In order to improve the mechanization degree of vegetable plug seedlings pickup, realize the automatic seedlings pickup of vegetable plug seedlings and improve the seedlings pickup efficiency, a kind of pickup mechanism for exploring and pickingpushing vegetable plug seedlings was studied and designed, which can realize the action of picking up and pushing plug seedlings quickly. Big fruit chili plug seedlings were taken as the objects of seedling pickup. The working principle of seedlings pickup mechanism was analyzed, the kinematic model of the mechanism was established, its optimization goal was established, and the visual auxiliary analysis software was developed by using Visual Basic 6.0. the optimum parameters to meet the requirements were optimized and the corresponding theoretical trajectory was formed. The threedimensional model was established, the virtual simulation design of the model was carried out, and the simulation trajectory was obtained. 3D printing technology was used to manufacture the test prototype, and the actual trajectory of the test prototype was extracted by using highspeed photography technology, and the consistency between the actual trajectory and the theoretical trajectory and the simulation trajectory was verified. In order to make the effect of the test prototype consistent with the actual mechanism, the maximum entry force of the actual seedling needle was measured, and the maximum pedestal soil force of the test prototype was calculated by using the principle of similarity theory, and the optimum matrix ratio of the plug soil was 0.4. The seedling pickup test was completed. The success rate of seedlings pickup was 96.87%, which met the requirements of vegetable plug seedlings pickup and verified the correctness and feasibility of the mechanism design.