Archives of Current Research International

The study was conducted to develop metering mechanism of groundnut planter and evaluate the effect of forward speed, inclination angle and cell size of the metering plate on performance parameters such as Average Seed Spacing, Quality of Feed Index, Multiple Index and Miss Index, using Response Surface Methodology (RSM). Central Composite Design (CCD) was used which is one of the most widely used experimental designs within the framework of RSM.  CCD was considered to estimate main effects, interaction effects, and quadratic effects of the variables. Results revealed that the Quality of Feed Index ranged from 78% to 90%, with the highest value of 90% achieved at a forward speed of 1.5 km/h, inclination angle of 35°, and cell size of 7.9 mm. The Multiple Index and Miss Index varied between 2.5-12.5% and 0-12.5%, respectively, and both increased with higher forward speeds, larger cell sizes, and greater inclination angles. The effects of speed, inclination angle and cell size on miss index was significant at 1% confidence level. Average seed spacing ranged from 14.5 cm to 24.5 cm, with a spacing of 19.9 cm found closest to the target of 20 cm under the same optimal conditions. The results indicate that moderate operational settings-particularly a forward speed of 1.5 km/h, inclination angle of 35°, and cell size of 7.9 mm-provide the best overall metering performance and uniform seed placement, thereby improving planting efficiency. Results obtained in the study can help researchers and designers to optimize planter components-particularly metering plates to maintain accuracy even at slightly variable speeds, improving usability across diverse field conditions., and cell size on the seed metering performance of a groundnut planter.