Objective  To meet the requirement of field flatness in rice planting, reduce the number of times that tractors enter the field, improve the effect and quality of beating and leveling, and realize beating and leveling through one field entry.

Method  A beating-leveler was developed using the principle of beating followed with leveling. The beating machine, automatic leveling mechanism and automatic elevation adjusting mechanism were developed. Field experiments were performed using the laser-controlled leveling system integrated with automatic leveling function. The roll angles of the tractor and the beating-leveler were respectively measured using two attitude and heading reference systems (AHRS). Field flatness before and after leveling operation was measured using a balance level.

Result  The roll angle of the beating-leveler maintained within ±1°, while the roll angle of the tractor varied within ±4.5°, indicating that the automatic leveling system obviously improved the leveling stability of the beating-leveler in paddy field. The maximum height difference of the field surface reduced from 17.7 cm (before operation) to 6.7 cm (after operation). Its standard deviation reduced from 4.08 cm (before operation) to 1.75 cm (after operation). The percentage of sampling points with absolute difference of ≤ 3 cm increased from 62% (before operation) to 82% (after operation).

Conclusion  The laser-controlled beating-leveler can significantly enhance the flatness of the field surface.