Research on an Efficient Deep-Hole Application Method for Liquid Fertilizer Based on Alternate Drilling

Abstract

Liquid fertilizers are mainly applied by spraying liquid fertilizer on the surface of crop leaves and by deep openings between rows. The first causes considerable environmental pollution, and the second can easily cause to damage the root system of crops. In this study, corn crops were taken as the study object and an efficient deep-hole application method for liquid fertilizer based on alternate drilling was proposed. The needle body is driven by the spur gear wheel system in a caving mechanism to puncture holes alternately in a vertical posture and high-speed punctures are implemented with less disturbance to the soil. The cylindrical hollow cam of the mechanism is controlled so that the fertilizer needle sprays fertilizer when injected into soil and stops injecting when pulled out of the soil. Based on the bench test, fertilizer injecting performance and energy saving performance of the differential two-way fertilizer supply distribution device were analyzed and the head loss for energy saving value is 2.1, 3.1, and 5.5 m. Based on numerous field tests, the puncture track, hole width, and hole spacing are analyzed under different puncture speeds. Field tests were carried out according to a quadratic orthogonal rotating combination design and the results show that when the fertilization depth for agronomic requirements is 80 mm and the machine work speed and forward speed are 127 r min−1 and 1.40 m s−1, respectively, the hole width is 39.9 mm, the hole spacing is 320 mm. The efficient deep-hole application method for liquid fertilizer based on alternate drilling can provide support for data analysis and theoretical design of liquid fertilizer deep application technology for corn crops.