Dynamic depth control for precision destoning in fields for vegetables

任何参观种植马铃薯的田地的人都会担心在去土操作期间筛分的土壤量（通常为3，000吨/公顷）、非常缓慢的工作速率以及对土壤的潜在损害和碳氧化的暴露。本项目旨在为去石机开发一个动态深度控制系统，以确保最佳的床深度，并避免在最坏的情况下去石机时发生的过度深耕，即具有高石头或土块含量的领域。可以预料的是，许多人以前都会考虑深度测量问题，但很少提供解决方案，可能是因为复杂性，这可能是由于成本或缺乏种植者的需求，也可能是因为对作物生长的最佳条件缺乏了解，以及如果在不正确的深度或次优条件下工作，去石机可能对土壤造成损害。目前用于深度控制的机构被定位在进水口犁铧的前面，从而降低了精度，因为通过机器的土壤流失是可变的。通过测量完成的床层深度，将提高精度。许多技术可用于测量床本身中的松散土壤与去石刀下方的层之间的强度或密度的大变化（例如物理、声波和电磁），但是对比层之间的土壤含水量的差异可能使得难以用某些技术检测变化。机器还可以在某些土壤上快速移动（例如，4 km/h），因此快速检测深度对于改变机器吸入装置深度设置至关重要。参与的联盟包括a）传感器技术和控制机制方面的专家; B）了解植物生长和可栽培性最佳土壤条件的土壤科学家;以及c）需要实用和强大系统的农民。任何被证明成功的新传感器还需要有一个控制系统，可以很容易地集成到现有的去石机控制器机制，但市场和目标区域都很大（>2000个去石机，> 10万公顷）。

Any visitor to a field being planted with potatoes would be concerned at the amount of soil sieved during the destoning operation (typically 3,000 t/ha), the very slow work rates and the potential for damage to soils and exposure to oxidation of carbon. This project aims to develop a dynamic depth control system for destoners to ensure optimal bed depth and avoid excessively deep cultivation which occurs when destoning to the worst possible scenario, i.e. areas of the field with high stone or clod content.It is to be expected that many people will have considered the depth measurement problem before, yet have done little to provide a solution, perhaps because of the complexity, cost or lack of demand from growers or perhaps because of the lack of understanding of optimal conditions for crop growth and the damage that destoners can do to soil if worked at the incorrect depth or sub-optimal conditions. Current mechanisms for depth control are positioned in front of the intake share, thereby reducing the accuracy since soil loss through the machine is variable. By measuring the finished bed depth, accuracy will be improved. A number of techniques can be used to measure the large change in strength or density between the loose soil in the bed itself and the layer beneath the destoner share (e.g. physical, sonic and electromagnetic), but the differences in soil water content between contrasting layers can make it difficult to detect changes with some techniques. Machines can also move quite quickly (e.g. 4 km/h) on some soils, making rapid detection of depth paramount to effect a change in machine intake share depth settings.The consortium involved has a) experts in sensor technology and control mechanisms; b) soil scientists with understanding of optimal soil conditions for plant growth and cultivatability and c) farmers who require a practical and robust system. Any new sensor that proves successful will also need to have a control system that can integrate easily into existing destoner controller mechanisms, but the market and target area are both large (\>2000 destoners, \>100K ha).