News » 18.06.2025 - New system reduces greenhouse planting effort by more than 60%
A team from the University of Almería's Engineering Faculty, together with colleagues from the University of Huelva, has developed a pneumatic tool that can be attached to a greenhouse's standard work cart and reduces the force required to plant seedlings by more than 60%. The device provides greater stability to the applied force, reducing the physical strain of making the holes traditionally. This results in fewer muscle and joint complaints, increasing occupational safety.
According to the "Design and implementation of a pneumatic machine for ergonomic greenhouse planting" article published in Smart Agricultural Technology, the system is based on a compressed air mechanism that drives a pneumatic piston towards the ground to make holes in it. The tip is the size of the root ball, so the plant perfectly fits in the hole it creates. The device can be easily attached to a standard trolley and works manually. Producers only have to move the cart to the desired point, operate the valve, and the machine does the rest: It drills the soil, retracts, and is ready for the next hole. So far, producers have used a steel pipe to punch the holes manually.
The innovation seeks to improve the worker's working posture in an affordable and simple way. No technical knowledge is required for the operation.
Various tests were carried out in a greenhouse at the University of Almería to ensure its effectiveness. The team took two common types of soil in Almería: A sandy soil with many stones and an even more sandy soil. After measuring the soil hardness, they found that the machine works well even on heavier soils, simply by adjusting the air pressure of the machine.
They also tested the accuracy of the holes' depth (ideally 8 cm) and compared the force workers used to make the holes with and without the machine. The new system decreases the force a worker must exert by 60%. In the traditional method, a worker must make 60 kilos of effort per stroke with the steel pipe, with this tool, 19.
The system is robust and requires little maintenance. It is also faster and more efficient than working manually. In the long term, it saves costs and improves the quality of the plantation.
The researchers stressed that the mechanism is scalable. "It could be implemented in a robot, automated to make the holes by itself, or to automatically adjust the air pressure based on the kind of ground. For the moment, however, it's only for experimental farms. Not for small producers," they stated.
At the moment, it's in its initial developmental stage, financed with the researcher's own funds. Researchers are working on multiple tools to improve ergonomics in the horticultural sector.
Source: www.fundaciondescubre.es
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