Design and Testing of a Self-propelled Trenching and Mulching Machine for Desert Gobi Sand Substrate
摘要
Desertification poses a serious threat to human development and sustainability. In the northwestern regions of China, harsh land conditions dominated by deserts, Gobi, and saline-alkali land significantly constrain high-quality agricultural development. In recent years, China has promoted facility agriculture in non-arable areas to address the shortage of arable land resources. In facility agriculture, soilless cultivation techniques are predominantly used, and the embedded substrate cultivation model has been widely applied in desertified areas. This model features functions such as evaporation suppression with plastic film, water retention and conservation, rainwater harvesting, and drought resistance. It also effectively prevents issues such as low-temperature stress and soil continuous cropping obstacles, thereby enhancing the yield of fruits and vegetables. In solar greenhouses, challenges such as limited space, sandy soils, large traditional trenching and mulching machines, low trenching quality, and suboptimal soil throwing performance are prevalent. Therefore, developing a trenching device suitable for the sandy substrate cultivation model in solar greenhouses is of great significance.