Results of a comparative study of coulter groups of a seeder for strip sowing of grass seeds in the sod

For the effective use of sod seeders SDK in conditions of degraded forage lands, it is necessary to modernize the design of their coulter group to work in conditions of high soil moisture and increased content of plant residues in it. A method of strip sowing is proposed, which is based on the removal of the sowing working elements from under the casing of a milling furrow opener, and a design and technological scheme of the coulter group with a shoe opener mounted on a suspension mechanism in the form of torsion springs. The coulter group includes a mounting bracket on a seeder, a suspension mechanism, shoe openers, rollers, mechanisms for adjusting the position of coulters in the vertical and horizontal planes and the forces of deepening coulters and the pressure of rollers on the soil. Compared to the coulter group of SDK seeders, its weight (19.6 kg) is reduced by 3.8 kg while the total length of the seeder increases by 0.12 m. To assess the efficiency of the modernized coulter group of the sod seeder, experimental studies were carried out in the field, during which the quality indicators of seed placement were determined when using a serial coulter group of SDK seeders and a prototype coulter group. Comparative studies of coulter groups of a sod seeder showed that when sowing Eastern galega, the depth of seed placement complies with agrotechnical requirements and is: for the coulter group of SDK seeder – 19.4...22.4 mm, for the prototype - 18.6...19.5 mm, and for the prototype the value of the standard deviation is almost two times lower. The uniformity of the distribution of seeds over the width of the strip for the coulter group of the SDK seeder is 20.2...26.1 mm, for the prototype – 8.4...10.1 mm.