Abstract:Aiming to address the low efficiency of conventional sowing techniques in soybean breeding, as well as frequent seed-rope loosening/breakage and excessive furrow -opening resistance, a seed guide - ditching system integrating damping control with an exponential guide curve was developed. Through mechanical analysis combined with discrete element method (DEM) simulations, the dynamic regulation mechanism of the damping torque in the seed-rope guiding device was elucidated, and an exponential-function based optimization method for the nose guide curve was proposed. A centrifugal force-amplified, negatively correlated friction damper and a seed-rope furrow opener were designed as the core components. A three-factor, five-level orthogonal rotational combination experiment was conducted with guiding-tube outer diameter, entry angle, and seeding depth as the experimental factors, while EDEM simulations were used to clarify the interactive effects of these factors on draft force and soil disturbance. The results showed that the guiding-tube outer diameter had a highly significant effect on all performance indices (P<0.01). The optimal parameter combination was a 30 mm outer diameter of the guide tube, 32°entry angle, and 45 mm seeding depth, under which the draft force was reduced to 360.1 N and the soil disturbance coefficient was controlled at 23.4%. Field validation confirmed that the optimized device operated with a draft force below 369 N and produced furrows with a soil disturbance coefficient below 29%. With the damping device installed, the seed-rope loosening length remained below 26 mm and no seed-rope breakage occured, meeting the high-precision sowing requirements of soybean breeding.