DK180583B1 - Method for producing plants with increased root density, growth box construction and use of growth box construction - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for producing cultivated plants with enhanced root density and formation is provided whereby a layer of soil media (2) which has an open side facing upwards which side is exposed to moisture, temperature and light conditions in order to induce germination and establish growth of plants and which layer of soil media (2) has a downward facing side. According to the invention the downward facing side is allowed to dry out at least temporarily during growth of plants in the soil media (2).

Description

DK 180583 B1 1 A method for producing plants with enhanced root density, a growth box construction, and use of a growth box construction Field of invention The present invention relates to a method for producing plants.

It also relates to a growth box construction and its use.

Prior art It is known that seedlings, or plants which are to be planted out to an open field or into a greenhouse environment or into an otherwise new environment, should have a well-developed root structure, where it is of outmost importance that the root structure is sufficiently established for the plant to sustain the shift in environment thus to sustain the following growth and onset of enhanced evaporation from the leaves, which is bound to result from the shifting of environment.

It is also known, that any soil media in which the roots are embedded should preferably follow the plant during the move from one environment to the other, so that the roots are not subject to being stripped from the cultivation or soil media, as this might expose root filaments to an undesirable disturbance and cause a reduction in active root surface, thus reducing the growth potential of the living plant.

In prior art cultivation methods, a layer of soil media has an open side facing upwards which side is exposed to moisture, temperature and light conditions in order to induce germination and growth of plants and which layer of soil media also has a downward facing side which usually abuts a surface which strongly reduces the evaporation from the downward facing side, as the rationale is to keep the roots in a moist and humid condition to sustain plant development.

This results in long strands of roots seeking downwards or if the soil media is in a pot or container, and in a layer of predetermined thickness, the soil around the plant higher up in the pot may have little or no roots to keep the soil together.

When plants and soil media are taken out of the pot, the

DK 180583 B1 2 soil often tends to fall apart whereby the roots may be stripped from soil.

Also, traditional methods of pot cultivation promote a root bound structure, where roots due to limitation of space may form a pot bound structure, where the individual roots will run around in a circular pattern of the given volume of soil media, thus forming a growth pattern that will continue in a negative spiral thought the succeeding lifetime of the plant and inhibit the transplants growth due to undesirable root distribution.

From US 1912914 a growth container with mesh sides and bottom is known, whereby a water reservoir is provided below the mesh bottom, and a wicking means is provided to ensure that water from the reservoir shall keep the soil at the mesh sides and mesh bottom moist at all times.

From US 4050188 a seedling growing container such as a tray is known.

The container provided a drainage channel opening in a side of the bottom of respective compartments to permit side removal of the seedling and the entire root system including any portion of the root system which may have grown through the drainage opening.

Since the drainage channel opens at an open side of the compartments there is no obstruction to the removal of any roots which may have grown through and around the drainage passageway.

It is thus an object of the present invention to provide a method for producing cultivated plants with enhanced root density and formation, in the entire layer of soil media, whereby the beneficial root development is enhanced, and a negative root development such as spiral root structure in the sub-soil is suppressed.

DK 180583 B1 3 There is also a need for a growth box construction, which when used may support a method for this enhanced root development in plant cultivation.

Summary of the invention According to the invention the enhanced root growth is induced in seedlings and plants by cultivating transplants in a layer of soil media, which has an open side facing upwards, such that this side may be exposed to moisture such as by being watered.

This side is also exposed to temperature and light conditions in order to provoke germination and growth in any seed or plants residing in or at the open side of the soil media or soil media layer.

This is well known, however it has been discovered that when the plant is subject to drying out from below, this may induce each root end of the plants roots to branch into two or more root branches.

Application of this discovery is considered an important part of the invention.

Thus, a layer of soil media with plants or seedlings therein has a downward facing side, which is allowed to dry out at least temporarily during growth of the plants in the soil media.

The drying out is a measure witch results in what is known as air root pruning, and when pruned in this way, the root will develop side branches and thus form a denser network of multiple well-formed roots provided throughout the soil media.

The soil media layer is preferably 30- 90 mm thick and more preferred it has a thickness of 35- 65 mm and most preferred the thickness is between 40 mm and 55 mm.

