ITSP20040006U1 - PRODUCTION AND MARKETING OF LETTUCES, CURLY INDIVIDIES, SHOES AND CELERY IN CONTAINER - Google Patents

Description

DESCRIPTION

of the Utility Model entitled:

PRODUCTION AND MARKETING OF LETTUCE, CURLY ENDIVES, SCAROLE AND CELERY IN CONTAINERS

SUMMARY

The technical scope of implementation of the utility model consists of the agri-food sector. The utility model consists in the production of leafy vegetables (lettuce, curly endive, escarole and celery) grown in containers on a substrate of peat and slow release fertilizer which - in this format - must reach the final consumer.

TEXT OF THE DESCRIPTION

The object of the utility model for which the patent is requested consists in the production and marketing of leafy vegetables grown in a single substrate and in a single container (pot or tray) from sowing or transplanting the sprouted seedling, up to the appropriate size. for consumption.

The vegetables used consist of the different varieties belonging to the following species: lettuce (Lactuca nativa L. with its subspecies var.captata L., var.longifolia Lam., Var. Crispa L. and their crosses), curly endive (Cichorium endivia var . crispum Lam.), escarole (Cichorium endivia L. var. latifolium Lam.), celery (Apium graveolens L.).

The state of the art has recently shown a certain evolution in the field of cultivation and marketing of the vegetables listed above.

For lettuce, escarole and endive, in particular, the soilless cultivation technique (hydroponics, hydroculture, N.F.T.) has given good production results. With regard to marketing, excellent results have been obtained with the fourth range transformation.

The production and marketing of vegetables for food use has spread and established itself in the aromatic species (thyme, sage, rosemary, etc.) which, unlike the vegetables covered by this patent application, lend themselves to being cultivated for several production cycles and the use of which, however, is substantially different.

The production technique of the utility model required consists of sowing or transplanting the seedling into a container (pot or tray) on a substrate consisting of toiba, and slow-acting fertilizer appropriately dosed to allow its development.

The production cycle - from sowing / transplanting to sale and then to consumption - takes place entirely using a single substrate and a single container.

The product will be marketed when it has reached a minimum size, suitable for immediate consumption. So lettuces, endives and endives will be marketed when the aerial part has reached a minimum weight of 80 grams; celery will be marketed starting from the development of the sixth leaf. The product is designed to allow the consumer to postpone its consumption: in this case, only with periodic and regular water supplies, the plant will continue its development with consequent weight gain.

Pots with a diameter ranging from 10 to 12 cm will be used for the production. The trays will be made in such a way as to allow individual seedlings to be raised in independent pot-shaped housings. The size of the trays will differ depending on the number of seedlings to be contained which will vary from 2 to 8. In the case of tray production, a single variety of vegetable can be grown or compositions with different varieties can be created. In table no. 3 shows a tray with 4 heads of lettuce belonging to 3 different varieties (red oak leaf, gentilina and pesciatina).

Production will be carried out in greenhouses, on pallets. In order to preserve the maximum integrity of the aerial part, the irrigation system will be drip or by capillarity.

The novelty of the proposed utility model consists in the fact that the vegetables in question are sold “alive” unlike the traditional technique in which the production cycle always ends with the cutting of the aerial part before marketing.

The proposed utility model allows for a number of advantages:

A) since the harvest stops Γ vegetative activity, the leafy vegetables are subject to rapid deterioration. The storage period in the refrigerator is 2, maximum 3 days; in fourth range products it can last up to 5-6 days. With the technique illustrated above, the consumer purchases a "live" product, still in a container with a suitable nutrient substrate, which can be kept in vegetation outdoors or in an apartment, under normal conditions of temperature and humidity, only with periodic water supplies. The consumer is thus able to manage the conservation phase of the product more comfortably, extending its shelf life for a period of more than 20 days.

B) A further aspect of considerable importance consists in the fact that the product is consumed "as soon as it is harvested" and therefore with those superior organoleptic characteristics that fresh products have compared to those that, collected and therefore no longer "alive", have passed a period also short of conservation or movement from the place of production to that of consumption.

C) Another very important aspect is of a hygienic-sanitary nature: the method of growing in pots involves a particularly favorable environment for the development of the plant. The breeding substrate consists largely of peat - which is an inert organic material - and the rest of fertilizer, so there is no need to disinfect the soil to eliminate the seeds of weeds or soil parasites. In addition, the water supply can be dosed with the strictly necessary quantities, preventing stagnation and avoiding rottenness and pathologies of the root system. Therefore the risk of pathologies is very low. If you keep an external dry and arched environment (in a confined environment it is easy to control the environmental conditions) you can reasonably think of obtaining the finished product without carrying out any intervention with pesticides. This makes consumption easier, which does not necessarily have to be preceded by careful and laborious washing of the leaves. The absence of phytosanitary treatments will be an intrinsic requirement of the product: if phytosanitary problems arise, the product will not be marketed;

D) A last useful element of the proposed model is the ornamental function, since it is a living plant.

Claims (1)

CLAIMS A) Sale of lettuce, curly endive, escarole and celery of minimum size sufficient for immediate consumption (at least 80 gr. Of weight of the aerial part for lettuce, endive and escarole and the development of the sixth leaf for celery), in vegetation in vase containing the breeding substrate dosed in such a way as to allow the product to be preserved for over 20 days with simple, periodic water supplies, B) Sale of lettuce, curly endive, escarole and celery of minimum size sufficient for immediate consumption (at least 80 weight of the aerial part for lettuce, endive and escarole and the sixth leaf for celery) in vegetation in trays - of various sizes to allow the breeding of a number of seedlings varying from 2 to 8 - containing the breeding substrate dosed in such a way as to allow the product to be preserved for over 20 days with simple, periodic water supplies.