Unit 4: Sowing and planting machines - Practice Quiz

1 What is the main function of a seed metering mechanism?

2 Which seed metering device is commonly used in seed drills for sowing wheat?

3 Which metering mechanism uses holes or cells to pick and release individual seeds?

4 In many seed drills, which part provides drive to the seed metering mechanism?

5 What may happen if a seed metering mechanism delivers too many seeds?

6 Which sowing method scatters seeds over the soil surface without placing them in definite rows?

7 What is the function of a furrow opener on a seed drill?

8 Which component carries seeds from the metering mechanism to the furrow?

9 What is a major advantage of drilling compared with broadcasting?

10 What is a common disadvantage of broadcasting seeds?

11 What is the main purpose of a precision planter?

12 Which part of a planting machine holds the seed or planting material?

13 In a cup-type potato planter, what do the cups mainly do?

14 What is a major advantage of using a planting machine?

15 What is a possible disadvantage of a poorly adjusted planting machine?

16 What does a transplanting machine place in the field?

17 Which crop is commonly planted using a mechanical transplanter?

18 What is the function of the pickup mechanism in a transplanter?

19 What is a major advantage of mechanical transplanting?

20 What is a common requirement for efficient mechanical transplanting?

21 A vertical-plate seed metering mechanism is producing frequent double drops of maize seed. Which adjustment is most likely to correct the problem?

22 A seed plate has 24 cells and rotates at 30 revolutions per minute. If each cell delivers one seed without skips, how many seeds are discharged per minute?

23 An operator wants to increase the seed rate of a fluted-roller metering mechanism without changing travel speed. Which adjustment should be made?

24 A vacuum-type seed meter begins producing many missing hills while its plate speed remains unchanged. Which fault is the most likely cause?

25 A cell-type meter is cracking a large proportion of groundnut seeds. Which change is most appropriate?

26 During stationary calibration, a 2 m wide seed drill is operated for 20 drive-wheel revolutions. The wheel diameter is 0.6 m, and 1.5 kg of seed is collected. Assuming no wheel slip, what is the approximate seed rate?

27 A ground-wheel-driven seed drill is calibrated on a firm surface but operated in loose soil with considerable wheel slip. If no correction is made, what is the likely field result?

28 In a seed-cum-fertilizer drill, why are separate delivery tubes or openers often used for seed and fertilizer?

29 A farmer wants to sow wheat directly into a residue-covered field with minimum soil disturbance. Which machine is most suitable?

30 Compared with drilling, broadcasting seed followed by light soil covering generally has which major disadvantage?

31 A precision planter travels at while its metering unit releases 5 seeds per second into one row. Ignoring seed bounce, what is the theoretical within-row spacing?

32 A row-crop planter places seed too deeply whenever it crosses soft patches of soil. Which component should be checked first for correct adjustment?

33 A cup-type potato planter is producing many missing hills after unusually large seed pieces are loaded. What is the most probable reason?

34 Why is a precision planter generally preferred over a conventional seed drill for widely spaced crops such as maize?

35 What is the primary function of a press wheel operating behind a planter's seed opener?

36 In a mechanical rice transplanter, which component removes seedlings from the mat and inserts them into puddled soil?

37 A tray-type vegetable transplanter repeatedly misses plants even though its planting mechanism is operating normally. Which nursery-related condition is the most likely cause?

38 A transplanter travels at and places 4 seedlings per second in each row. What is the theoretical within-row spacing?

39 Which field condition is most suitable for operating a conventional mechanical rice transplanter?

40 Compared with manual transplanting, a mechanical transplanter can reduce labor and improve spacing, but what is a common limitation?

41 A planter uses a 12-cell seed plate driven by a ground wheel of diameter . The desired seed spacing is , and laboratory testing shows that only of the cells release a seed. Assuming no ground-wheel slip, what plate-to-ground-wheel speed ratio is required?

42 During calibration of a seed drill, a ground wheel with circumference is turned 20 times. The drill delivers of seed with a fluted-roll exposure of . If discharge is proportional to exposed flute length, what exposure is needed for a target rate of ?

43 A vacuum-disc meter performs well with large seeds. After changing to a smaller seed lot, doubles increase sharply while misses remain low. Disc speed and forward speed are unchanged. Which adjustment most directly addresses the observed failure?

44 In 100 intended planting sites, a meter produces 82 singles, 9 doubles, and 9 misses. If each seed germinates independently with probability , what percentage of the intended sites is expected to contain at least one established plant?

45 For a horizontal-plate meter handling seeds of thickness and maximum width , which cell design best promotes single-seed pickup without severe seed crushing?

46 A ground-wheel-driven seed drill is calibrated without wheel slip to apply . In the field, the ground wheel completes only of its theoretical revolutions per hectare because of slip. Assuming metering output per wheel revolution is unchanged, what adjustment is required to retain the target rate?

47 A light, small-seeded crop must be established in a field exposed to strong crosswinds and intermittent drying of the soil surface. Which sowing method and justification are most appropriate?

48 A conservation seed drill must operate through heavy surface residue over firm, moist soil. Hairpinning and residue blockage are major concerns. Which opener arrangement is generally the most suitable starting configuration?

49 Which component sequence correctly represents seed movement and furrow closure in a conventional seed drill while also identifying the principal depth-control element?

50 A check-row planter places three seeds per hill on a square pattern. Germination is , and of emerged plants are subsequently lost. What is the expected final plant population per hectare?

51 A cup-chain potato planter has cups spaced apart on the chain. The chain travels at while the planter travels at . Row spacing is , and of cup deliveries are missed. What is the expected planted-hill population?

52 A cup-type potato planter shows both frequent empty cups and cups carrying two tubers, even after small changes in chain speed. Inspection reveals a wide range of tuber sizes. What is the most effective corrective action?

53 Which sequence best represents the operation of a semi-automatic potato planting machine from storage to completed ridge?

54 A two-row sugarcane planter moves at . Each row receives setts with a longitudinal overlap equal to of sett length. Assuming uninterrupted end-to-end feeding, what total cutter output is required for both rows?

55 A four-row planter has row spacing, operates at , and achieves field efficiency. Its hopper carries , while planting material is applied at . Approximately how long can it operate between refills?

56 A six-row rice transplanter has row spacing. At a forward speed of , each planting arm completes planting cycles per second. If of pickups fail, what is the effective hill population per hectare?

57 A mat-type rice transplanter produces irregular hills and torn seedling mats, although planting-arm timing is correct. The nursery mats are excessively thick, roots are strongly interwoven, and moisture is uneven. Which intervention most directly addresses the problem?

58 To minimize dragging and leaning of seedlings during mechanical transplanting, what should be approximately true of the planting finger's horizontal velocity at the instant the seedling enters the soil?

59 A grower must transplant individually raised vegetable seedlings from rigid plug trays at variable within-row spacing. Which machine configuration is most appropriate?

60 An eight-row transplanter has row spacing, travels at , and has field efficiency. It works for 8 hours. If manual transplanting capacity is per person-day, which pair best represents the machine area covered and equivalent manual labor?