JP2003052253A - Multi stage-type seedling culturing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a multi stage-type seedling culturing apparatus with which homogeneous high-quality seedlings can be produced by an energy saving, resource saving and low cost method, by removing heat homogeneously effectively from a seedling raising space while lights are radiated sufficiently with artificial light sources. SOLUTION: This multi stage-type seedling culturing apparatus is provided with an air conditioner on an appropriate position, and one or more box-type seedling raising apparatuses comprising the seedling raising space and an air chamber are placed in an internal space of a closed-type construction. In the multi stage-type seedling culturing apparatus, the seedling raising space of a box-type seedling raising apparatus above-mentioned, is opened at the front side, and seedling raising shelves for loading receiving plates on which a plurality of seedling raising containers containing a medium for raising plants are placed, are arranged on multi stages. An artificial lighting apparatus is placed on the upper side of the receiving plate loaded on each seedling-raising shelf, a porous plate is placed on the boundary of the seedling raising space and the air chamber, and a plurality of air fans are placed on the back side of the air chamber. Thus, the above-mentioned purposes are achieved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multistage seedling raising device. More specifically, it is a closed space type multi-shelf type seedling raising device equipped with an artificial light source (or artificial lighting device) and an air conditioner to realize a stable plant raising environment that is not affected by the external environment. The present invention relates to a multistage seedling raising apparatus capable of automatically producing high-quality cell-molded seedlings with low energy and low cost under uniform growth conditions.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a seedling raising method for raising seedlings of various plants, there is a seedling raising method represented by a plant factory. This seedling raising method artificially adjusts the light volume, temperature, humidity, wind speed, irrigation volume, etc. of the seedling raising space to an optimum state by using a seedling raising device equipped with an artificial light source, an air conditioner and an automatic watering device, and it is of high quality and uniform. It is a method of growing seedlings stably, labor-saving and at low cost. What is important in the seedling raising apparatus used in this kind of seedling raising method is to minimize the influence of heat generation of the artificial light source (or artificial lighting device).

As a seedling raising apparatus for improving the influence of heat generation of an artificial light source, an artificial environment apparatus described in Japanese Patent No. 3026253 has been proposed. In the artificial environment device proposed here, an air-conditioning room with both left and right ends opened is provided, an intake chamber is provided at one end thereof, and an outlet chamber is provided at the other end thereof, and an air-conditioning device and a ventilation device are provided in a ventilation passage that connects them. The seedling growing device provided between the suction chamber and the blowing chamber is supplied with air whose temperature and humidity are adjusted.

However, this artificial environment device has been found through experiments to have the following disadvantages. First, in the case of raising a well-grown seedling in a short period of time, a large amount of light from the artificial light source is required, but at the same time, the amount of heat emitted from the artificial light source also increases. When many multistage nursery shelves are arranged in the artificial environment device, the ventilation distance through the space where the multistage nursery shelves are arranged becomes long. When the amount of heat emitted by the artificial light source is large, a temperature difference is likely to occur between the first point where ventilation is applied and the last point where ventilation is applied due to the difference in heat removal effect, which may cause uneven growth of seedlings and poor growth. . In addition, it is necessary to provide equipment such as ventilation passages, blow-out chambers, suction chambers, rectification chambers, etc. outside the air-conditioning room where the multi-stage nursery shelves are installed. It has the disadvantage of low efficiency.

In order to improve the above-mentioned drawbacks of the artificial environment device described in Japanese Patent No. 3026253, the applicant of the present invention previously arranged a plurality of seedling raising shelves in multiple stages in a seedling raising space for raising seedlings, and An artificial light source was installed in the upper part of the space, the front of the nursery space was opened, the rear was closed by a wall with many holes, and an air fan was installed in each of the holes. Wish 2001-99162). However, as a result of further study thereafter, it was found that there is a drawback that the cost for installing a large number of air fans, the maintenance cost of the device, and the like increase.

