The traditional fertilizer application methods have serious problems of environmental pollution and soil degradation due to low utilization rates in the Huang–Huai–Hai Plain of China. In this study, the conservation tillage strip-hole layered fertilization method was proposed and a precision strip-hole layered fertilizer subsoiler was designed. To meet the requirements for deep tillage strip-hole layered fertilizer application, theoretical analysis and parameter calculations were first carried out on the fertilizer application type hole wheel, and then the main factors affecting the fertilizer application effect of a strip-hole layered fertilizer shovel were analyzed. The effect of forwarding speed, angle of fertilizer tube installation (AFT) and angle of unloading fertilizer (AUF) on the middle and lower layers of the fertilizer distribution length (FDT) and fertilization amount deviation stability coefficient (FADSC) was studied using the discrete element method (DEM). The three-factor three-level full-factors test design method was adopted. Simulation results showed that the FDT and the FADSC increased as the forward speed increased; the FDT decreased as the AFT and the AUF increased; an increased FADSC was observed at a middle angle of the AFT and the AUF. The minimum FADSC was obtained for a combination of parameters with a forward speed of 2 km/h, the AFT of 35° and the AUF of 60°, corresponding to the FADSC of 2.49% in the middle layer and 2.93% in the lower layer while satisfying the FDT condition. The results of the field trials showed that the FADSC was 11.36% and 12.42%, respectively, an increase of 8.87% and 9.49%, respectively, compared to the simulation results, validating the simulation model. The new way of fertilizer application methods and a theoretical basis were provided for the design of hole application machinery.

The sugarcane lifting–cutting System (SLS) is the core component of the sugarcane harvester, and the influence of its stalk lifting height on the mechanism of perennial root-cutting damage is still unclear. The test was conducted with the vertical height of centroid (VHC), forward velocity, and cutter rotational speed. Numerical quantification of perennial root based on the cutting breakage effect and cutting breakage grade (CBG) classification was used as the evaluation index. The test results showed that the VHC had a highly significant effect on the CBG of the perennial root. The CBG of the stalk decreased significantly with the lifting height. The average CBG was greater than 2.0 when the stalk lifting height was severely collapsed. The CBG ≤ 1.6 was considered qualified, and the requirements were met when the VHC of the stalk was about 0.85~1.0 m at a forward velocity of 1~3 km/h. The inverted angle of the stalk being lifted was selected to be 45° as the evaluation standard to measure the qualified lifting of the spiral sugarcane lifter. This study provides technical support for the optimal design and selection of operating parameters of the sugarcane harvester.