In the fragmented and small-scale fields of southern hilly regions, field-based mud collection is crucial for rice seedling cultivation. While mechanized mud collection can reduce costs, save time and labor, and improve seedling adaptability, challenges such as the hard underlying layer and uneven mud surface in paddy fields complicate dynamic adjustment of operational parameters. This results in unstable mud collection quantities and difficulties in achieving continuous field-based mud collection and seedling cultivation. A control system model for mud collection was developed by using Matlab / Simulink, targeting mud mass as the control objective, with mud collection depth and spiral conveyor speed as controlled variables, employing a fuzzy PID control approach. Simulation results showed that at a forward speed of 0.15 m / s, the mud mass in the storage tank was stabilized within 18 s, with an overshoot of 0.125% . To validate the system’s performance, a test rig equipped with displacement, pressure, and tilt sensors, and a PLC1200 controller was constructed. Experimental results indicated that the maximum standard deviation of mud mass was 0.46 kg, with a minimum of 0.21 kg;the maximum and minimum mud masses in the storage tank were 8.8 kg and 7.1 kg, respectively. The system effectively met field operational requirements, with no mud accumulation observed at the front end of the spiral conveyor. The successful implementation of this control system enabled more efficient and simplified rice cultivation. This system can provide a promising solution for improving agricultural productivity in fragmented and challenging terrains.