[0006]

In view of such a situation, the present inventor has considered that in a multistage seedling raising apparatus, the seedling raising space can be uniformly and efficiently irradiated with light sufficiently by an artificial light source (artificial lighting device). The present invention has been completed as a result of earnestly studying to provide seedling raising technology capable of removing heat and automatically producing a uniform and high-quality whistle with energy-saving, resource-saving and low-cost method. Is.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, a box-shaped seedling raising apparatus is provided in an internal space of a large-sized closed type structure surrounded by a heat insulating wall and having a complete light shielding property.
In a multistage seedling raising apparatus having a base or a plurality of arranged seedlings, an air conditioner is provided in an appropriate place in the internal space of the closed structure, and the box type seedling raising apparatus is provided with a seedling raising space and an air chamber. The front of the seedling is open, and in this seedling-raising space, seedling-raising shelves for placing a saucer in which a plurality of seedling-raising containers containing a medium for growing plants are placed are arranged in multiple stages.
An artificial lighting device that irradiates the plants with light is placed on the upper side of the seedling raising container placed on each seedling raising shelf, and a perforated plate is placed at the boundary between the seedling raising space and the air chamber. Provided is a multi-stage seedling raising device, characterized in that a plurality of air fans are provided on the side.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The multistage seedling raising apparatus according to the present invention is
This is a closed type seedling raising apparatus in which one or more box type seedling raising apparatuses are arranged in the internal space of a large-sized closed type structure surrounded by a heat insulating wall and completely shielded from light. In the present invention, the closed type seedling raising apparatus refers to a structure having an internal space that is closed by being surrounded by a wall surface that blocks outside air temperature and natural light. A typical structure is a box-shaped hexahedron in which reinforcing bars, slate plates and heat insulating materials are combined. The outer shape of the structure is not particularly limited, and the outer shape may be a kamaboko shape, a semi-cylindrical shape, a hemispherical shape, or the like.

Regarding the size of the internal space of the closed structure, one or a plurality of box-shaped seedling raising devices can be arranged side by side in the internal space, and one or a plurality of workers can be placed in front of the box-type seedling raising device. A work space with enough space for work shall be provided. In order to increase the area utilization rate and space utilization rate of the internal space of the closed structure, it is preferable that the working space is as small as possible and narrow. When arranging the box-shaped seedling raising device inside the closed-type structure, a space having a width of about 5 to 30 cm is provided between the wall surface of the closed-type structure and the back surface of the box-shaped seedling raising device. A circulation passage for the air that has passed through the air chamber of the seedling raising device.

The closed structure must be equipped with an air conditioner. The air conditioner needs to have a function of controlling the temperature and humidity of the air in the internal space of the closed structure and circulating the temperature-controlled and humidity-controlled air in the closed structure. The indoor unit of the air conditioner is installed in a suitable place inside the closed space. Here, the proper place is a place where the indoor unit can be attached, and means, for example, a ceiling wall surface, a side wall surface, or a floor surface inside the closed space.
The outdoor unit is preferably mounted outside the closed structure. When the internal space of the closed structure is small, the air conditioner can control the temperature and humidity of the entire internal space of the closed structure by one device, but the internal space of the closed structure is When it is large, it is preferable to set the number corresponding to a plurality of box-shaped seedling raising devices.

When the circulating air circulated by the air conditioner passes through the box-shaped seedling raising device, the heat mainly emitted from the artificial lighting device (artificial light source) and seedling raising pots, seedling raising containers such as cell trays, soil, plants With the water vapor evaporated from the seedlings, saucer, etc., the temperature and humidity are controlled by the indoor unit of the air conditioner, and cold air whose temperature and humidity are controlled is on the front side of the seedling raising space of one or more box type nursery equipment. Supplied. in this way,
By circulating the air in the closed space, the closed space can be maintained in an optimal temperature / humidity environment for plant growth.

The box-shaped seedling raising device disposed in the internal space of the closed structure is a box-shaped hexahedron, and has a seedling raising space for raising seedlings and an air chamber for collecting circulating air passing through the seedling raising space. I have it. Inside the nursery space, the nursery shelves are arranged in multiple stages, the front of the nursery space is open, the perforated plate is placed between the nursery space and the air chamber, and the rear side of the air chamber (opposite to the open front) Side) is provided with one or more air fans. The box-shaped seedling raising device has a structure in which a wall is not installed in front of the seedling raising device, and a plurality of seedling raising shelves are arranged in multiple stages at regular intervals in the seedling raising space, whereby the utilization efficiency of the seedling raising space can be improved. It is not necessary to provide a closed wall on the back side of the air chamber, and it is preferable to use a frame in which an air fan can be installed, or a wall having a hole having a large diameter of the fan of the air fan.

