Vol.:(0123456789) J. Inst. Eng. India Ser. A https://doi.org/10.1007/s40030-025-00878-w ORIGINAL CONTRIBUTION Engineering Properties of Various Seeds for Development of a Multi Crop Seed Metering Mechanism Suitable for Intercropping Swapnil Choudhary 1  · Mukesh Jain 2  · Ganesh Upadhyay 1  · Vijaya Rani 1  · Bharat Patel 1  · Naresh 1   Received: 13 November 2024 / Accepted: 10 February 2025 © The Institution of Engineers (India) 2025 These results affirm that the seed metering mechanism pre- serves seed viability when operated within the identified speed limits, providing reliable performance for various seed sizes. Further the field trial of a planter equipped with the developed seed metering rollers were conducted for three intercrop combinations: castor with cowpea, pigeon pea with green gram, and castor with green gram. The planter exhib- ited high precision and operational efficiency, with a missing index of 3.02–3.08%, quality feed index of 93.99–94.11%, field efficiency of 77.87–78.93%, and fuel consumption of 2.92–2.98 l/h. These results demonstrate the mechanism’s reliability and adaptability for intercropping in diverse agri- cultural scenarios. Keywords Seed metering mechanism · Intercropping · Precision planter · Cell fill percentage · Seed damage Introduction Intercropping is a sustainable agricultural practice that involves growing two or more different crops in close proximity within the same field. This practice stands in contrast to monoculture, the more traditional method of farming that focuses on planting a single crop across a large area [ 1, 2]. The advantages of intercropping are manifold; it not only encourages biodiversity by hosting a variety of plants [3, 4], but it also improves the health of the soil and makes more efficient use of available resources like water, sunlight, and nutrients [ 2]. It is especially important in a country like India, where small landhold- ings, diverse agro-climatic conditions, and varying water availability create a need for sustainable and productive farming methods [5]. As per Indian agricultural scenario, the field crops suitable for intercropping includes castor, Abstract The development of planters requires meticu- lous consideration of crop seed engineering properties to achieve high accuracy and minimize damage. A study was conducted on the engineering properties of various crops grown as intercrops and accordingly the crops were catego- rized into three groups viz. large (GMD > 8.5 mm), medium (4.5 mm < GMD < 8.5 mm), and small (GMD < 4.5 mm) size category. Seed metering rollers with elliptical cells were designed for these groups, featuring exposure lengths of 28 mm, 19 mm, and 15 mm and cell counts of 8, 12, and 20 for large, medium, and small size category seeds, respec- tively. The results of laboratory evaluation of developed seed metering roller showed cell fill percentages exceeding 98% at peripheral speeds of 0.02–0.16 m/s for large and medium size category seeds and 0.02–0.20 m/s for small size category seeds, with seed damage remaining below 0.5%. * Swapnil Choudhary fmpeswapnil@hau.ac.in Mukesh Jain mukeshjainhisar@rediffmail.com Ganesh Upadhyay ganesh.upadhyay0@hau.ac.in Vijaya Rani vijayarani@hau.ac.in Bharat Patel bharatpatel@hau.ac.in Naresh sihagnaresh@hau.ac.in 1 Department of Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, Haryana 125004, India 2 Northern Region Farm Machinery Training and Testing Institute, Hisar, Haryana 125004, India