With a thickness of around 45 mm most kinds of soil medias may be infused with water from the top to ensure that a reasonable moisture content is present down through the soil layer, also when the soil is allowed to dry out from below.

The seedlings and transplants will survive the drying out from below and not be harmed by it but gain resilience, as the more heavily branched out roots will ensure, that the entire plant and soil volume may be easy to move

DK 180583 B1 4 with its soil media held together by the roots.

The move of the plant thus takes place without further harming the roots, so the entire root structure and the soil in which it is embedded stays together during handling and transplanting of the plant from one environment into another harsher environment, where the dense forming of active root filaments promotes a more vigorous and successful establishment of the transplants.

Thus, a faster countering of enhanced air movements and other elements, which provokes evaporation of moisture from green parts of the plant is achieved.

The natural drying out from below should be sustained sufficiently long and with an intensity to ensure at least some root pruning and onset of newly developed roots in the lower 10- 15 mm of the soil media.

The requirements to moisture contents in order to achieve the root pruning and following branching may vary from culture to culture and is also influenced by temperature and soil mixture.

Natural drying of the downward facing side is however easily obtained in most climate zones, by natural circulation such as by convection or air movement caused by wind.

According to the invention, a number of further steps are carried out: - a mesh material layer spaced apart from a base and common plane is provided, and - a woven or matted material layer of predominantly organic origin is provided on an upward facing side of the mesh material layer and, - the layer of soil media is provided on top of the woven or matted material, whereby further, - air circulation is provided beneath the mesh material layer, in order to allow the woven or matted material layer to dry such that the downward facing side of the layer of soil media also is exposed to dry conditions at least temporarily.

DK 180583 B1

By the two layers: the mesh material layer and the woven or matted material layer, it is ensured, that the downward facing side of the soil media, which rests on the woven or matted material is exposed to evaporation as air which circulates between the base and the mesh 5 material layer, enhancing the evaporation in the downward direction from the underside of the woven or matted layer.

The mesh material layer provides the strength while at the same time leave the main part of any layer abutting the mesh from above open to air circulation.

The woven or matted material could not in itself carry the weight of the soil media and also, the mesh material could not prevent the soil from falling through the mesh.

But by the combined action, it is ensured that the soil media layer may be supported from below, above a surface and kept in place and be aerated at the same time.

The “predominantly organic origin” mentioned above means that the material layer contains more than 50% organic material, and preferably more than 90% organic material.

In most cases in-organic contents is negligible but not desirable for purposes of biodegradability.

The required distance or height between base and common plane and the mesh material depends on the extend of the layer of soil media, such that a wider continuous layer shall require a larger distance than a less spacious extend of the soil media.

It is preferred that the distance between an edge part of the soil layer and a point most distanced from an edge point is no less than 10 times the height between base and mesh material and most preferred no less than 12 times the height.

It is preferred that the soil media with established transplants is released from the underlaying layer of woven or matted material after a root mat is formed and root formation capable of holding together the soil media has developed.

The release can be made quite simple by hand.

Here an individual plant or more may be gently lifted away from

DK 180583 B1 6 the woven layer after a flat tool or fingers has been gently inserted between the matted or woven layer and the soil media. Due to the well- developed root structure, the soil media tends to come apart from the matted or woven layer in one piece held together by the roots.

In one embodiment, the plant is lifted away from the mesh material layer with the woven or matted material layer, in order to not disturb newly formed roots extending into the woven or matted material layer. If the matted or woven layer extends beyond the size of the mesh material layer, the matted or woven material layer may be folded up around the edges of the released soil to form a neat package, possibly ready for sale and/or transplant onto a different location. This works best, if the matted or woven material layer is of a biodegradable origin.

In a further embodiment, the woven or matted material layer with the soil media and plants therein is pulled off the mesh material layer and onto the ground. In doing this, the plants are all placed onto the ground or other growth media to continue their growth and if thoroughly watered the plants may now extend their roots down through the woven or matted material. This is an advantage in case plants are to mature on grounds which are not entirely free from weeds and seeds from weeds, as the layer of cultivated soil media added onto the ground shall at least temporarily allow the seedlings in the soil media an advantage and possibly it may be ensured, that by the time weeds have grown through the soil media from below, the cultivated utility plants are so well developed that they block out light to an extend where the weeds cannot develop any further. The woven or matted material may in this embodiment also be of a kind, which over a season shall decompose when embedded in the ground.

