FR2668680A1 - Device for making it easier to keep cultivated ground moist - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a device making it possible to obtain planted (cultivated) ground which is constantly moist without consuming excessive amounts of water in order to obtain normal harvest despite persistent drought, to which advantage is necessarily added activation of the growing of the plants. It consists of a film to be spread out over the ground to which it is fixed by burying its edges. Its composition of plastic material already gives it good leak tightness; in addition, being metallized, it reflects solar heat and therefore opposes the heating-up of the ground and thus slows down evaporation. Finally, solar reflection under the leaves of the plants activates their photosynthesis and therefore their growth. The device according to the invention is particularly intended for growing crops in areas which are drought stricken.

Description

 The present invention relates to a device for facilitating the maintenance of the humidity of a cultivated soil in order to be able to harvest normally.

 Faced with persistent drought, irrigation is used. But in addition to the drawback of enormous water consumption, this technique tends to become unusable due to the scarcity of water, no longer simply in the soil but in the reserves in the event of prolonged drought.

 The device according to the invention overcomes these drawbacks.

 It is in fact according to a first characteristic of a film to be spread on the ground to which it is fixed by burying its edges. Its plastic composition - therefore waterproof - already facilitates the retention of water in the soil. In addition it is metallized (aluminum) and therefore reflects, like a mirror, solar heat. It therefore opposes the heating of the soil and thus slows down the evaporation of its water. It is the conjunction of these two characteristics that ensures effective retention of water in the soil.

 However, the film cannot be completely waterproof: we are obliged to make cross slits, perforations for transplanting or sowing. But this disadvantage carries in itself its compensation: it allows watering by air by allowing water to infiltrate through these same perforations.

 Traditional watering techniques can therefore also be used at the same time as the device according to the invention, but with very significant savings in water.

 Finally, the metallized film causing solar reflection also under the leaves increases photosynthesis and thereby activates the growth of cultivated plants.

NB: It is of the utmost importance, in order to be able to cultivate satisfactorily, to use the invention under the following conditions
- at the start of a culture, the 501 must contain a sufficient reserve of water (otherwise it will have to be watered so as to avoid any drought in prolongation).

- in any case, water gradually (adjustment of the jets in fine rain) so that the soil has time to absorb water easily, we must of course be more vigilant on this detail with a clay soil rather than sandy to avoid that mud forms at the foot of the plants and that this does not invade the film, thus rendering it ineffective as a reflector (if necessary, we could dig a furrow around the crop, as a drainage channel to collect any excess water3
- finally, rather than waiting for the soil to become completely dry before drowning it, water regularly, Just to maintain the soil's water supply.

 By way of nonlimiting example, the metallized plastic film (aluminum) will be 50 micrometers thick. In addition, it will not be easily subject to tearing when split, like some packaging of the same type of material.

 The device according to the invention is particularly intended for cultivation in any region hit by drought and having limited water reserves and / or for consumption.

Claims (2)

 1) Device to facilitate the maintenance of moisture in a cultivated soil, characterized in that it consists of a plastic film, therefore waterproof and metallized (aluminum), thereby largely returning the solar heat thus avoiding a significant heating of the ground slowing down the evaporation of its water.  2) Device according to claim 1 characterized in that the film is not completely waterproof sux locations of the perforations which are made to transplant or sow thus leaving the water-dearrosage penetrate the ground.