Field Evaluation of a Precision Punch Planter Equipped with Seed Plate Metering Device and Fertilizer Unit for Corn Planting

Different conservation tillage practices are nowadays suggested as the best solution for prevention of soil from erosion. This could be done by leaving the previous crop residue on the soil surface. A new idea to plant in the conservation tillage system is the use of punch planters by which one can plant through a heavy depth of previous crop surface residue. The study was conducted using a 2?3 factorial experiment with a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) of four replications. The two variable factors of the experiment were two types of planters (conventional precision planter equipped with seed plate metering device and precision punch planter with a fertilizer attachment for placement of fertilizer simultaneously with seed in a no-till planting system), along with three levels of speed forward (3, 5 and 7 km/h). Field study was conducted to compare the effects of planter type and forward speed on miss index, multiple index, feed index, planting depth means, emergence rate index, final emergence population, coefficient of variation as well as precision index. Results indicated that an increase in forward speed caused increase of miss index, precision index, coefficient variation of plant spaces, as well as decrease in multiple index. However, the effect of forward speed on emergence percentage, emergence rate and planting depth was not significant (P<0.05) and both planters had their greatest feed index value at 5 km/h forward speed. Results also indicated that the precision punch planter had its best performance at a forward speed of 5 km/h.