In a preferred embodiment, a partitioning wall grid is provided on top of the woven or matted material layer prior to adding the layer of soil

DK 180583 B1 7 media, and where each partition compartment receives one (or more if desired) seed or seedling, cutting or young plant in order to produce one plant. This ensures, that the roots of neighbouring plants do not become intertwined. Hereby even bigger plants may easily be separated with the layer of soil media in which they have been growing. In a further preferred embodiment of the method, the following step is performed. The partitioning wall grid is lifted away from the layer of soil media prior to the time where plants are released from the woven or matted material layer or lifted away from the mesh material layer with the woven or matted material. If individual pieces of woven or matted material layer is applied to individual partition compartments, these will become interconnected to the exterior of the soil media, held together by the roots of the individual plants as to further aid handling during lifting from the mesh material layer.

The invention further comprises a growth box construction comprising a layer of soil media wherein the soil is supported from below by a mesh material layer and distanced from a base and common plane. The distance between the ground or base and the mesh material layer ensures aeration from below of the soil media, and this allows for good control of root pruning by drying out from below of the soil media, and thereby enhances root development throughout the soil media layer.

According to the invention, a matted or woven material layer is provided between the soil media and the mesh material layer. This material layer may further ensure better distribution of moist content of the lower layers of the soil media, keep fine grain soil media from falling through the mesh material layer and serve as a carrier when the soil media with plants therein are to be released for from the mesh material layer for transplanting.

DK 180583 B1 8 This growth box construction further comprises: - ground supports which are arranged distanced from each other, and supports the mesh material layer from below and further are arranged to rest on the base in the common plane, - end walls which are fastened to the mesh material layer at two opposed ends of the mesh material and extend from the base and common plane and to a predetermined height above the mesh material layer and, - side rails provided at two opposed sides, on top of the ground supports and connected thereto and connected to the end walls and limited in an upward direction at or up to 5 mm above the predetermined height of the end walls.

This growth box construction is lightweight and easy to handle, and the ground supports ensures, that the mesh material layer does not sag and that the air circulation is ensured at all times. The ground supports are preferably constructed as laths stretching below the mesh material layer, from one side to an opposed side thereof and thereby between one side rail and an opposed side rail.

In an embodiment of the growth box construction, a partition grid wall is provided between the woven or matted material layer and the plane defined by the upper rim of end walls and side rails whereby, - width partition grid wall lists are provided, which are parallel to the end walls and - length partition grid wall lists are provided, which are parallel to the side rails, such that the partition walls divide the rectangular plane between end walls and side rails into a number of equally sized, square, and upwardly open partition compartments. By this embodiment it is ensured, that each plant may remain secluded from any neighbouring plants. A common woven or matted material layer may be provided underneath the grid wall or, in each partition.

DK 180583 B1 9 In one embodiment, a piece of matted or woven material may be provided, possibly folded up along the inner grid walls of the partition.

This construction allows the smaller pieces of woven or matted material to be released along with the soil material, when plants are released from the growth box.

It is further preferred that the partition grid wall lists at their intersections comprise cut outs which in the length direction corresponds to a thickness of the partition grid wall lists and extending halfway through the width of each list.

This construction allows the lists to be made in a simple and easy manner from wood, metal, cardboard or polymer elements.

The invention also comprises the use of the growth box construction in a method as claimed in claim 1. Description of the Drawings The invention will become more fully understood from the detailed description given herein below.

The accompanying drawings are given by way of illustration only, and thus, they are not limitative of the present invention.

In the accompanying drawings: Fig. 1 shows a schematic exploded 3D view of an example of a growth box construction (1) according to the invention; Fig. 2 shows a close-up, side view of a pair of partition grid wall lists according to an embodiment of the invention; Fig. 3 shows a top view, side view and end view of the growth box construction 1 without the mesh material layer 4; Fig. 4 shows side views from two orthogonal points of view of a connection between an end wall A and a side rail B with the mesh material layer 4 displayed;

DK 180583 B1 10 Fig. 5 left hand side shows a sectional view of a connection between a side rail B and a ground support C and the right-hand side shows a sideview from an orthogonal point of view of the same connection;

Fig. 6 shows a 3D representation of the growth box construction 1, without the partition grid wall 8, and the woven or matted material layer 6 and the soil media layer 2 added and;

Fig. 7 is an illustration showing the seedlings, one in each compartment of growth box construction, prior to possible transplanting of the cultivated plants.

