JP2000139203A - Nursery medium and raising of seedling - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a nursery medium for producing blocked seedlings, capable of being effectively applied to both of personal transplantation and mechanical transplantation by including a nursery medium material having a specific porosity, and a smectite-based mineral matter. SOLUTION: This nursery medium is obtained by mixing (A) a nursery medium material having 55-90 vol.% porosity and (B) a smectite-based mineral matter. Preferably, the proportion of the mixed component B (expressed in terms of volume) is 5-15% when the porosity of the component A is 65 vol.%, 5-20% when the porosity is 70-85 vol.%, and 10-25% when the porosity is 90 vol.%. Zeolite, peat moss, vermiculite, pearlite, soil, leaf mold, bark compost, rock wool or the like is preferably used as the component A. Montmorillonite, beidellite, nontronite, saponite, hectorite, sauconite, bentonite or the like is cited as the component B.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a novel seedling culture medium in which the soil at the root of a seedling forms a block shape, and an efficient seedling raising method using the same. The seedling culture medium according to the present invention does not collapse even when the seedlings are removed from the seedling culture container (in other words, since the seedling culture medium is firmly attached around the roots), it is transplanted and planted as it is. And especially suitable for mechanization.

Moreover, according to the present invention, at the time of transplanting and planting, the seedling raising container can be peeled off and the root mortar can be directly transplanted and planted, so that an extremely high growth rate and a high yield can be obtained. Therefore, in the normal case, when the root mortar is not firmly formed by firmly covering the entire soil in the seedling container such as onion or the like, the seedling container and the root mortar do not rot in the soil without being separated. Although the planting is carried out together with the seedling containers made of various materials, according to the present invention, even in such a case, the seedling containers can be peeled and the root mortar can be directly planted. As a result, an extremely high growth rate and high A harvest rate can be obtained.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, labor has been reduced in various fields at agricultural production sites in response to a decrease in the labor force and aging, and transplantation systems using vegetable-molded seedlings (commonly known as plug seedlings) have become widespread especially for vegetable cultivation. are doing. However, in this transplantation system, the amount of roots at the time of transplantation is small, so that crops with poor root-pot formation in seedling-raising containers or crops that must be transplanted with young seedlings are:
Root pot formation is impossible due to undeveloped roots. Therefore,
These crops transplanted by cell seedlings are unsuitable for mechanical transplantation. Conventionally, the mechanical transplantation of cell-molded seedlings is limited to limited crops such as cabbage, Chinese cabbage, and lettuce, in which the seedling culture medium is covered by the crop roots, that is, the root pot is formed into a block shape. .

[0004]

When the soil at the root of the seedling forms a block, the soil of the root is prevented from collapsing, and all plants are kept intact without cutting the fine roots. In order to do this, temporary planting at the time of raising seedlings and hand planting work are facilitated. Furthermore, the survival after transplantation becomes good, and there is an effect of making the initial growth good. In addition, it has an effect on water retention after planting, and is suitable for fields under dry conditions. In addition, the seedlings can be easily separated from the seedling raising container, handling such as mechanical transplanting operation can be improved, and the workability can be improved.

[0005] In spite of the above advantages of the block seedling, the prior art has the following problems. As a method for increasing the blockability of the seedling growth medium, for example, as disclosed in JP-A-3-210124 and JP-A-5-23048, there is a method of increasing the solidification property by mixing a chemically synthesized paste with the seedling growth medium. However, in this method, when the soil dries, there is a problem that a glue film is formed on the surface and the moisture penetration is remarkably inferior, and the performance is deteriorated during storage. Also, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No.
As shown in 3690, there is a method of irrigating the seedling solution in a nursery tray immediately before transplantation or immersing it in the solution of the binder to harden it, but the method is very complicated and the effect is insufficient. In addition, chemical synthetic glue tends to cause a difference in caking properties depending on the seedling culture medium material, it is difficult to grasp the appropriate concentration, and because of its slow decomposition performance, it keeps its solidified shape until harvesting and adheres to the root of the crop, There are many problems that need to be solved, such as requiring much labor for the removal, and adversely affecting the subsequent cropping if left in the field.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and provides a seedling culture medium for producing block seedlings and a method for raising seedlings which can be effectively applied to hand planting and mechanical planting. It is. In order to achieve the above object, the present inventor combines a new parameter of porosity of each medium with a parameter of addition ratio of smectite-based mineral substance to the medium, thereby using soil without using chemically synthesized glue or the like. Succeeded in blocking the seedling culture medium without collapsing, making it possible to mechanically transplant crops and seedlings that were inferior in the past, with poor root-pot formation, and facilitated temporary planting and hand planting in the field when raising seedlings. . That is, in the method of hand-planting a crop for growing seedlings in each seedling pot in a seedling pot of a seedling container used for hand-planting and mechanical planting, and growing the seedlings in each pot, and in a growing method for machine-planting, the inventor performed trial and error. As a result, the following conditions were found that were optimal for blocking seedlings, and the present invention was completed.

