FI97100C - Process for the production of a plant substrate intended for the cultivation of plants and the plant substrate produced by the method - Google Patents

Description

97100

The present invention relates to a process for the preparation of a plant culture medium containing seed and / or growth nutrient particles. The invention also relates to a culture medium.

Known artificial growing media consist of e.g. plastic mats which, when suitably treated, can act as a growing medium, such as an open-cell polyurethane mat, or a mat whose raw material as such is suitable for cultivation, such as starch-based or biodegradable plastic mats.

15 FI patent application 801942 discloses a growing medium consisting of a pressed fiberboard, optionally bonded with an adhesive. The seeds are immersed either by mixing them with the fibers or by applying them directly to the sheet before the surface coating. In either case, no plastic fibers are used as the binder and the bonding is not by heat.

A similar solution is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,309,844, in which seeds are sprinkled on a moving substrate layer, on which a top layer of foam is placed and the layers are bonded to one another and thus also to the space between the layers.

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However, the disadvantage of current media is that they cannot contain seeds and / or particulate growth nutrients without separate attachment. In known solutions, the seeds are placed in the substrate on a mat only at the cultivation stage, or they are glued to the surface of the medium. Bonding is done by fixing • • ·. ‘·.’ ··, for example, by placing a ribbon-like row of seeds on the carpet with a starch-based glue. Disadvantages of known solutions. 35 are the detachment of seeds from the surface; the seeds are also 2 97100 easily picked by birds. In addition, gluing or other attachment constitutes an additional step in which it is difficult to obtain a sufficient seed density and / or an arbitrary seed distribution on the surface of the mat.

The object of the present invention is to provide a completely new type of culture medium which can be used as such and in which various desired varieties or other characteristics can be easily incorporated at the production stage. To achieve this, the method according to the invention is characterized in that the growth medium is formed in the following steps: a material web is formed by a dry-forming technique from natural fibers and plastic fibers acting as a binder in one or more steps; 15 seed and / or growth nutrient particles are added to the web or fibrous material during the web formation step; and bonding the web with heat.

The most significant advantages of the invention are that seed and / or food particles are arbitrarily distributed in the three-dimensional structure at the desired density, which are placed in the structure at the manufacturing stage without special attachment measures and which are well protected against shedding and birds, for example. In addition, in the same production process, the quality of the particles or the composition of the mixture of particles can be changed by automatically changing the properties of the medium. This makes it easy to provide, for example, different varieties and growing media for different seasons.

Other preferred embodiments of the method according to the invention are characterized by what is stated in claims 2 and 3 below.

The medium according to the invention for the cultivation of plants, in which the medium contains nutrient and / or seed particles necessary for the operation of the medium, is characterized in that the medium consists of natural fibers and plastic fibers acting as a binder, a porous structure obtained by dry forming. in the manufacturing step, 5 nutrient and / or seed particles necessary for the operation of the medium are included in the manufacturing step, so that the fiber-bonded fibrous structure of the medium holds the nutrient and / or seed particles in place inside the medium.

Other preferred embodiments of the medium according to the invention are characterized by what is stated in claims 5 and 6 below.

The invention will now be described in more detail by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 shows a manufacturing process of a medium 15 according to the invention, Figure 2 shows a medium according to the invention seen from the side and in cross-section.

Figure 1 shows a dry forming line in which a material web 2 is formed on a wire 1 in four stages by means of a forming box, i.e. former 3-6. The formation boxes, which extend transversely over the entire width of the wire, are blown with a mixture of natural and bonding fibers, which are mixed and screened to form a uniform layer of material on the underlying wire 1 according to known techniques. There are as many v. Forming boxes as required for the desired layer thickness. For example, it may be advantageous to vary the range of natural fibers and bonded fibers. skin relationship in the surface and inner layers.

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The natural fibers can be relatively long-fiber mechanical pulp, cotton fibers, sisal, etc.

The bonding fibers can be of any suitable thermobon-Ding grade, e.g., bicomponent fibers having a core of * 4 f 'polypropylene and a sheath of polyethylene. Most preferably, however, the bonding fibers are a naturally degradable plastic or cellulose acetate.

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Seed and / or nutrient particles can be added to the material web 2 either by means of a separate sprinkler 7, or it can be added e.g. to the fibrous material of the forming box 4 or 5, whereby it forms part of the from the layer of material formed by the formation box. The seed particles can be individual seeds of the variety, seeds packed in a protective layer (e.g. fat), fungal mycelium inoculated into the seeds for cultivation of mushrooms, etc. The nutrient particles may consist of solid, water-soluble nutrient particles or an absorbent particle absorbed in a solid, e.g. a superabsorbent.

The proportions of different fiber grades in the material web can be, for example, the following: natural fiber 70 to 97% and bonded fiber 3 to 30%. In addition, there are seed and nutrient particles that are placed in the desired amount in the structure. The thickness of the web of material is preferably made relatively large, e.g. about 10 mm thick, with a basis weight of 450 to 500 gsm (g / m 2).

After the forming step, the material web is thermobonded in the flow-through furnace 8. The bonded material web is then calendered or sealed, if necessary, with rollers 9 and 10.

Figure 2 shows a growth-25 medium according to the invention in a cross-sectional view, showing the three-dimensional structure formed by the fibers and the seed particles 12 and the nutrient particles 13 and the nutrient particles 13 placed in the pores. in rolls or sheets.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the invention is different. embodiments are not limited to the example given above, but may vary within the scope of the claims below.

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Claims (6)

97100 A method for preparing a culture medium for seeds, comprising seed-5 and / or growth nutrient particles (12, 13), characterized in that the medium is formed in the following steps: - forming a web of material from natural fibers and binder plastic fibers 10 in one or more steps , - seed and / or growth nutrient particles (12, 13) are added to the web or to the fibrous material during the web formation step, and - the web is bonded with heat. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the seed and / or growth nutrient particles (12, 13) are added to the web in a separate layer between the two dry-forming steps. Method according to Claim 1, characterized in that the seed and / or growth nutrient particles (12, 13) are mixed with the fibrous material and added to the web in at least one dry-forming step. .: 4. Culture medium for the cultivation of plants in which the culture medium contains: 25 essential nutrients and / or seed particles (12, ·: · 1: 13), characterized in that the medium consists of natural fibers and a plastic porous structure obtained as a binder by dry formation in which, at the manufacturing stage, .m 30 nutrient and / or • · "I seed particles (12, 13) necessary for the operation of the medium are incorporated in such a way that the fibrous structure bound together by the heat of the medium * · · ' jj particles (12, 13) in place inside the medium. Culture medium according to Claim 4, characterized in that the seed and / or growth nutrient particles (12, 13) are located substantially as a separate layer inside the culture medium. Culture medium according to Claim 4, characterized in that the seed and / or growth nutrient-5 particles (12, 13) are evenly distributed in the culture medium. • · • · · · • · · • · · · · • · · · · · · · · · Mi Mi Mi I I I I M · · i 97 •