Abstract:
Full-process mechanization is often required in garlic production. However, it is also constrained by fragmented agronomic practices, complex clove morphology, and complex fields. In this review, recent technological advancements were summarized to identify engineering bottlenecks and future trajectories for garlic equipment. Three stages were covered, including planting, field management, and harvesting. A systematic evaluation was implemented on the mechanisms, structure, and performance indicators of the representative mechanical and intelligent devices, according to precision seed metering, garlic clove orientation, vertical planting, plastic mulching, seedling film breaking, garlic scape harvesting, and bulb harvesting. Technical pathways were also assessed under agronomic constraints, soil-crop-machine interactions, and field adaptability. Recent progress indicated that breakthroughs were achieved in the key components. Specifically, the chain-spoon and two-stage seed metering devices, enhanced by multi-disturbance cleaning and dual-chamber filling, achieved the qualification rates of single seed. Orientation of garlic cloves was adjusted from purely mechanical to intelligent approaches, with the overall orientation accuracies now commonly exceeding 85% under various conditions. Dynamic stability was required to optimize high-speed field. Mulching technology evolved from single-task to combined machines that coordinated fertilization, spraying, and drip irrigation. In seedling film-breaking, there were early-stage robotic and thermal techniques, rather than conventional manual ones; Prototype testing verified that the thermal cutting system of the Delta manipulator demonstrated high success rates with low seedling damage. In garlic scape harvesting, micro-vibration extraction effectively reduced mechanical damage to disrupt static friction constraints between scapes and leaf sheaths. Vision-guided clamping systems significantly improved target localization precision. In bulb harvesting, one- and two-dimensional vibration digging shovels reduced soil resistance after active excitation and biomimetic design. Flexible clamping conveying mechanisms and adaptive root cutting devices substantially improved the consistency over various planting row spacings. Furthermore, deep learning algorithms were used for non-contact bulb positioning and automatic root cutting, with high root-cutting qualification rates. The capacitive and laser sensors were utilized to integrate real-time monitoring and automatic reseeding mechanisms. Field leakage was substantially enhanced to effectively compensate for the overall seeding qualified indices. Commercial translation of laboratory prototypes was hindered by three technical bottlenecks: The absence of agronomic standards led to low adaptability of equipment in various regions. Key components shared low reliability and low resistance to damage under continuous fields. Intelligent control systems were in open- or semi-closed-loop configurations without robust data fusion in real time. Consequently, full-process mechanization was required to shift from individual equipment to integrated systems. Future research should prioritize standardizing regional agronomic practices for multi-regional adaptability. Flexible bionic and wear-resistant components can be developed with data-driven reliability evaluation. Edge-cloud collaborative intelligent control can be deployed for real-time adaptation. Garlic machinery is expected for autonomous, low-damage, and high-efficiency intelligent systems in sustainable and high-quality industry.