Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01G—HORTICULTURE; CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, RICE, FRUIT, VINES, HOPS OR SEAWEED; FORESTRY; WATERING
  • A01G24/00—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor
  • A01G24/20—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor based on or containing natural organic material
  • A01G24/22—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor based on or containing natural organic material containing plant material
  • A01G24/23—Wood, e.g. wood chips or sawdust
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01G—HORTICULTURE; CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, RICE, FRUIT, VINES, HOPS OR SEAWEED; FORESTRY; WATERING
  • A01G24/00—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor
  • A01G24/40—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor characterised by their structure
  • A01G24/44—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor characterised by their structure in block, mat or sheet form

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a plant cultivator preferably a cultivator for cultivating conifer plants, such as spruce and pine plants, comprising a body of cultivating substrate having a surface which can be placed on a substratum.
• the cultivating-substrate body normally comprises compress ed peat, and in particular so-called Sphagnum-peat, in the form of .a slab in which seeds can be planted for sub ⁇ sequent germination.
• compress ed peat and in particular so-called Sphagnum-peat
• the compressed-peat cultivating body does not retain its shape or form when coming into contact - with water, particularly water used to initiate germinat ⁇ ion of the seed.
• This instability of the cultivating body also presents a problem when handling the cultivating bodies mechanically, both in conjunction with their manu ⁇ facture and when placing out the cultivating bodies with plants rooted therein.
• the cultivat ⁇ ing body incorporates hydrophilic microporous particles of relatively high density, such that the water with which the material is brought into contact is taken up in the icropores of the material and forms colloidal solutions while swelling.
• the spaces between the particles of micro ⁇ porous material form macropores which render the body permeable to air even when saturated with water, such as to enable the roots, of the plant to penetrate the culti ⁇ vating medium.
• a microporous mate ⁇ rial which, fulfils these requirements is one in which the micropores have a mean particle size of between 10 um and 30 um, and in which the macropores forming the particle interspaces have a mean particle size of between 30 and
• the improved cultivator is charac ⁇ terized in that the cultivating body comprises hydrophilic particles of a relatively dense microporous material, in which the micropores have a mean particle size between 10 and 30 j im and the spaces between the particles form macro ⁇ pores of a mean particle size between 30 and 300 jum.
• a common usage to "which bodies of cultivating sub ⁇ strate of the aforesaid kind are put is the so-called air ⁇ space cultivation of plants.
• the cultivating ° ⁇ body is covered with a thermoplastic casing, there being provided an opening on each side of the body.
• the one opening facing towards the upper side of the body is in ⁇ tended to leave room for the forestry plant to sprout from the substrate subsequent to germination, while the other opening serves 'the purpose of cultivating the plant on so-called air spaces, the purpose of the latter being to .prevent the roots formed upon germination of the seed from growing out from the. underside.
• the moisture-retaining casing embracing the cul ⁇ tivating substrate also serves, inter alia, as a heat- absorption means, to increase the temperature of the sub ⁇ strate, or as a heat-reflecting means, to lower the tem ⁇ perature of the substrate to a level beneath ambient tem- perature, the alternative chosen depending upon prevailing climatic conditions.
• a cultivating body of the afore-described kind is characte ⁇ rized in that it is embraced by a casing whiph prevents, undesirable release of moisture from the body.
• the aforesaid casing does not cover, or only partially covers that surface of the plant cultivator which rests against a substratum subsequent to setting the plant grown on air spaces - to enable cultivat ion on air spaces and to permit the roots to penetrate down into the ground subsequent to placing-out the plant on the ground.
• the cultivation of-plants on air spaces suitably takes place in a nursery, whereafter the young plants are transported to the region in which, they are intended to grow.
• the cultivating substrate tends to dry out, with, the subsequent risk of inhibiting plant growth.. It is therefore necessary to water the cultivating substrate.
• subsequent to dry ⁇ ing out once or twice it is extremely difficult to water compressed-peat cultivating substrate with sufficient speed or to a sufficient extent. It is difficult to say why this is so, but can be assumed that resins are present in the peat, or are formed therein, and result in a change in direction towards hydrophobization of_the material. which in turn makes it more difficult to wet the material.
• peat Another disadvantage with peat is that the material is heavily compressed in order to prevent its dense port- ions from swelling expressively when a cultivating body is subsequently watered, thereby reducing the air perme ⁇ ability of the material at times to an extent in which the air permeability is too low.
• a particular suitable material is one which com ⁇ prises cellulose fibres derived from the chemical digest- ion of softwood or coniforous wood, i.e. primarily spruce and pine.
• the wood may have been digested in accordance with sulphate method or the sulphite method.
• Such a material may be formed into substrate bodies by heavily compressing a felt of cellulose fibres, for example fibres of the kind obtained as residue in the manufacture of paper, at a pressure of, for example,
