A two-row upland seeder for cabbage was designed, developed, and tested to improve sowing efficiency and crop establishment in small-scale farming. It featured precision seeding and was evaluated with and without press wheels. Seed delivery rates decreased as ground speed increased, with the highest rate of 0.267 kg·ha ⁻¹ achieved at 0.6 m·s ⁻¹ ; faster speeds lowered accuracy. Slippage tests at 10 RPM showed stable traction with an average slippage of 3.92%. Field trials revealed that press wheels significantly enhanced seeding performance, providing more consistent sowing depths (mean 6.6 mm), higher germination rates (61%), and fewer missing hills than without press wheels. Statistical analysis (ANOVA, Tukey’s HSD) confirmed that press wheels had significant effects on sowing depth, germination rate, and seedling count ( p <0.05). Despite some issues like seed clogging and hopper damage, the seeder was user-friendly and effective. The study highlights the need for optimal speeds and press wheels to improve planting precision and crop establishment.

El propósito es evaluar el efecto de diferentes amplitudes de oscilación sobre la magnitud de la fuerza de tiro usando labranza vibratoria inducida en condiciones de campo. Se realizaron los arreglos de las amplitudes de oscilación, que son representados por ejes excéntricos en el arado vibratorio, y se midió la velocidad angular del mecanismo mediante un tacómetro (DT-2234C+). En campo se evaluaron cuatro repeticiones para cuatro tratamientos y un testigo, en los cuales se midieron las siguientes variables: fuerza de tiro (Fx), penetración (Fy) y torque (T); para el accionamiento de la ibración del cincel se utilizó una válvula reguladora de flujo a 50% (4 Hz). En cada prueba se realizaron líneas de 40 m de longitud y se registraron 2000 datos a una frecuencia de registro de 20 Hz, con separación de un metro entre cada línea de prueba, para evitar los traslapes de disturbación de suelo. Se utilizó un tractor John Deere 6403 tracción sencilla de 105 hp con una velocidad de avance 2.8 km h-1 y un sistema de adquisición de datos LookBook 360. El diseño experimental, que fue completamente al azar y se llevó a cabo en el software Minitab, dio como resultado que los ejes son estadísticamente iguales, por lo que se concluyó que, de los cuatro ejes evaluados, el eje con amplitud de 44.5 mm es el que demanda menor fuerza de tiro, esto sin tomar en cuenta el eje testigo con amplitud de oscilación de 50 mm, el cual ejerce una menor fuerza de tiro respecto a los otros tratamientos.

A variable seed rate system was integrated and evaluated using Trimble technology. Laboratory tests were conducted to assess system performance on a seeder test bench, with seed delivery rates ranging from 180 to 800 seeds per minute. The system was tested using two corn seed plates: a 30-cell Precision Planting plate (PP) and a 40-cell John Deere (JD) plate. The laboratory results showed a cell fill rate of 98.6% for the PP plate and 104.5% for the JD plate. Field performance was evaluated at four sowing densities (100,000; 80,000; 60,000; and 40,000 seeds·ha ⁻¹ ) and three travel speeds (6, 8, and 10 km·h ⁻¹ ). Results showed no significant differences in dosing uniformity due to sowing density otr speed. The system achieved 100% dose uniformity with a coefficient of variation (CV) of just 1.36%, demonstrating high operational reliability. Regarding seed delivery uniformity, an analysis of variance of seed fall timing revealed a significant difference between the plates. The PP plate outperformed the JD plate, with a CV of 10.82% compared to 14.387%, respectively. The system‘s response time to changes in seeding density ranged from 43 milliseconds (from 100,000 to 80,000 seeds·ha ⁻¹ at 10 km·h ⁻¹ ) to 232 milliseconds (from 40,000 to 100,000 seeds·ha ⁻¹ at 6 km·h ⁻¹ ). In conclusion, the integrated variable seed rate system demonstrated high operational reliability. However, an average variability of 12.5% in planter performance was observed, highlighting an opportunity for further optimisation and system improvement.

The transition toward Agriculture 4.0 requires soil sampling strategies that really characterize spatial heterogeneity. This study compared conventional five-point composite (5P) and zigzag (ZZ) sampling methods with multispectral image-guided sampling (MI) using a DJI Mavic 3 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) (SZ DJI Technology Co., Ltd.), Shenzhen, Guangdong, China) in a semi-arid agroecosystem of northeastern Mexico. In situ measurements included penetration resistance (PR), volumetric water content (VWC), and apparent electrical conductivity (ECa), while laboratory analyses included bulk density (ρ_b) and soil pH (H₂O). Statistical analyses revealed significant differences among sampling strategies for penetration resistance and volumetric water content (p < 0.05). The MI approach captured greater spatial contrasts in penetration resistance within the 10–20 cm depth interval, with PR values reaching up to 5076 kPa, whereas conventional methods recorded substantially lower PR values. UAV-guided sampling identified sampling locations associated with contrasting VWC and PR measurements relative to conventional composite sampling strategies. Soil pH (H₂O) and ECa remained stable among sampling methods; however, highlighting the need for methodological standardization and local calibration. Multispectral image-guided sampling facilitates spatial stratification and the characterization of within-field variability in dynamic soil physical properties, supporting stratified soil management and more efficient resource use in semi-arid agricultural systems.