Design and Experiment of Intelligent Mechanical Weeding System Based on DEM–MBD Coupling

Weed control is crucial for safeguarding the yield and quality of fresh maize. To achieve comprehensive, low-damage removal of weeds in fresh maize fields, an intelligent mechanical weeding system was developed. Based on the spatial distribution of maize seedling roots and agronomic requirements, a three-dimensional protection zone was established and a dedicated intra-row weeding knife was designed. An EDEM–RecurDyn co-simulation was then performed; single-factor and orthogonal experiments were used to evaluate the effects of operating speed, hydraulic cylinder extension–retraction speed, and knife bending angle on the coverage rate and intrusion rate, and to determine the optimal parameter combination. Seedling detection and field weeding trials were subsequently conducted. The detection accuracies under good and low illumination were 95.82% and 93.32%, respectively. Under the optimal settings (operating speed 1.5 km/h, hydraulic cylinder extension–retraction speed 0.22 m/s, and knife bending angle 20°), the system achieved a mean weeding rate of 90.79% and a mean seedling damage rate of 2.27%. The results demonstrate stable performance and confirm that the proposed system meets the requirements for comprehensive, low-damage weeding in fresh maize fields, providing a reference for the design of intelligent mechanical weeding equipment.