That is, if the porosity of the soil is less than 65%, especially less than 55%, the culture medium has poor air permeability and is not suitable as a culture medium. When the porosity is 91% or more, there is a problem that the medium is too light, the soil of the block is easily broken, and it is difficult to manage water when raising seedlings. When the addition ratio of the smectite-based mineral to the soil is less than 5%, particularly less than 3%, the block forming ability is inferior, and 25% or more, especially 30%.
%, The medium becomes sticky and the handling becomes poor, and the production cost increases. In blocking the seedling culture medium, there has been no example in which the porosity and the smectite-based mineral substance have been focused on and the composition ratio thereof has been successfully determined, and the present invention is the first one. The details of the mechanism of action must be considered in future studies, but at present, smectite-based minerals are uniformly dispersed in the pores of the seedling culture medium material, and after irrigation, absorb moisture and adhere to the medium material. It is considered to be a block.

The seedling culture medium of the present invention is characterized by the porosity and the ratio of addition of the smectite-based mineral substance to the culture medium, and the conditions should be within the above ranges.
For example, the conditions for blocking the seedling culture medium are as follows: a seedling culture medium material having a porosity of 65% by volume, a smectite mineral substance in a volume ratio of 5 to 15%, and a porosity of 70 to 85% by volume. In addition, the smectite-based mineral matter
By containing 〜25%, it is possible to complete blocking of the seedling culture medium and to make the planting work function efficiently.

[0009] The seedling culture medium is required to have a composition that retains moisture and fertilizer nutrients and maintains a good balance of air permeability and water permeability so that seedling growth from germination to before planting is good. In preparing a seedling raising medium, it is necessary to examine the characteristics of various medium materials, and it is necessary to include fertilizer nutrients and trace elements required during the seedling raising period. Nitrogen, fertilizer nutrients
Phosphoric acid, potassium, calcium, and trace elements include boron, molybdenum, iron, copper, manganese, and magnesium. In consideration of the above, a medium to which a fertilizer is added is used as the seedling culture medium of the present invention in consideration of the above. As a specific example, the crop leek and onion etc. nursery period 50-60 days, typically, 500～750Mg the N each per seedling medium 1 liter component as a fertilizer component, the P ₂ O ₅ 1000 to
3000 mg, ₂₀₀ to 400 mg of K ₂ O, and about 100 mg of a total trace element material are added.
Mix for 5 to 5 minutes.

As the seedling culture medium material used in the seedling culture medium of the present invention, commonly used materials such as zeolite, peat moss, vermiculite, perlite, soil, mulch, bark compost, rock wool are appropriately used, and commercially available products can also be used sufficiently. However, in the present invention, it is necessary to adjust the porosity as described above.

The seedling culture medium thus prepared can be used for various seedlings as it is. Usually, the medium is packed in a seedling-growing container and the seedlings are grown. It is transplanted and planted by mechanical planting.

In the present invention, the following can be used as a seedling raising container. A collective seedling raising container in which a large number of storage portions are formed by a large number of paper cylinders, and each of the storage portions can be separated at the time of transplantation. For example, there is a transplanted cultivation paper tube connected nursery pot (hereinafter referred to as a collective paper tube; "Paper Pot" (registered trademark) manufactured by Nippon Sugar Beet Sugar Co., Ltd.). A collective seedling container having a configuration in which a large number of storage portions are formed by a large number of paper cylinders, and each of the storage portions is connected so that they can be separated as necessary at the time of transplantation. For example, there is a collecting pot for continuous seedling transplantation (hereinafter referred to as a continuous collecting paper cylinder; "Chain Pot" (registered trademark) manufactured by Nippon Sugar Beet Sugar Co., Ltd.). A collective seedling raising container in which a large number of storage sections are integrally formed of paper pulp or biodegradable resin, and each of the storage sections can be separated at the time of transplantation. For example, there is Nawell pot (registered trademark, manufactured by Iseki Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd.). A collective seedling raising container in which a large number of storage portions are integrally formed of paper pulp or synthetic resin, and each of the storage portions cannot be separated at the time of transplantation. For example, there are a plastic pot and a so-called cell tray. A pot-shaped single seedling raising container made of paper pulp, synthetic resin, peat moss, and earthenware.

