JP2002262681A - Pot for raising of seedling equipped with water supply bed and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a pot for raising of seedling equipped with a water retaining gel for supplying water to a seedling and to provide a method for producing the same, with which the pot for raising of seedling can be inexpensively produced and space and weight for storage and transportation can be reduced. SOLUTION: A water retaining gel forming solution 3 is prepared by adding an acid for neutralization to an aqueous solution of an alkali silicate such as a diluted solution of water glass, etc. A cell tray (cells are connected in a matrix state) obtained by packing culture soil 2 to each cell (small pot part) 1 and planting a seedling in the culture soil is placed on a vat 35 and the bottom 15 of each cell 1 is immersed in the solution. Consequently, the water retaining gel forming solution 3 is permeated from an opening 11 at the bottom of each cell 1 into the culture soil 2 in the vicinity of the bottom 15. The cell tray is raised, allowed to stand and the solution is solidified to produce a water supply bed in a form of packing voids of the culture soil 2 at the bottom 15.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a seedling raising pot provided with a water retention gel for supplying water to a seedling so that the seedling can be stored or transported in a healthy seedling state, and a method for producing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, seedlings such as flowers and vegetable seedlings have been mainly produced by individual farmers. In recent years, with the modernization of agriculture and the aging of farmers, etc., a pot-raising system centered on cell trays has been established, and seedling production has shifted to agricultural cooperatives, aggregates of farmers, and seedling producers. And now that the stable supply of seedlings has become possible, the division of labor between seedling production and subsequent cultivation is rapidly advancing.

[0003] On the other hand, the division of labor of seedling production has a problem that seedlings are required to have storability because the planting is delayed unless the work in the field proceeds as planned due to environmental conditions such as bad weather. .

[0004] Also, in the sale of seedlings that support gardening,
If sales do not go according to plan, seedlings will spend days at supermarkets and retail stores. In this case, the manager tries to maintain the seedlings to be sold by watering several times a day, but the seedlings are usually prolonged and weakened.

[0005] In addition, the distance between the nursery and the planting field or nursery store, which is the user, is often large, so that the soil in the seedling pot is dried during transportation of the seedlings, the seedlings are withered, and There are many problems to be improved, such as damage to the seedlings caused by the seedling pots jumping out of the container storing the seedling pots and falling.

[0006] For this reason, nurseries avoid tenderness and clerics,
We are trying to raise the seedlings that can withstand drying as much as possible, but this has not led to the storage of healthy seedlings in stores.

In order to solve these problems, a method has been proposed in which a seedling pot is mounted on a water supply container and water is supplied to the seedling pot with a water supply material filled in the water supply container. An inorganic water retention gel or the like is used.

For example, a method of gelling and using an aqueous solution of an organic polymer having a high viscosity as a water supply material (JP-A-8-134)
447, JP-A-10-14423, JP-A-11-151041), and a method of providing a sealed tank at the bottom of a seedling raising pot and filling it with an organic polymer or the like containing water (JP-A-9-248066). Add warm water (40 ° C) to the inorganic gel-forming material and instantly in the water supply container (within 30 seconds)
(GB2, 310, 352A). When a water retention gel is used as a water supply material, it is useful not only for water supply to the seedlings but also as a technique for preventing the seedling pot from falling.

[0009]

However, when an organic polymer containing water is used, it is difficult to handle due to its stickiness. In addition, the method in which gelation is performed instantaneously has a very short workable time, and even with considerable skill, reliable work is difficult. Furthermore, when these water supply materials are used, there still remains a problem that it is difficult to take out the nursery pot from the water supply container after the nursery pot arrives at a user such as a farmer. In addition, in the case of the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-248066, a special sealed container for water supply is required, the superabsorbent polymer used as a water retention agent is expensive, and there remains a problem of disposal treatment.

[0010] In view of the above, the present inventors have disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 11-260196, which was not disclosed at the time of filing the present application, a water-supply bed on which a seedling pot is mounted and which is supplied with water. It is proposed to be formed from a water supply material consisting of:

[0011] The inventors of the present application have disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 11-26019.
Further investigations were made on the basis of the method proposed in No. 6, and improvements were made so that the amount of the agent for forming the water retention gel was reduced to the minimum necessary for water supply. Also, by eliminating the need for a water supply container separate from the seedling pot, the cost of the water supply container was reduced, and improvements were made to further reduce the space and weight required for storage and transportation of the water supply floor.

