The development of planters requires meticulous consideration of crop seed engineering properties to achieve high accuracy and minimize damage. A study was conducted on the engineering properties of various crops grown as intercrops and accordingly the crops were categorized into three groups viz. large (GMD > 8.5 mm), medium (4.5 mm < GMD < 8.5 mm), and small (GMD < 4.5 mm) size category. Seed metering rollers with elliptical cells were designed for these groups, featuring exposure lengths of 28 mm, 19 mm, and 15 mm and cell counts of 8, 12, and 20 for large, medium, and small size category seeds, respectively. The results of laboratory evaluation of developed seed metering roller showed cell fill percentages exceeding 98% at peripheral speeds of 0.02–0.16 m/s for large and medium size category seeds and 0.02–0.20 m/s for small size category seeds, with seed damage remaining below 0.5%. These results affirm that the seed metering mechanism preserves seed viability when operated within the identified speed limits, providing reliable performance for various seed sizes. Further the field trial of a planter equipped with the developed seed metering rollers were conducted for three intercrop combinations: castor with cowpea, pigeon pea with green gram, and castor with green gram. The planter exhibited high precision and operational efficiency, with a missing index of 3.02–3.08%, quality feed index of 93.99–94.11%, field efficiency of 77.87–78.93%, and fuel consumption of 2.92–2.98 l/h. These results demonstrate the mechanism’s reliability and adaptability for intercropping in diverse agricultural scenarios.