Abstract: India is the second-largest producer of vegetables in the world. A major portion of the area under vegetable cultivation
is now sown with costly hybrid seeds, for higher yields and quality. Since hybrid seeds are costly, it is necessary to achieve
maximum germination with healthy plants. This is achieved by growing vegetable seedlings in plug trays and then transplanting
them in the field. In this method, growing media is filled in trays and one seed is manually placed in each slot. After seeding,
the trays are regularly watered. The main objective of our project is to bring low-cost automation in the seed sowing process in
nurseries, to reduce labor. The seeds are sowed automatically by the machine in the individual slots in the tray. This is done
using the Infra-Red sensor and other actuation mechanisms. The tray is placed in the conveyor which is operated by the motor
and at a certain position of the tray on the conveyor, the cocopeat is filled up to half in each slot through a hopper. Then the
tray is held there and the seeds are dropped from the top by a seed feeder arrangement. Then the remaining cocopeat is added.
Keywords: vegetables, cultivation, nurseries, seed sowing, low-cost, reduce labor, automation, tray, sensor, actuation, cocopeat