The height of the box-shaped seedling raising apparatus is about 200 cm, which is a height at which a worker can work, and the width of the seedling raising shelf is
A cell tray of various sizes, a seedling pot or a tray in which seedling raising containers such as seedling raising boxes are arranged can be placed, and the width at which the temperature and humidity of each shelf can be adjusted to a constant level, for example, 100 cm to 2
It is preferable that the seedling raising rack has a depth of about 50 cm to about 150 cm.

By arranging a plurality of seedling raising shelves substantially horizontally in the seedling raising space of the box-shaped seedling raising device, the seedling raising space is divided in the vertical direction. For the lowermost shelf, the lower side wall surface of the box-shaped seedling raising device can be directly used as a shelf. The space between a plurality of seedling raising shelves can be reduced to increase the number of seedling raising shelves so that the utilization efficiency of the seedling raising space can be improved. But,
If the spacing between the nursery shelves is too small, the workability when loading and unloading multiple seedling containers into and from the dish will be poor, and the maximum length of the seedlings cannot be secured.
It is preferably about the same. The nursery shelf has metal plates, metal nets,
It is preferable to form a metal rod or a combination thereof.

The perforated plate arranged between the seedling-raising space and the air chamber of the box-shaped seedling-growing device functions as a straightening plate for adjusting the amount of air passing through the seedling-raising space. The perforated plate has a large number of through holes uniformly distributed therein. The shape, size, and perforation rate of the through-holes are not particularly limited, and are circular through-holes with a diameter of 5 mm to 20 mm and square through-holes with a side of 4 mm to 20 mm, and the perforation rate is 20% to 70%. It can be%. The perforated plate is preferably prepared from a metal plate, a resin plate, a wooden plate or the like.

A plurality of air fans are installed on the back wall side (outside) of the air chamber. One air fan is provided for each stage of raising seedlings (see below, see FIG. 2), and two stages of raising seedlings are provided (see below, see FIG. 1).
It can be one and so on. By operating the air fan, the air staying in the air chamber is discharged into the space formed by the back surface of the air chamber and the inner wall surface of the closed structure, so that the air chamber is decompressed and passed through the through holes of the perforated plate. Inhalation occurs from the nursery space. By selecting the diameter of the through holes to be perforated in the perforated plate, the perforation rate, etc., it is possible to make the wind pressure and the wind speed in the nursery space constant. The breeze is sufficient for the strength of the air circulation by the air fan.

The air cooled and dehumidified by the air conditioner installed in the internal space of the closed structure is operated by operating an air fan from the front side of each seedling shelf in the seedling raising space of the box-shaped seedling raising device, to raise the seedling raising space. It can be sucked in, passed through the through hole of the perforated plate, guided to the air chamber, and discharged to the back side of the box-shaped seedling raising device. The air exhausted from the air chamber to the back by the air fan is sucked in by the air conditioner installed in the closed structure at the proper position, and the temperature and humidity are adjusted to the front side of each nursery shelf of the box type nursery. It is blown out (see below, FIGS. 1 and 2).

An artificial lighting device (artificial light source) that irradiates plants such as seedlings with light is arranged on the upper side of each nursery shelf (see below,
1 and 2). The artificial lighting device is arranged on the rear surface of the nursery shelf directly above the individual nursery shelves and on the lower surface of the upper wall of the box-shaped nursery apparatus in the uppermost nursery shelf. As the light source of the artificial lighting device, a fluorescent lamp is preferable, and the candle light, length, etc. of the fluorescent lamp can be appropriately selected depending on the width and length of one nursery shelf, the spacing between the nursery shelves, and the like. For example, 120 cm
Width x 60 cm long nursery shelves with 35 cm spacing between the nursery shelves
In the case of, a 45W fluorescent lamp with a length of 120 cm is used for 4 to 8
It may be arranged parallel to the books and the surface of the nursery shelf.

