Manual breeding seeder for sowing small-seeded crops

One of the most important activities in the breeding and seed production process is sowing. At the early stages of breeding, the volume of obtained seeds is limited – from 1–2 seeds to 1–2 grams, each obtained sample has a significant breeding value and may have important characteristics for breeders. The obtained breeding material is sown on plots up to 2 me-ters long. It is necessary to ensure uniform distribution of seeds both in depth and length of the row, so that all the seeds during germination and further development had the same conditions in terms of nutrition area, lighting and water supply. Existing equipment for sow-ing small-seeded crops has a number of shortcomings, the main ones being that a tractor is not suitable for breeding plots with the length of 2 meters due to the large turning radius; it is impossible to control the sow-ing of small seeds (e.g. flax) in amounts of 1–2 g; man-ual control of the seeder by the operator is not possible. According to the results of the analysis of manual seed-ers studied by us, it was revealed that they do not pro-vide uniformity of sowing due to the non-guaranteed capture of seeds by the seed collecting cells of the drum and due to the fact that the seeds are fed into the sowing units before the seeder starts moving. The low quality of sowing with a manual seeder is also due to the fact that the operator moves this seeder by means of a lever with a handle and therefore cannot ensure a uniform speed of its movement, which is necessary to ensure uniform sowing of seeds of small-seeded crops of higher reproductions. The analysis of the designs of previously developed manual seeders, as well as the researches carried out in the Mechanization Depart-ment of V.S. Pustovoit All-Russian Research Institute of Oil Crops allowed to develop such a design of a manual seeder for sowing of small-seeded crops on breeding plots, which provides uniform sowing of seeds by providing uniform speed of movement of the seeder with the use of mechanical electric drive of the seeder.