Discrete seed feeder designing for mobile apparatus: Early results for Pinus Sylvestris l. species

Abstract

Discrete feeding of forest seeds is an urgent task for accurate detection of seeds during grading and reducing the seeding rate. The study used Pinus sylvestris L. seeds from cones collected in a natural stand of the Lisinsky educational-and-experimental forestry farm, Leningrad region, Russia, in 2017. Well-known methods for determining the properties of bulk materials were used; the results were processed by mathematical statistics using the MS Excel program. The physical and mechanical properties of uncalibrated seeds as a bulk material were determined. The angle of repose of Pinus sylvestris L. seeds, determined using a hollow cylinder by calculation, is 24.92°. The angle of repose of Pinus sylvestris L. seeds, determined using a hollow cylinder and a goniometer, is 32.7°. The significant discrepancy (~8°) in the values obtained by these methods is explained by the seeds shape. The flowability of Pinus sylvestris L. seeds corresponds to an excellent (free) category. The study will enable correct seed treatment protocols for sustainable forest management. However, some questions remained unresolved: How to orient a single seed in the right direction? How does seed-size calibration affect the angle of repose?.