening research on basic theories and integration mechanisms; (2) building a big data-sharing platform for seeding operations; (3) establishing and improving specific systems of minimum and no-till seeders with China character.

To avoid the issues of seeds lying atop straw, where the seeds cannot germinate, during no-till maize seeding, a seed furrow cleaning device is proposed. The device uses rotating spring teeth and a curved sliding shovel to clear the straw from the seed furrow to the outside. The critical components of the side throwing mechanism, rotary disc and spring teeth design are analyzed, and the value range of the installation inclination angle, rotating speed and bending angle of spring teeth are determined. The force on the straw at the moment of starting to touch and throw it is analyzed theoretically in the three installation directions of forward inclination, radial and backward inclination on the rotary disc, and the backward inclination of the spring teeth is determined. A simulation model of the seed furrow cleaning device is established by using the discrete element method simulation software; the forwarding speed, rotating speed, installation inclination angle, and bending angle of spring teeth are used as influencing factors to carry out single-factor experiments. The influence characteristics of different parameters on seed ditch cleaning effect are analyzed from the aspects of straw cleaning quantity and soil disturbance. A field validation experiment is carried out, and the results show that when rotating speed is 180 r/min, installation inclination angle of spring teeth is 40°, and bending angle is 30°, the straw cleaning rate is 82.26%. The research could provide references to develop the no-till seeder for maize seeding.

In response to the issues of high cost, limited detection accuracy, and significant measurement errors inherent in conventional manual techniques used to measure straw cover weight under the conservation tillage method, a dedicated straw cover weight detection machine was developed in the current study. This machine included a critical straw suction device that utilizes negative pressure to collect straw within a defined area. The efficiency of straw collection is affected by suction chamber structural parameters and transport pressure. With crushed corn straw as the research subject, the theoretical calculation of straw suspension velocity was used to determine the wind duct diameter, perform the initial design of the suction chamber structure, and select the appropriate fan. After conducting preliminary experiments, single-factor optimization tests, and orthogonal rotation experiments, we analyzed the flow field distribution patterns and identified the critical parameters for the straw cover weight suction unit. We found that the fan should operate at a speed of 2900 r/min, the diameter of the straw outlet should be 200 mm, the vertical height of the suction chamber should be 536 mm, and the bottom diameter of the suction chamber should be 800 mm. The optimization results were validated through simulation tests and bench tests, yielding an average near-ground airflow velocity of v_j = 9.03 m/s and an average outlet airflow velocity of v_o = 34.27 m/s, meeting the basic requirements of the suction unit. This study could provide a new approach and technical support for the automated detection of straw cover weight in conservation tillage areas.