[0013] Seedlings in which root mortars are difficult to form and root mortars that are liable to collapse are usually raised in a collective paper cylinder or a continuous collective paper cylinder, and transplanted and planted together with the paper cylinder. However, according to the present invention, it is possible for the first time for these seedlings to directly peel and transplant the root pot by peeling off the paper cylinder of the outer skin of the root pot. As a result, a remarkable effect is obtained in that the growth rate and the yield are greatly increased. For the first time, it was confirmed that such a remarkable effect was superior to the case of a paper cylinder which decomposes in soil, as well as the case of a plastic pot.

Regarding porosity: Seedling culture medium is solid phase, liquid phase,
The porosity of the seedling culture medium is formed by three phases of the gas phase, and the portion excluding the solid phase portion from the total volume, that is, the liquid phase + gas phase portion.
The volume ratio of the three phases is called a three-phase distribution, which varies greatly depending on the medium material, the composition ratio, the wetness and the like, but the solid phase portion is relatively stable. (Yokendo “Encyclopedia of soil physics” 46
Page: Asakura Shoten "Encyclopedia of Soil", p. 302, 1993)

Smectite minerals: Smectite as a block forming material in the present invention is one of the representative natural clay minerals, always produced as fine-grained clay, and has ion-exchange properties, swellability, and complex-forming ability. Are remarkable. Smectite belongs to a 2: 1 type clay mineral, and was conventionally called a montmorillonite family. However, smectite has been generally used since the 1960's because it is confusing with the name of montmorillonite.
Smectite includes montmorillonite, beidellite, nontronite, saponite, hectorite, sauconite, and the like. Bentonite exemplified below in the present invention is a clay mineral containing montmorillonite as a main component.

The present invention encompasses a method of raising seedlings using the above-described seedling culture medium in accordance with a conventional method. In addition, the seedlings are raised in a seedling container such as a collecting paper cylinder, a continuous collecting paper cylinder, or a plastic pot by the present method. After that, the method also includes a method in which the container is peeled off without removing the container, or the container is peeled off and / or the seedling is removed from the container together with the root pot, and the obtained root pot is transplanted and / or planted in a block shape. It is.

In the latter case, for example, molded seedlings (plug seedlings) are grown one plant at a time in a pot by a molded seedling raising method. However, in this case, the affinity between the soil of the main field and the like and the seedling culture medium is improved, and only the roots of the seedlings do not directly contact the soil of the main field and the like. It is recognized that it leads to.

According to the present invention, no matter what kind of seedling is used, the root mortar is firmly formed, so that the root mortar does not collapse even after the container is separated, and is easily transplanted and planted. It can be used not only for manual operation but also for machine operation, and it is also suitable for seedlings such as onions, which were conventionally difficult to separate and set in containers.
For the first time, it is possible to separate the containers and carry out mechanical planting, so that labor saving in farming work and a significant increase in sales can be achieved at the same time.

Therefore, the present invention can be widely applied not only to cabbage, Chinese cabbage, lettuce, etc., which are formed into a block by forming a root mortar, but also to onions, etc., which are difficult to be formed into a block, and it is just a breakthrough. . Hereinafter, test examples and examples of the present invention will be described.

[0020]

Test Example 1 Materials having various porosity were prepared using a seedling culture medium material having the composition of Example 1 described below, and various kinds of bentonite were added as smectite-based minerals thereto, and the filling degree, blockability, and water permeability were measured. Was tested. The obtained results are shown in Table 1 (seedling medium performance according to porosity and bentonite ratio). Table 2 shows the evaluation criteria.

[0021]

[Table 1]

[0022]

[Table 2]

As described above, in order to properly maintain the function as a block seedling, the porosity of the seedling growth medium is extremely closely related to the concentration range of bentonite as a material for forming the block.

[0024]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a product of the present invention was experimentally produced, and a growth comparison between a commercial product (M) and a seedling was carried out using an onion having poor root-pot formation in a seedling container for mechanical planting. (Negachi) was carried out.