• a relatively dense fibre cloth which is then cut with, the aid of a suitable cutting tool into chips of suitable length, for example between 2 and 50 mm, and suitable width., for example between 0.5 and 5 mm, depending upon the type of plant to be grown and the pre ⁇ vailing climatic conditions, whereafter the chips are collected to form a block having the same dimensions as a desired cultivating body.
• the block is then enclosed in a thermoplastic foil casing-to form a cultivating body, which is provided with openings on two large surfaces, one to accomodate the plant which sprouts subsequent to germination, and one which, when cultivating on air spaces, prevents the roots from passing out on the side facing the ground.
• the casing can be 5 applied in the form of a tightly fitting and/or adhering . film, adhesive layer or the like.
• the film or adhesive layer can suitably be applied with the aid of a solution or emulsion of a polymeric plastic or a thermoplastic melt.
• the protective 0 casing for the cultivating body may be covered with a film or foil in a manner similar .to that in which diffe ⁇ rent kinds of goods are packed (skin packing method).
• skin packing method Another conceivable method is one of injection moulding the casing and then bringing the casing to embrace the 5 cultivating body.
• the casing When the casing has the form of a foil or an adhesive layer, the casing may suitably be applied by immersing the cultivating body in a bath of molten thermoplastic film-forming or adhesive-layer forming material.
• the cultivating body normally comprises a square, preferably quadrangular plate. It will be understood, how ⁇ ever, that the cultivating body may also be given other shapes, such, as a circular shape. A circular shape affords the advantage of enabling the casing to be fitted tightly 5 more readily.
• the film-forming solution or emulsion applied to form a protective casing on a cultivating body, or the actual film or foil itself, placed around the cultivating body may be pigmented.
• a black pigment so as to impart heat-radiation absorbing properties to the film or foil, thereby influencing the germination process in a 5 positive sense.
• a further development of the invention enables plants to be propagated in a manner which has proved to be more successful than those methods hitherto applied.
• a small culti ⁇ vating body is taken from the upper side of a large culti ⁇ vating body, therewith leaving a corresponding recess in the larger body.
• the smaller cultivating body co ' ntains the seed from which the plant is grown. The seed is germinated
• the invention can be applied in the culti ⁇ vation of many different types of plant, it has been found particularly advantageous in respect of the cultivation 0 of forestry plants, primarily coniferous plants, such as spruce and pine plants.
• the plant cultivator according to the invention simplifies the cultivation of such plants, which is often undertaken on a large scale, and the use of the cultivator represents a considerable rationalizat- 5 ion.
• Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view in perspective of a cultivating body according to the invention? and 0 Figure 2 illustrates the cultivating body of Figure
• Figure 1 comprises a body 1 of material suitable for plant cultivating pur- 5 poses and a seed 3 planted in a hole in the body.
• the seed has been germinated in a plant nursery, by adding water
• the cultivating medium 7 comprises compre-ssed aggregates of cellulose fibre obtained from coniferous
• the dimensions of the aggregate is adapted so that the cultivating medium composed thereof obtains a given porosity with pores having a mean poor size of between 30 and 300 ⁇ m.
• the cellulose fibre cloth has a denseness such that the mean pore size of the inner pores lies at
• An important feature of the invention resides in the combination of long-term, water-absorption ability, through the capillary and colloidal system of the dense part of the cultivating body, and the ability- to replenish
• Figure 2 illustrates the cultivating body 1 of Figure 1 enclosed in a protective casing in the form of
• the plant culti- vator comprising the body 1 of cultivating medium and Sie protective casing 2, has been placed on an air space andr watered, causing the seed 3 to germinate and a plant 5 to grow, said plant sprouting through the opening 4.
• the protective casing 2 is intended to reduce the risk of the cultivating medium drying out, while being permeable to water vapour at the same time. As shown in broken lines, the protective casing 2 does not cover, or only " partially covers the undersurface of the cultivating body 1. This prevents the roots of the plant from growing outwardly from the undersurface of the plant cultivator during cul ⁇ tivation on an air space. Subsequent to being placed on intended growing sites, the roots are able to penetrate into the ground and enable the plant to root therein.

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• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Environmental Sciences (AREA)
• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Biodiversity & Conservation Biology (AREA)
• Ecology (AREA)
• Forests & Forestry (AREA)
• Wood Science & Technology (AREA)
• Cultivation Of Plants (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

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Family Applications (1)

Country Status (4)

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• 1984
  • 1984-01-23 SE SE8400327A patent/SE8400327L/ not_active Application Discontinuation
• 1985
  • 1985-01-22 AU AU38841/85A patent/AU3884185A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1985-01-22 EP EP85900801A patent/EP0168468A1/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 1985-01-22 WO PCT/SE1985/000022 patent/WO1985003192A1/en unknown

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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