Agricultural machinery components suffer from severe soft abrasive wear when interacting with flexible materials like rice stalks. To address this, we investigate the friction-reduction mechanism, parameter optimization, and experimental validation of a biomimetic non-smooth surface inspired by the dung beetle’s microstructure. The bionic design was first established by characterizing the beetle’s unique micro-bump array. To ensure simulation accuracy, the critical bonding parameters of a flexible rice stalk DEM model were precisely calibrated via three-point bending tests combined with Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Subsequent DEM simulations revealed that the bionic surface disrupts continuous sliding by reducing the contact area and inducing high-frequency micro-vibrations in the stalk. Using RSM, the bump geometry was systematically optimized, yielding an optimal combination of a 2.975 mm diameter and a 1.0 mm spacing, which theoretically reduces the average normal contact force by 69.3%. Finally, reciprocating wear tests confirmed that the optimized bio-inspired surface exhibited significantly lower mass loss and effectively suppressed the formation of plowing grooves compared to a smooth surface, showing high agreement with simulation predictions. This study provides both a fundamental understanding of the friction-reduction mechanism and precise quantitative guidance for engineering wear-resistant agricultural components.

Mulched drip irrigation is an important water-saving production system for soybean cultivation in arid and semi-arid regions. However, soybean materials harvested from this system exhibit specific physical characteristics, including relatively dry pods and seeds and high stem moisture content. This study characterized the physical and mechanical properties of soybean seeds at the harvest stage and established a discrete element method (DEM) parameter system for harvesting simulation. Key properties and contact behaviors were experimentally measured, and DEM parameters were calibrated and validated through physical tests and virtual simulations. The results showed that the calibrated parameters accurately reproduced the macroscopic stacking behavior of soybean seeds, with the angle of repose validation showing a relative error of only 0.545%. The proposed parameter system considers the geometric and mechanical characteristics of harvest-stage soybean seeds and improves the applicability of DEM simulations for harvesting process analysis. This study provides digital support for optimizing soybean harvesting machinery, reducing seed damage, and improving harvest quality in water-efficient production systems.

To address technical challenges such as equipment clogging and tuber damage during the mechanized harvesting of Xiangsha taro, this study designed a high-speed sliding-cutting device and conducted preliminary field performance evaluations. Based on the preliminary morphological baseline of Xiangsha taro and the distribution of soil penetration resistance, a multi-tooth rotary disc cutting device was developed. Kinematic and dynamic modelling indicated that a velocity ratio of 3.5–5.5 facilitate a ‘cycloidal loop’ trajectory, which theoretically reduces the potential for root disturbance by mitigating forward pushing forces. Initial field tests under specific orderly ridge conditions yielded a cutting qualification rate exceeding 96% and an estimated field capacity of 0.025 ha/h. While these results offer a preliminary technical reference for segmented harvesting equipment, the current validation is limited by the idealized row alignment of the experimental plot. Future research must evaluate the system’s adaptability to field irregularities and conduct direct controlled comparisons with commercial manual devices to fully substantiate its practical superiority.

Garlic, a significant global specialty economic crop, is currently facing severe challenges from labor shortages and escalating production costs. Achieving full-process mechanized production is the core approach to ensuring sustainable industrial development and enhancing international competitiveness. This paper systematically reviews the research progress and application status of mechanized equipment throughout the entire crop cycle of garlic production, including seeding, field management, harvesting, and post-harvest processing and sorting. The study reveals that garlic equipment is undergoing a profound transformation from traditional mechanization to “opto-electro-mechanical integration” and intelligence. In the seeding phase, breakthroughs have been made in pneumatic precision seed-metering and machine vision-based clove bud orientation technologies, significantly improving the quality of upright planting. In field management, precise variable-rate application and targeted weeding have been preliminary realized through plant protection Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) downwash airflow field simulation (CFD) and deep learning-based image segmentation. In the harvesting phase, relying on 3D Discrete Element Method (3D-DEM) soil-cutting simulation and adaptive profile root-trimming technology, the industry is accelerating the transition from inefficient segmented harvesting to low-damage combined harvesting. In the post-harvest phase, hyperspectral imaging (HSI) and multi-label convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have been utilized to achieve high-speed non-destructive detection of internal and external quality. However, industry still faces critical bottlenecks such as the insufficient integration of machinery and agronomy, poor robustness of intelligent perception algorithms in complex environments, and high damage rates of core soil-engaging components. Future research should focus on lightweight algorithm deployment, digital twin-driven virtual prototyping, and the construction of regional standardized machinery–agronomy systems, aiming to build an efficient and universal intelligent production closed-loop for garlic.

Intensified paddy production plays a crucial role in sustaining rice productivity and food security; however, long-term high-frequency puddling, heavy machinery operations under wet soil conditions, simplified cropping systems, and insufficient organic matter inputs have progressively degraded the physical structure of paddy soils. Such structural degradation not only weakens soil water movement, nutrient supply, and aeration but also restricts rice root penetration, alters rhizosphere processes, and disrupts plant–soil feedbacks. Previous studies have largely focused on individual aspects such as soil compaction, amendment-based improvement, water management, or root responses, whereas an integrated understanding of the multi-source drivers, functional consequences, and restoration pathways of soil structural degradation in intensified paddy fields remains limited. Following the overarching theme of soil degradation and regeneration, this review systematically synthesizes the indicator framework, formation mechanisms, degradation typology, ecological consequences, and regulation strategies of paddy soil structural degradation. We further clarify the transition of degraded paddy soils from single physical constraints to the coupled decline of physical, chemical, and biological functions, and compare the agronomic performance, environmental implications, implementation feasibility, and trade-offs of different restoration pathways. Existing evidence indicates that soil structural degradation in paddy fields can impair root-zone pore connectivity, rhizosphere oxygen supply, nutrient acquisition, microbial-mediated carbon and nitrogen cycling, and greenhouse gas regulation, thereby affecting rice growth, yield stability, and the ecological sustainability of paddy systems. Accordingly, the restoration of degraded paddy soils should move beyond short-term loosening or single-factor amendment toward integrated regeneration strategies that maintain soil structural health, reconstruct plough-layer functions, enhance root–soil interactions, and promote the synergistic recovery of pore networks, aggregates, organic carbon, and microbial processes. This review provides a theoretical basis and research reference for the precise restoration of soil structural constraints and the sustainable management of plant–soil systems in intensified paddy fields.