That is, according to the present invention, in a pot for raising seedlings provided with a water retention gel for supplying water to the seedlings, and in this manufacturing method, it can be manufactured at low cost and can save space and weight for storage and transportation. Provide things.

[0013]

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for producing a seedling pot having a water retention gel for supplying water to the seedling, wherein the alkali silicate is neutralized. After mixing the acid with water, the mixed solution is solidified in a gel form in a seedling raising pot to produce a water-supplying bed made of a water-retaining gel.

According to the above configuration, the water supply floor can be manufactured at low cost, and the space and weight for storage and transportation can be reduced.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for producing a seedling pot, wherein the seedling pot is previously loaded and filled with a culture material made of soil, sand, fiber or other filler. It is characterized in that a part, for example, a bottom part is absorbed in the culture material by immersing it in the mixed solution.

With such a configuration, a water supply bed can be easily prepared in a state where the culture material is loaded and filled in the seedling raising pot, and further in a state where the seedlings are planted.

[0017]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The alkali silicate used in the present invention may be water glass which is liquid at room temperature or solid at room temperature. As water glass, JIS
Sodium silicate No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 specified in K 1408
No. and the like.

For convenience of operation and storage, a solid material at room temperature, that is, a material capable of maintaining a powder or granule state at a temperature up to about 30 ° C. may be used.

As the alkali silicate solid at room temperature,
Sodium silicate (industrial commercial product), sodium metasilicate, potassium metasilicate, sodium orthosilicate,
And potassium orthosilicate, or a mixture thereof. These are easy to handle and can be disposed of in the soil without any problem.

The acid for neutralization used in the present invention is not particularly limited, and examples of liquid acids include sulfuric acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, and acetic acid. For convenience of operation and storage, those which are solid at room temperature, that is, those which can maintain the state of powder or granules at a temperature of up to about 30 ° C. as in the case of the alkali silicate may be used. Examples of the neutralizing acid which is solid at ordinary temperature include boric acid, citric acid, malic acid, fumaric acid, succinic acid, pyruvic acid, lauric acid, myristic acid, palmitic acid, stearic acid and the like. Particularly preferred are, for example,
Various boric acids and citric acid monohydrates and anhydrides can be mentioned.

The seedling raising pot is not particularly limited as long as it has a pot portion filled with a culture material and can be planted with seedlings, and a commercially available pot can be used.

For example, pots (square and round) made of synthetic resin such as polyethylene, those in which a plurality of these pots are connected (connected cut packs), or many concave cells (pots) ) Are arranged in rows and columns. Examples of the above-mentioned synthetic resin pots include those having a diameter of the upper surface opening of 4 to 40 cm and a height of 4 to 30 cm. As a cell tray, for example, about 3
0cm x about 60cm, cell diameter 11-45mm,
One having a depth of 25 to 35 mm and a number of cells of 40 to 800 is exemplified.

Preferably, the seedling raising pot has a water supply opening at the bottom and is mounted on a water supply container so that the water supply opening is buried in the water supply material. Commercially available seedling pots usually have holes at the bottom (bottom surface and side surfaces close to the bottom surface), and these holes can be used as water supply openings.

The culture material to be filled in the seedling raising pot is not particularly limited.
1. Commercially available culture soil (cultivation soil) such as Takii seedling culture soil (all manufactured by Takii Seed Co., Ltd.) can be used.

Depending on the case, the material may be sand, water drainage, coconut shell fiber, or a soft and porous porous material. Particularly, only the culture material near the bottom is made of such a material, and the other parts are soil. May be satisfied.

The seedlings to be planted in the seedling raising pots are not particularly limited, and may be any of young seedlings to adult seedlings. It can be applied to any kind of seedlings, from flowers, vegetables and tree seedlings.

