FI129519B - Method of protecting plants against plant pest - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for protecting seedlings (2) from pests, in which method the bases of the seedlings (2) are coated with a non-toxic protective agent which, when dried, forms a mechanical protective layer on the surfaces of the seedlings (2). In the method - the seedlings are packed in packaging boxes (6) before said protective agent is sprayed on the surfaces of the seedlings (2), - said protective agent is sprayed on the surfaces of the seedlings (2) inside the packaging box (6), and - said protective agent is dried inside the packing box (6) during storage. The invention also relates to a system for applying a preservative to the surface of seedlings (2).

Description

The invention relates to a method for protecting seedlings from plant pests, in which the seedling bases are coated with a non-toxic protective agent which, when dried, forms a mechanical protective layer on the surfaces of the seedlings.

Small tree seedlings, such as spruce and pine seedlings, are at risk of being ingested by pests during the first 1-3 years after planting in the wild. Pests such as loggings eat bark and nilac for food at the base of seedlings, which can kill small and thin tree seedlings. Pests can destroy large numbers of seedlings planted during the flock period. Pests are controlled by pre-treating the seedlings in the nurseries with pesticides. However, the problem with chemical pesticides is the release of toxic substances into the environment. Instead of chemical pesticides, it is known to coat seedling bases with non-toxic mechanical protection structures and protective agents through which plant pests cannot penetrate. As the mechanical protection agent, a mixture of glue and fine sand or small stones O 25, known from DE 3641680 A1, can be used. = The effectiveness of the preservative is based on the fact that a sufficiently hard protective layer is formed on the surface of the trout, through which the planter, like a logger, cannot bite. Fine, ie sand or small stones are used to harden the protective layer = 30. However, even after drying, the adhesive used as a fixing agent N is sufficiently elastic so that the mechanical protection agent N does not inhibit the growth of the seedling. The preservative withstands seedling growth and weather conditions so that the protective layer provides protection for the seedling for several years. In the seedling treatment step, the preservative is flowable, so that it can be advantageously sprayed on the surface of the seedlings. When dried, the protective agent forms a desired, sufficiently hard protective layer on the surface of the trout. Examples of commercially available preservatives today are Conniflex, Woodcoat and Hylonox.

According to the state of the art, the seedlings planted in the growing cells are treated with a mechanical protective agent by spraying a protective agent on the bottom of the seedling while the seedlings are in the growing cell.

The seedlings are then allowed to dry to allow the preservative to dry on the surface of the seedling. Drying can take several weeks, but can be accelerated at high temperatures. After the preservative has dried, the seedlings are transferred from the growing cells to the packaging boxes and are typically taken to a cold store for storage.

Typically, the seedlings are packed in cardboard boxes in the nurseries in the autumn and stored over the winter in a cold (-4 ° C) warehouse to await delivery and planting the seedlings in the wild, which usually takes place in the spring.

The problem with the prior art is the long drying time. After application of the preservative, the seedlings must be allowed to dry for a long time before they can be transferred from the growing cells to the packaging boxes and stored. Drying can be - accelerated at a high temperature in the drying space, which increases the cost of applying the O 25 preservative. In addition, the growing cells = must be cleaned after the pest control treatment - of the preservative before they can be re-used for growing the seedlings E.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved method by which a mechanical preservative can be applied more easily to the surfaces N of seedlings, whereby the total cost of protection against pests can be reduced. The characteristic features of the present invention appear from the appended claim 1.

In the method according to the invention for protecting seedlings from plant pests, the roots of the seedlings are coated with a non-toxic protective agent which, when dried, forms a mechanical protective layer on the surfaces of the seedlings. In the method according to the invention, the seedlings are packed in packaging boxes before the protective agent is sprayed on the seedling surfaces, the protective agent is sprayed on the seedling surfaces inside the packaging box, and the protective agent sprayed on the seedling surfaces is dried inside the packaging box. In this way, the treatment of the seedlings with a mechanical preservative does not require a separate drying step and the growing cells do not need to be cleaned of the preservative after treatment. Spraying the protective agent inside the packaging box prevents the sprayable protective agent from spilling into the environment, keeping the handling space and equipment clean. The extra protective material ends up on the inside surfaces of the packing box, which is no harm. This facilitates handling with a preservative and reduces the number of separate treatment steps. In this case, the total cost of plant pest control treatment can be reduced.

Preferably, the preservative used in the method comprises an adhesive, preferably a water-soluble adhesive, as well as fine sand and / or small stones. The mechanical protective layer implemented in this way protects the seedling well from plant pests, especially O 25 loggers. - Preferably the preservative applied to the surfaces of the seedlings is dried = in a cold storage room at a temperature of 0 - (- 15) ° C, preferably (-2) - (- 4) ° C. It has surprisingly been found that the protective agent generally used = 30 also dries at temperatures below N zero * in a sealed packaging box. In this case, N separate drying steps are not required in the warm drying room, but the seedlings treated with the preservative can be taken directly to a cold storage, where the preservative on the surfaces of the seedlings dries during storage in a closed packaging box. The protective agent is sprayed onto the bottom of the seedlings by means of spray nozzles which are inserted into the packaging box through the wall of the packaging box. In this way, there is no need to machine separate openings for spraying in the packaging box when the box is made of a material, such as cardboard, through which it is easy to penetrate with spray nozzles.