Detailed description of the invention Referring now in detail to the drawings for the purpose of illustrating preferred embodiments of the present invention, an exploded view of the present invention is illustrated in Fig. 1. The growth box construction 1 has a base frame 3, which has end walls A and side rails B connected to form the rectangular base frame 3. Parallel to the end walls A, there are provided a number of equidistantly spaced apart ground supports C.

The end walls A and ground supports C are all placed to have a lower rim thereof abut one and the same common plane 7 (see Fig. 3) such that the base frame 3 may be placed at an even ground, here named base 5 (see Fig. 7) and be supported by the end walls A and ground supports C in combination.

The mentioned walls, rails and supports are in the disclosed embodiment provided as wooden laths, however any other suitable material such as polymer, fibre reinforced polymer, compressed wooden fibres, sheet metal, extruded or rolled metal profiles, cardboard or combinations of such materials may be used to make the structure.

DK 180583 B1 11 Side rails B are provided to rest on end parts of each of the ground supports C, and extend in an upward direction to a height slightly above the upper rim of end walls A. The ground supports C each have the same height, and their upper rims thus abuts a common plane. Hereon a mesh material layer 4 is placed. This material layer will thus be elevated from the base 5 and air may circulate freely between the base 5 and the mesh material layer 4 between the ground support laths C (see Fig. 6).

The mesh material layer 4 is here provided as a steel mesh with 19 mm openings, however differently shaped mesh materials may be utilized. This could be stretch iron mesh or various polymer, or polymer coated metal meshes. Also, biodegradable materials could be used for the mesh such as sisal or bamboo strands, wood or combinations thereof.

The soil material may be placed directly on top of the mesh material layer, provided a fine enough mesh is used, or as explained below placed on a woven or matted material placed on top of the mesh material layer.

On top of the mesh material layer 4, a layer of woven or matted material 6, is provided. This layer may be made from hesian, sisal or other coarse inexpensive fibre stands, such as woven hemp or combinations thereof. Other suitable polymer materials may also be utilized. The layer is principally provided in order that a soil media layer 2, placed on and carried by the mesh material layer 4, does not fall through the holes in the mesh. Matted, knitted or otherwise bonded strand materials of predominantly biological origin are used here, as long as the material layer ensures, that the soil media stays in place, and ensures that moisture may evaporate and escape relatively un- hindered downward through the layer.

DK 180583 B1 12 In Fig. 1, above the woven or matted material layer 6, there is provided partition grid walls 8, which partitions the plane above the matted or woven material layer into individual compartments 10, of equal size and preferably square in shape.

The woven or matted material layer 6 may, however also, be provided in pieces within each compartment, to be easily released with the soil material from the mesh material layer 4. Fig. 2 illustrates a close-up side view of a pair of partition grid wall lists according to an embodiment of the invention.

The lists K, L comprise a set of width partition walls K, which spans the width between the side rails B of the base frame 3, and length partition walls L, which spans the length between the end walls A.

As disclosed in Fig. 2, the two sets of partition grid walls are shaped as lists, and preferably wooden lists.

Again, other materials may be chosen, such as polymer, metal or fibrous materials such as cardboard depending on the desired durability and price of the material.

The lists are 8 mm wide, which is enough for the required strength when wooden lists are used, if other types of materials are utilized, a wider or narrower width measure may be appropriate.

Each of the lists K, L comprise cut outs 9 placed at each intersection of a width partition wall K with a length partition wall L, such that the two sets of lists may be assembled to form the square partitioning disclosed in Fig. 1. Fewer or more cut outs 9 (and walls L, K) may be used to generate larger or smaller compartments of the space between the end and side rails A, B forming the base frame 3. Also, non-square partitions are an option, and here the space between the cut outs on the width partition lists is smaller or larger than the space between the cut outs on the length partition wall lists.

It shall be noticed, that the length measures of the side and end rails A, B and corresponding width and length of partition walls K, L may vary without departing from the idea of the invention.

