The space lotus was used to study the appropriate method of breaking and threshing fresh lotus seedpods to achieve the mechanized threshing of lotus seedpods with high efficiency and low damage. The content of moisture， the characteristics of appearance， and mechanical properties of lotus seedpods with different maturity were studied， with a focus on the failure patterns of tissues in lotus seedpods under three modes of loading including shear， tension， and puncture. The results showed that the content of moisture in lotus seedpods was the highest in seeds and the lowest in epidermis. The content of moisture in epidermis significantly decreased with the decrease of the content of moisture in lotus seedpods. The shear and tensile properties of epidermis in the lotus seedpods were obviously anisotropic， and the mode of loading significantly affected the rupture force of shear and tension. The rupture force of transverse shear and axial tension in the epidermis of lotus seedpods gradually increased with the increase of maturity， increasing from 13.32 to 21.91 N and 13.70 to 37.38 N， respectively. There was no significant change in the rupture force of longitudinal shear and transverse tension. The speed of loading had no significant effect on the rupture force of shear and tension in the epidermis. The average rupture force of tension in fiber tissues of lotus seedpods was larger at the stage of ripening， approximately 17.19 N. There was no significant difference in the average tensile strength between the stage of milk ripening and the stage of wax ripening， and the speed of loading had no significant effect on the tensile strength of the fiber tissues. Epidermal puncture damage of lotus seedpod was not affected by epidermal anisotropy. The rupture force of puncture in lotus seedpod decreased gradually with the increase of maturity， while the rupture force of epidermal puncture increased gradually. The rupture force of surface puncture and epidermal puncture increased with the increase of the diameter of the probe， with the maximum value of 21.60， 32.05， and 39.25 N， respectively. The effect of epidermal loading on the rupture force was in the decreasing order of mode of loading >maturity> speed of loading. It is indicated that the puncture loading was used first to destroy the lotus seedpod to achieve the damage with less destructive power， and then the tensile cracking force was used to achieve the efficient tearing of the lotus seed. It will provide theoretical basis for designing machines of peeling and threshing the fresh lotus seedpods.