[0025]

Example 1 Zeolite 7 was used as a seedling growth medium for onions.
15% by weight of bentonite was mixed with a seedling culture medium material containing 0% by weight, 20% by weight of peat moss, 5% by weight of vermiculite, and 5% by weight of perlite, followed by stirring. Fertilizer nutrients were ammonium nitrate, dissolved phosphorus, lime superphosphate, Potassium chloride and the fertilizer of the integrated trace element were mixed in the above-mentioned considerable amounts to prepare a seedling culture medium. The porosity of this seedling growth medium is 80%,
The added amount of bentonite was 15% by volume.

[0026]

Embodiment 2 Continuously collected paper cylinder CP303 as a seedling raising container
(Nippon Sugar Beet Sugar Chain Pot (registered trademark),
30mm in height, 30m in height, 264 stitches), with special props, 275mm in height, 570mm in width, 30mm in height
The seedling culture medium prepared in Example 1 was filled therein, and one onion seed (variety: Tarzan Takii Seed Co., Ltd.) was sown per pot, covered with soil, and bred by a conventional method. The commercial product (M) is similarly sown and raised,
Root pots (seed blocks) grown for 50 days after sowing are CP30
A pull-out survey was conducted from No. 3. Table 3 shows the results. The disintegration rate of the seedling block was 50
It was shown by the collapse weight ratio when dropped from a height of cm.

[0027]

[Table 3]

As is evident from the results of the above-mentioned seedling raising survey, the product of the present invention is superior in germination rate, seedling quality at the time of planting, and blocking ability of seedlings. It is shown that it can be used effectively for mechanical planting.

[0029]

Example 3 The growth and yield after planting were investigated using the block seedlings raised in Example 2. At the time of planting after raising the seedlings for 50 days, the two sheets of paper with the paper tube attached were pulled to the left and right, easily peeled off, the block seedlings were continuously drawn out, and the planting was completed without breaking the medium. After planting, the seedling blocks did not collapse and the seedlings were well established, so the growth was extremely vigorous, and the product of the present invention had a maturing period that was earlier than that of the commercial product (M) by 10 days, and an effect of increasing the yield by 8% was recognized.

[0030]

According to the present invention, when seedlings having poor root-pot formation are mechanically planted, the seedling-growing medium according to the present invention can form a seedling block (root pot) firmly.
Even if the amount of roots at the time of transplanting is low and the root pot formation is inferior in the seedling container, or even if the roots are undeveloped and the root pot formation is not possible, It is a seedling culture medium that eliminates the problem of root mortar collapse during mechanical planting and enables suitable mechanical planting, and forming block seedlings involves temporary planting at the time of seedling raising and manual planting work in the field. Will improve work efficiency.
Further, since no chemically synthesized glue is used in the medium of the present invention, there is no problem after planting, and the growth of the crop is suitable, and a remarkable effect such as enabling the production of a high quality crop is exhibited.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A seedling culture medium characterized by mixing a smectite-based mineral substance with a seedling culture medium material having a porosity of 55 to 90% by volume. 2. A seedling culture medium comprising a seedling culture medium material having a porosity of 65% by volume or more and a smectite mineral substance mixed in a volume ratio of 3 to 30%. 3. A seedling culture medium material having a porosity of 65% by volume,
Seedling raising medium having a smectite-based mineral substance in a volume ratio of 5 to 15% and a porosity of 70 to 85% by volume, and having a smectite-based mineral substance in a volume ratio of 5 to 20% and a porosity of 90% by volume. Smectite minerals are added to the culture medium material at a volume ratio of 1
A nursery culture medium characterized by being mixed with 0 to 25%. 4. The smectite mineral substance is at least one selected from montmorillonite, beidellite, nontronite, saponite, hectorite, sauconite, and bentonite.
4. The seedling culture medium according to any one of items 3 to 3. 5. The seedling culture medium according to claim 1, further comprising a mixture of inorganic fertilizer salts. 6. A method for raising seedlings, comprising using the medium for raising seedlings according to any one of claims 1 to 5. 7. After raising seedlings in the seedling raising container according to the method for raising seedlings according to claim 6, further remove the seedling raising container or withdraw the seedlings from the seedling raising container together with the root pot. Transplanting or planting as it is, a method of transplanting or planting.