A seed meter for an agricultural planter in which the seed disc is rotatably mounted within a seed meter housing. As the seed disc rotates, the apertures in the disc rotate along a seed aperture path through a horizontally adjacent seed pool area. The seed disc includes cavities disposed along the seed aperture path to agitate the seeds in the seed pool area. A singulator having multiple co-planar singulator surfaces is biased against the seed side surface of the seed disc.

A mini-hopper for an agricultural row unit that has a fill tube supplying material to a hopper. A backflow preventer is disposed in the fill tube or in a line to the inlet to prevent flow of material from the mini-hopper through the fill tube when the mini-hopper is in a transport position.

A seed planter meter that orients plant seed and a delivery mechanism which can transport the seed to the soil while maintaining the seed's orientation during transport to the soil and encapsulation in the soil.

A particle delivery system of an agricultural row unit includes a particle belt housing having a particle engagement aperture configured to receive a particle and a particle exit aperture configured to expel the particle toward a trench in soil. The particle delivery system includes a particle belt having a particle engagement section configured to receive the particle via the particle engagement aperture and a particle exit section configured to expel the particle via the particle exit aperture. The particle exit section is positioned adjacent to the particle exit aperture, the particle belt extends generally parallel to the trench at the particle exit section, the particle engagement section is positioned adjacent to the particle engagement aperture, and the particle belt at the particle engagement section extends at an angle between zero degrees and ninety degrees relative to the particle belt at the particle exit section.

A planting unit for a seeding machine having a frame member and a seed meter mounted thereto. The seed meter has a housing and a metering member rotatably mounted therein. The metering member has a sidewall with an inner surface and an outer surface with a rim portion of the sidewall adjacent an outer edge of the sidewall. The inner surface of the side wall and the housing form a trough at a bottom portion of the metering member to hold a seed pool. A mechanical seed delivery system takes seed from the metering member and moves seed to a discharge location adjacent a seed furrow formed in soil beneath the seeding machine.

Rapid pulse programming of a seed, to obtain improved germination probability, and increased root mass, and crop yield, by illuminating the seed with radiation of a wavelength distribution from 300 nm to 20 microns, with a minimum average irradiance of 0.2 Watts/cm.sup.2 and a maximum average irradiance of 7 Watts/cm.sup.2, and having a narrow specific range of cumulative illumination energy from ½ Joules/cm.sup.2 to 3 Joules/cm2 or a higher transition point cumulative illumination energy, so as to specifically engage an irradiance-sensitive and energy-sensitive hidden stimulative exposure response in the seed and so as to avoid illumination of higher cumulative illumination energy that would cause a different and destructive exposure response in the seed. Preferred wavelengths include one or both of Medium Wavelength Infrared (MWIR) radiation and an Indigo Region Illumination Distribution (IRID), which may be applied to an illuminated agricultural planter.

Sowing element for precision agricultural seeders comprising a device for selecting the seed, of the type which is formed of a perforated disc having opposing faces that are subject to a pressure differential and a pressurisation device associated with the disc for applying the pressure differential to the faces of the disc, the pressurisation device including a pressurisation bell combined with the disc so as to pneumatically couple thereto in order to guarantee said pressure differential, wherein the bell is rotatably idle with respect to the disc.

A mini-hopper for an agricultural row unit that has a fill tube supplying material to a hopper. A backflow preventer is disposed in the fill tube or in a line to the inlet to prevent flow of material from the mini-hopper through the fill tube when the mini-hopper is in a transport position.

A purging system for a multiple variety seed meter of a multi-variety planter. The purging system includes seed return valves that may be arranged for receiving seed that was removed from the seed meter. The seed return valves return the removed seed into corresponding appropriate seed storage compartments to allow a new seed variety to be delivered to the seed meter while reducing seed variety mixing in the seed meter. A pipe with a purge passage may extend from the seed meter to a purging hose that delivers the removed seed to the seed return valve(s). Each seed return valve may be a vacuum-actuated piston airlock valve assembly with a valve plunger that reciprocates to define seed collecting and releasing states of the valve.

An agricultural machine includes a seeding system having a seed transport mechanism configured to transport a seed along a transport route, a seed sensor configured to sense presence of the seed at a first location along the transport route, and a motor configured to drive movement of the seed transport mechanism to transport the seed from the first location to a second location in which the seed is released from the seed transport mechanism. A processing system is configured to track a position of the seed along the transport route based on an indication of the sensed presence of the seed at the first location and detected movement of the seed transport mechanism, and generate a motor operating parameter based on the tracked position of the seed and a target parameter for releasing the seed. The motor of the seeding system is operated based on the motor operating parameter.