Also, the partitioning of the layer of soil media is not required in order to achieve the

DK 180583 B1 13 inventive and new method of ensuring enhanced root development of plants according to the invention. However, the compartmentalizing of the soil media layer is most useful in many situations and allows an improved way of providing plants to be transplanted out, such as in a field or in a greenhouse culture, whereby the transplants may be singled out, and due to the root development, the soil media around each plant will be held together, such that the individual plants may be handled without the soil and roots coming apart.

Fig. 3 shows at the left-hand side, a top view (lower left), side view (upper left) and end view (lover right) of the growth box construction 1 without the mesh material layer 4. At the lower right view, an enlarged view is inserted in a circle to illustrate that the side rail B is slightly higher than the end walls A. The outside measures of the base frame 3 are here 1570 mm X 1030 mm, however other measures may be used without departing from the idea of the invention. The used sizes are well suited, in case the base frame 3 is to be moved about on a palette, such as a standardized Euro-pallet. Other measures may be suggested in case a differently sized pallet is to be used. In the side view, it can be seen that the upper rim of the side rails B is slightly higher than the upper rim of the end walls A. This is a stacking aid measure, as the lower rims of the end walls A have a small recess 11 (seen in Fig. 4) which will ensure, that the lover rims of the end wall will stack onto the upper rims of end walls A onto which they are stacked. The recess 11 will be able to accommodate the height difference 12 (see left hand side of fig. 4) between the end wall A and side rail B and still allow a little slack in the sideway direction which is necessitated by the natural movements of the here used wooden parts. When produced in alternative materials, similar stacking aid measures may also be part of the structure.

DK 180583 B1 14 Fig. 4 shows side views from two orthogonal points of view of a connection between an end wall A and a side rail B with the mesh material layer 4 displayed. Here, the screws D are shown inside the wood, as well as staple positions F. The 19 mm steel mesh is labelled E and staple position F are seen in Fig. 4, whereby the stables are inserted from below up into the lover rim of the side rail B in order to hold the steel mesh E in place. Hight h indicates the level of the upper rim of end wall A above the mesh material layer 4.

It is to be understood that the steel mesh E here is one of several possible embodiments of the mesh material layer 4. The mesh E,4 may be mounted and assembled with the remaining growth box in other ways than the one disclosed here. Used stables may be supplemented with a pair of laths between which the mesh is wedged in along the sides and ends of the growth box construction.

The steel mesh E is bend downward at the ends, and staples are provided to fasten the mesh E to the inside of the end wall A as indicated in Fig. 4 with staple position at the inner vertical wall part of end wall A. In this figure, also the recess 11 is clearly visible along with the height 12 by which the side rail B exceeds the height of the end wall A.

Fig. 5 discloses at the left-hand side a sectional view of a connection between a side rail B and a ground support C. These again are connected by a screw D, inserted from below through the end part of the ground support C. As seen here, the steel mesh E extends on top of the ground support and underneath the side rail B. At the right-hand side a sideview from an orthogonal point of view of the same connection may be seen. And in both views, a small recess 13 is visible at the ground support end. The recess 13 forms a platform wherein the screw D is inserted, and also when stacking base frames 3 on top of each

DK 180583 B1 15 other to form a stack of growth box elements, the recess 13 helps as a guide to ensure that the stack of growth boxes is stable, and each stacked base frame 3 is exactly on top of the one below. The screws in Fig. 4 are not the same screw as disclosed in Fig. 5 as they sit in each their part of the construction, but same size screws are used, and thus they are labelled D in both illustrations. Fig. 6 shows a 3D representation of the growth box construction 1, without the partition grid wall 8 and the woven or matted material layer and the soil media layer 2 added. The mesh material layer 4 is shown and here it is a steel mesh E with a mesh size of 19 mm. In Fig. 7 the entire growth box construction 1, with partition grid wall 8 is disclosed with each partition compartment 10 filled with a layer of soil media 2, which has an overall thickness commensurate with the distance from the woven or matted material to the upper rim of the with and length partition walls K, L. The partition grid walls 8 may be elevated and plants may be picked up individually from each their seat within the partition compartments 10.