It is preferable to add a nonionic, anionic or other surfactant when producing a water supply bed for raising seedlings. The addition of the surfactant makes it easier to supply water to the seedling raising pot and improves the water retention of the culture soil in the seedling raising pot. Here, as the nonionic surfactant, alkylene oxide surfactants obtained by adding alkylene oxides such as ethylene oxide to higher alcohols, alkylphenols or polypropylene glycols, glycerin, sorbitan or sucrose, etc. And an alkylene oxide-added ester surfactant obtained by further adding an alkylene oxide such as ethylene oxide to the ester. Examples of the anionic surfactant include dialkyl sulfosuccinates, sulfonic acid surfactants such as alkylbenzenesulfonic acid, higher alcohol sulfates, higher alkyl ether sulfates and higher alkyl phenyl ether sulfates. Sulfate ester surfactants. They exhibit excellent effects in improving the water supply performance and the water retention of the culture soil, and have no or very little toxicity to the environment and living organisms.

The amount of the surfactant added is, for example, 0.01
-10% (weight).

It is preferable to add a water-soluble polymer when producing a water supply bed for raising seedlings. By adding an appropriate water-soluble polymer, the water retention of the culture soil can be improved, and the mechanical strength of the water retention gel forming the water supply bed can be improved.

Suitable water-soluble polymers include sodium alginate, various PVAs, carboxymethylcellulose salts (CMC), starch, processed starch and the like. The amount of the water-soluble polymer added is, for example, 0.1
-20% (weight).

When producing a nursery water supply bed, it is possible to add a coloring agent, a fertilizer, a nutrient, a growth promoter, and an oxygen generating agent, if necessary. The gel body may have bubbles.

<Example 1> As a seedling raising pot, a cell tray (Takii Seedling Co., Ltd. T) in which 10 × 20 square cells of 2.5 cm square and 5 cm high are connected in a matrix form.
K pot 200) was used. Each cell 1 has a drainage opening 11 at the center of the bottom 15 and a plurality of projections 12 forming a foot at the periphery (see FIG. 1).

After loading and filling the culture soil (Takii tanaki cultivation soil) 2 in each cell of this cell tray, Chinese cabbage (variety “Homare”: Takii Seed Co., Ltd.) is sown and germinated by an automatic sowing machine. To a suitable length.

On the other hand, the water glass No. 3 was diluted 30 times in weight to obtain 4000 g of a water glass diluent, and the pH was adjusted to about 7 by adding 240 g of a 10% aqueous nitric acid solution. At this time, 4 g of polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester as a nonionic activator was added, and 20 g of sodium alginate powder was added.

The water-retaining gel-forming liquid 3 is transferred to a flat-bottom tray-shaped vat 35, and the above-mentioned cell tray on which the Chinese cabbage seedlings 4 are grown is placed on the vat 35. It was immersed in the gel forming liquid 3. When the water-retaining gel forming liquid 3 had sufficiently penetrated into the culture soil 2 from the bottom opening 11 of each cell 1, the cell tray was pulled up and left for several hours. When the contents of several cells 1 were pulled out and viewed, it was confirmed that a water retention gel filled in the voids of the culture soil 2 was formed near the bottom 15 of the cells 1.

A water supply bed was formed at the bottom of a plurality of cell trays while appropriately replenishing the water retaining gel forming solution 3 to the vat 35. In this way, the prepared water-retaining gel forming solution could be almost completely used up.

The seedling pot with a water supply floor for raising the Chinese cabbage seedlings 4 thus obtained was left in a house protected from direct sunlight without any external water supply. Observation of the status of the seedlings over time revealed that the Chinese cabbage seedlings remained healthy after 14 days, and "wilting" and "prostrate" were not observed. In other words, the seedlings were not slumped or sprouts-likely elongated.

<Example 2> As a seedling pot, a round pot made of polypropylene having a single pot portion and having a circular opening with a diameter of 10 cm on the upper surface was used. In addition, this leaf 6
One petunia seedling (variety: Carnival Rose, manufactured by Takii Seed Co., Ltd.) was potted and then raised until the first flower bloomed.

On the other hand, JIS K as an alkali silicate
An aqueous solution 4000 g diluted by 60 times weight ratio using one kind of white powder of sodium metasilicate specified in 1408
Then, 67 g of citric acid was added as an acid for neutralization, and the mixture was stirred and mixed. Further, as in Example 1, 4 g of polyoxyethylene sorbitan fatty acid ester as a nonionic activator was added, and powder 2 of sodium alginate was added.
0 g was added. Thus, a water retention gel forming liquid was prepared.