The method according to the invention can be implemented by a system for applying a protective agent to the surface of seedlings. The system comprises spray nozzles for spraying a liquid, non-toxic protective agent on the base of the seedlings. The system is adapted to spray the protective agent at the base of the seedlings inside the packaging box so that the spray nozzles are adapted to penetrate through the wall of the packaging box and spray the protective agent inside the packaging box. In this case, the system does not need to comprise a separate drying room or oven, and the system does not contaminate the growth cells with a preservative. In this case, the system is simpler than the prior art and thus more cost-effective. The system can be used to automate the method described above. O 25 = Preferably, the spray nozzles are adapted to move perpendicular to the wall of the packaging box. In this way, the protective agent = can be sprayed preferably on the base of the seedlings when the seedlings are in a position 3 perpendicular to the bottom of the packaging box, i.e. in the packaging box.

S Fly, the system comprises a line adapted to transport packing boxes containing seedlings, and the system is adapted to stop the packing boxes at the spray nozzles.

In this way, the delivery of packaging boxes to the spray nozzles can be automated, which speeds up the treatment of seedlings by pest control. There may be 2 to 12, preferably 4 to 8 spray nozzles in the system.

In this case, the preservative can be applied evenly to the surfaces of the seedlings.

The thickness of the spray nozzles may be 3 to 20 mm, preferably 5 to mm.

In this case, the spray nozzles are strong enough to protrude through the wall of the packaging box and are suitable for transporting and spraying the protective agent used in the invention.

The distance between the spray nozzles may be 2 to 10 cm, preferably 3 to 7 cm.

In this case, the protective agent can be applied evenly to the surfaces of the seedlings in the packaging box.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, which illustrate some embodiments of the invention, in which Figure 1 shows the step of spraying of the substance, = Figure 3 shows a top view of the step of spraying a protective substance onto the bottom of the seedlings packed in the box.

In the step of the method according to the invention shown in Figure 1, the seedlings 2 are packed from the growing cell 4 into a packaging box 6, which is preferably a cardboard box.

In the nursery, the seeds are sown in hard plastic growing cells 4. In the growing cell 4, the seed germinates and develops into seedling 2. The seedlings 2 are placed vertically in the packing box 6, i.e. the bodies of the seedlings 2 are perpendicular to the bottom 61 of the packing box 6. A non-toxic preservative is applied to the base of the trout 2 to mechanically protect the seedling 2 from plant pests such as loggers.

The bottom area of the packaging box 6 can be, for example, 30x40 cm. The packing box 6 in which the seedlings 2 are packed is transferred to a line 8 which conveys the packing box 6 to the spraying system 10. Alternatively, the spraying system 10 can be adapted to the existing processing line in connection with the packaging line of the seedlings 2. The line 8 conveys the packing box 6 to the spray nozzles 12, where the packing box 6 stops for about 8 seconds. The packaging box 6 stopped at the spray nozzles 12 is illustrated in Figure 2. With the packaging box 6 in place, the spray nozzles 12 move horizontally, i.e. perpendicular to the wall 51 of the packaging box 6, protruding through the wall 62 of the packaging box 6. From the spray nozzles 12, a protective agent is sprayed on the bases of the seedlings 2 inside a sealed packaging box 6. The spraying step of the shielding agent - is illustrated in Figure 3. The shielding agent is stored in a tank 14 from which the O 25 shielding agent is passed through a pipe 16 and a manifold 18 = to the spray nozzles 12. = . The packing box 6 can be transferred = 30 from line 8 directly to a cold store with a temperature of about -4 N ° C. The seedlings 2 are stored in a closed packing box 6 N in a cold store over the winter and the protective substance dries inside the packing box 6. At -4 ° C, the preservative dries in about 3-4 weeks inside the sealed packaging box 6.

In contrast to Figures 2 and 3, in one embodiment of the system implementing the method according to the invention, there are seven spray nozzles 12 for handling a packaging box 6 with a bottom area of 30 x 40 cm. The spray nozzles 12 are 10 mm thick and 50 cm long. The spray nozzles 12 are located in the manifold 18 at approximately 5 cm intervals. The spray nozzles 12 protrude into the packing box 6 from one long (40 cm) wall 6 of the packing box 6? through. The spray of protective agent from the end of the spray nozzle 12 opens at an angle of 180 degrees. In this case, the spray pattern is sufficiently wide that, when moving in and out of the packaging box 6, the spray nozzles 6 spray the protective agent sufficiently comprehensively on all sides of the bases of the seedlings 2 in the packaging box 6.

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Claims (4)

PATENT CLAIMS A method for protecting seedlings (2) from pests, which comprises coating the roots of the seedlings (2) with a non-toxic protective agent which, when dried, forms a mechanical protective layer on the surfaces of the seedlings (2), characterized in - spraying said protective agent on the surfaces of the seedlings (2) inside the packaging box (6), and - drying said protective agent sprayed on the surfaces of the seedlings (2) inside the packaging box (6) during storage. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the preservative used in the method comprises an adhesive, preferably a water-soluble adhesive, as well as fine sand and / or small stones. Method according to Claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the protective agent applied to the surfaces of the seedlings (2) is dried in a cold storage room at a temperature of 0 to (- 15) ° C, preferably (-2) to (- 4) ° C. . - Method according to one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the protective agent is sprayed onto the base of the seedlings (2) = by spray nozzles (12) which are inserted into the packing box (6) through the wall (62) of the packing box (6). = a IT S OF