If no partition grid wall 8 is added prior to planting or sowing, the entire layer of soil media may be pulled off the base frame 3 to slide onto a growing bed prepared thereof for the plants to develop into maturity as they were initially positioned in the soil media within the base frame 3.

DK 180583 B1 16 List of reference numerals A -End wall B -Side rail C -Ground support D -Screw E -19 mm steel mesh F -Staple position K -Width partition wall L -Length partition wall h - Hight of end wall above mesh material 1 -Growth box construction 2 -Layer of soil media 3 -Base frame 4 -Mesh material layer 5 -Base 6 -Woven or matted material layer 7 -Common plane 8 -Partition grid wall 9 -Cut outs 10 -Partition compartment 11 -Recess of end wall A 12 -Height which side rail exceeds the end rail 13 -Recess of ground support C

Claims (11)

DK 180583 B1 1 Patentkrav A method for growing plants or seedlings with increased root density and formation, wherein a layer of soil media (2) having an open upwardly facing side so that this side is exposed to moisture, temperature and light conditions to induce plant germination and growth, and which layer of soil media (2) has a downwardly facing side, wherein - the method comprises the following further steps: - providing a net material layer (4) separated from a base (5) and a common plane (7), - providing a woven or entangled material layer (6) of predominantly organic origin on the net material layer (4) and - providing the layer of soil media (2) on the woven or entangled material layer (6), which method is further characterized in that - air circulation is provided below the net material layer (6) to - enable the woven or entangled material layer to dry so that the - downwardly facing side of the soil media layer is also exposed to dry conditions, so that the downward-facing side is allowed to dry out at least temporarily during the growth of the plants in the soil media (2) in order to obtain air pruning of the roots. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the soil media layer is 30 - 90 mm thick - and more preferably that it has a thickness of 35-65 mm, and most preferably that the thickness is between 40 mm and 55 mm. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the soil media (2) are released from the underlying layer of woven or entangled material (6) after development of a root mat which can hold the soil media together. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that the woven or entangled material layer (6) with the soil media (2) and plants therein is pulled by the net material layer (4) and onto the soil. Method according to claim 2, characterized in that a partition grid wall (8) DK 180583 B1 2 is provided on top of the woven or entangled layer of material (6) before adding the layer of soil media (2), and where each separate space (10) receives one / one seed, seedling, cutting or young plant (or several thereof) for to produce one plant. Method according to claim 5, characterized in that the method comprises the following steps: the partition grid wall (8) is lifted away from the layer of soil media (2) before the time when plants are released from the net material layer (4) with or without the woven or entangled material layer (6). ). Growth box construction (1), comprising a layer of soil media (2), the soil media (2) being supported by a net material layer (4), characterized in that the net material is separated from a base (5) and a common plane (7) to ensure air circulation and aeration of the soil media from below, and in that a woven or entangled layer of material is provided between the soil media (2) and the net material layer (4). Growth box structure (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that the growth box structure (1) further comprises: - ground supports (C) arranged at a distance from each other and supporting the net material layer (4) and furthermore arranged so as to rest on the base (5) of the common plane (7), - end walls (A) attached to the mesh material layer (4) at two opposite ends thereof and extending from the base (5) and the common plane (7) and to a predetermined height (h) above the mesh layer (4) and - side rails (B) provided at two opposite sides on top of the ground supports (C) and connected thereto and with the end walls (A) and bounded in an upward direction by or up to 5 mm above the predetermined height of the end walls (A). Growth box construction (1) according to claim 8, characterized in that a partition grid wall (8) is provided between the woven or entangled layer of material (6) and the plane defined by the upper edge of end walls (A) and side rails (B), wherein - width partition lattice walls (K) are provided which are parallel to the end walls (A), and - length lattice partitions (L) are provided which are parallel to the side rails (B) so that the partitions (K, L) divide it rectangular planes between end walls (A) and side rails (B) in a number of uniformly dimensioned, rectangular or square and separate spaces (10) open upwards. DK 180583 B1 3 Growing box structure (1) according to claim 9, characterized in that the partition lattice wall strips (K, L) at cuts thereof comprise cutouts corresponding in length to a thickness of the partition lattice wall strips (K, L) and extending halfway through the width of each strip ( K, L). Use of a growth box structure (1) according to claim 7 in a method according to claim 1.