Thereafter, a space was temporarily provided along the inner wall of the pot of the seedling raising pot using a spatula, and the above-mentioned water-retaining gel-forming liquid was poured into the space from the space. In this way, the culture medium near the bottom of the pot was infiltrated and filled with the water-retaining gel-forming solution. After closing the gap, the water-retaining gel-forming liquid was solidified by being left for several hours.

The thus-obtained seedling-raising pot with a water supply floor for planting petunia seedlings was left outdoors in the shade without water being supplied from outside the pot. After observation for one week, flowering was continued and no abnormality was observed.

Example 3 With the same round pot used in Example 2 slightly tilted, about 20 g of a water-retaining gel-forming solution prepared in the same manner as in Example 1 was poured. After leaving it for several hours to solidify the water-retaining gel-forming liquid, the same culture soil as in Example 2 was loaded and filled. Further, after raising the same petunia seedlings as above, the seedlings were raised until the first flowering while the water was appropriately supplied from the outside.

The seedling pot with a water supply floor for planting petunia seedlings thus obtained was left outdoors in the shade without water supply from outside the pot, as in Example 2 above. After observation for one week, flowering was continued and no abnormality was observed.

According to the above embodiment, since water can be supplied from the water retention gel provided near the root of the plant, the minimum water supply efficiency is high and sufficient water supply can be performed from the minimum amount of the water retention gel. it can. As a result, no excess drug is required.

Further, since a water supply container becomes unnecessary, the space for transportation and storage can be minimized. In addition, because it can be processed by a series of continuous work,
The labor for manufacturing the water supply floor can be sufficiently reduced.

Further, by adding an appropriate amount of a suitable surfactant and a water-soluble polymer, water supply from a water supply bed,
In addition, the water retention and the shape retention of the culture soil are improved.

[0047]

According to the present invention, a pot for raising seedlings provided with a water retention gel for supplying water to seedlings, and a method for manufacturing the seedlings, which can be manufactured at low cost and can save space and weight for storage and transportation, are provided. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing a state of production of a seedling pot with a water supply floor according to an embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 Cell in cell tray (small bowl) 11 Bottom opening of each cell 12 Projection surrounding bottom opening 2 Culture soil 3 Water retention gel forming solution (alkali silicate + acid) 35 Bat 4 Seedling

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kanji Minato 4-6-1-11, Ishibe-Chuo, Ishibe-cho, Koka-gun, Shiga Prefecture (72) Inventor Katsumi Shimo 59-27, Kosai-cho, Kosai-cho, Koka-gun, Shiga Prefecture 27 (72) Inventor Shinya Matsushita 3--24-18 Ichisatoyama, Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Nakata 42-14 Kusuchi Jingu-Ganwari 42-14 (72) Inventor Toshikazu Akao Toshikazu Akashihara, Rokutanda, Nishikyo-ku, Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan 2nd Rokutan Tanso No.6 F-term (reference) 2B027 NC08 NC12 ND03 NE10 QB03 RA02 RA14 RA26 RE08 UA03 UA10 UA13 UA16

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A seedling pot provided with a water retention gel for supplying water to a seedling, wherein a mixed solution obtained by mixing an alkali silicate and a neutralizing acid with water is used as a culture material in the seedling pot. A nursery pot characterized by forming a water retention gel as a water supply bed by being absorbed and solidified in a gel state. 2. A method for producing a seedling pot having a water-retaining gel for supplying water to seedlings, the method comprising: mixing an alkali silicate and an acid for neutralizing the same with water; 3. A method for producing a seedling raising pot, wherein a water-supplying bed made of a water-retaining gel is produced by solidifying in a gel form in the step (a). 3. The seedling pot is preliminarily loaded with and filled with a culture material made of soil, sand, fiber or other filling material, and the mixed material is absorbed by the culture material. The method for producing a seedling raising pot according to claim 2. 4. The method for producing a seedling raising pot according to claim 3, wherein at least a part of the seedling raising pot is immersed in the mixture to be absorbed by the culture material. 5. The method for producing a seedling pot according to claim 2, wherein a dilute solution of water glass which is liquid at room temperature or a powder or granules which are solid at room temperature is used as said alkali silicate. 6. The method for producing a seedling raising pot according to claim 2, wherein a surfactant is added before the gel is solidified. 7. The method according to claim 2, wherein a water-soluble polymer is added before the gel is solidified.