Subtopic: Functional requirements, principles of working, construction and operation of manual, animal, tractor and renewable energy operated equipment for tillage, sowing, planting, fertilizer application, inter-cultivation, spraying, mowing, chaff cutting, harvesting and threshing
Question Statement:
Which of the following statements regarding the construction and operational adjustments of fluted roller seed metering mechanisms is/are CORRECT?
Options:
(A) Seed rate is primarily regulated by axially shifting the fluted roller to alter the active flute length exposed inside the seed hopper cup
(B) Fluted rollers deliver a continuous volumetric stream of seeds and are unsuitable for single-seed precision planting of crops like maize and cotton
(C) Increasing the rotational speed of the fluted shaft while maintaining a very small flute exposure length minimizes mechanical seed damage in large seeds
(D) An adjustable bottom tongue (gate opening) under the fluted roller allows clearance adjustment for different seed sizes to prevent seed crushing
Answer Key:
A, B, D
Step-by-Step Solution & Explanation
- **Statement A is correct:** Moving the metering lever slides the fluted cylinder axially across the cup, changing the effective volume of seeds carried per revolution.
- **Statement B is correct:** Fluted rollers provide mass-flow drilling (continuous ribbon seeding) suitable for wheat and barley, not precision singulation.
- **Statement C is incorrect:** High roller speed with a very small exposed flute length causes severe seed shearing and grinding against the cup edges; larger exposure at lower speed is recommended to minimize mechanical damage.
- **Statement D is correct:** The bottom gate provides clearance between the tongue and flutes, adjusted according to seed size (small, medium, bold) to prevent crushing.