Abstract: Ma yam is highly prized due to its nutritional and medicinal properties, making it a popular choice among consumers. Currently, the harvesting of Ma yam primarily relies on manual labor or a combination of machinery and manual work, with a scarcity of specialized harvesting machinery, which results in dispelling the enthusiasm of farmers to grow yam, and hindering the sustainable development of the Ma yam planting industry. In this paper, in response to the agronomic practices and harvesting requirements of ma yam cultivation, designs a vibration soil crushing device for a ma yam harvester. The ma yam harvester is connected to a tractor via a suspension device. The harvester primarily consists of a suspension device, a ditching device, an soil removal device, a vibration soil crushing device, and a frame. The vibration soil crushing device is composed of an eccentric wheel, soil crushing plates, and soil crushing shovels, and it is powered by the tractor’s rear power take-off shaft. During operation, the trenching device creates deep trenches on either sides of the Ma yam plants. Following this, the vibration soil crushing device is employed, which applies vibrations to the soil surrounding the Ma yam, crushing it up and exposing the roots. The vibration soil crushing device consists of an eccentric wheel, support plate, connecting plate, soil crushing plate, and soil crushing shovel. It is powered by the tractor’s rear power take-off shaft. Driven by the eccentric wheel, the soil crushing plate and shovel oscillate rhythmically, crushing up the soil through vibration to separate the Ma yam from the earth. The trenching device boasts a depth of 1 400 mm and a width of 100 mm, which results in a central soil ridge that measures 250 mm post-trenching. The soil crushing shovel measures 250 mm in width, with a grid length of 200 mm and a 20mm spacing. The soil crushing plate, extending 120mm, features rectangular teeth that are evenly distributed. Each tooth measures 80mm in length and 50 mm in width, set at an 85° angle to the horizontal plane. A discrete element simulation model of the Ma yam-soil-vibration soil crushing device was developed using EDEM 2020 software, and simulation analysis for the effects of operating speed, vibration frequency, and vibration amplitude on soil fragmentation and Ma yam damage rates was carried out. Design-Expert 13 software was utilized to conduct response surface methodology for assessing the significance of each factor and their interactions. The research findings highlighted that operating speed and vibration amplitude play a significantly crucial role in determining the rate of soil fragmentation. Specifically, the vibration amplitude had a notable impact on the damage rate of ma yam. Through a series of experiments, the optimal combination of operating parameters was determined to be an operating speed of 0.135 km/h, a vibration frequency of 8 Hz, and a vibration amplitude of 45 mm. A prototype was fabricated, and field trials were carried out in a Ma yam experimental field in Baoding City, Hebei Province. The damage rate of Ma yam served as the primary evaluation index. The experimental factors included the operating speed of the machinery and the vibration amplitude of the soil crushing device. The soil type in the experimental field was characterized as sandy loam.The results showed that the relative error between the field trial outcomes for ma yam damage rates and the simulation results was under 10%. With the optimal operating parameters, the damage rate of ma yam was reduced to 8.47%, effectively meeting the harvesting needs of farmers for ma yam. This research provides a technical framework for root crop harvesting machinery development, particularly applicable to geophyte species with fragile underground organs.