Each seedling shelf is preferably equipped with an automatic watering device. The automatic irrigation device is not particularly limited, and, for example, (1) a method of placing a saucer that does not leak irrigation (culture solution) on each seedling shelf and supplying irrigation from the irrigation pipe into the saucer, ( 2) A method of supplying irrigation water to each seedling raising container individually. In the case of the above method (1), it is preferable to lay a resin-made porous sheet on the bottom surface of the pan because the irrigation water supplied from the irrigation pipe port can be spread quickly and evenly on the bottom surface of the pan. Examples of the resin-made porous sheet include woven fabrics, non-woven fabrics, and combinations of woven fabrics and non-woven fabrics made of chemical fibers. The chemical fiber is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include polyamide fiber and polyester fiber.

The tray is a cell tray placed in the storage section,
It functions so as not to supply irrigation water to a nursery pot or a nursery container such as a nursery box, or to leak excess irrigation water to the lower nursery shelf. The saucer is preferably made of metal or synthetic resin, and has a plane shape of about 120 cm × 60 cm and a shallow box shape with a depth of 10 mm to 40 mm.

Examples of the seedling raising container include a cell tray, a seedling raising pot or a seedling raising box. The size of each cell tray is preferably 15 to 50 mm in depth and 4 to 30 ml in volume. The cell is preferably of inverted truncated cone type, and the cone may be a cone or a pyramid,
A through hole must be formed in the bottom wall surface of each cell. The bottom wall surface may be flat or may be provided with a plurality of small projections protruding downward from the bottom wall surface. The water content is sucked up into the medium in the cell tray from the through hole by the capillary phenomenon. The cell tray is manufactured by a differential pressure molding method from a resin sheet, and as described above, tens to hundreds of cells (small bowls) are arranged in a grid in one piece (up to 450 pieces). Those having cells are preferred. The size of one cell tray (one sheet) is preferably about 30 cm in width and about 60 cm in length.

The seedling raising pot has a diameter of several cm to 1
Examples include a bowl shape of 0 cm and a number made of synthetic resin.
As the seedling raising box, a box-shaped box having a square or rectangular shape with a side of a dozen centimeters and made of synthetic resin can be mentioned.

When the multi-stage seedling raising apparatus according to the present invention is used and the seedlings are grown in the seedling raising space of the box-type seedling raising apparatus arranged in the internal space of the closed structure, the quantity of light and the temperature suitable for the growth of the seedlings are used. It is preferable to automatically adjust environmental conditions such as humidity, humidity, carbon dioxide concentration, and moisture. Therefore, it is preferable to equip the internal space of the closed structure with a carbon dioxide gas concentration measuring device, a carbon dioxide gas automatic supply device, an automatic watering device, and the like. By using the multi-stage seedling raising device according to the present invention equipped with such various devices, seedlings on the same shelf can all be raised under the same environment, thus improving the uniformity of the obtained seedling quality. You can The seedling quality here refers to the seedling hypocotyl length, hypocotyl diameter,
It means appearance characteristics such as leaf color and leaf area, qualitative characteristics such as flower bud formation position and presence / absence of a drawing stand.

The multistage seedling raising apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the following description examples as long as the gist thereof is not exceeded.

FIG. 1 is a side view of a multi-stage seedling raising apparatus in which one box-type seedling raising apparatus is visually recognized, and FIG. 2 is a side view of a multi-stage type seedling raising apparatus in which two box-type seedling raising apparatuses are visually recognized. 3 is a side view of an example of the cell tray.

In FIG. 1, one box-type seedling raising device is visually recognized, but one or more box-type seedling raising devices may be arranged further in the back. In Figure 1, the internal dimensions are 1800 mm wide,
The closed structure 10 having a depth of 1800 mm and a height of 2700 mm is provided with a doorway with an air curtain (not shown). Inside the closed structure 10,
Outer dimensions are width 1300mm, depth 650mm, height 1850
A box-shaped seedling raising device 12 of 1 mm is arranged. An air conditioner indoor unit 11 is attached to the ceiling wall surface of the closed structure. On the outside of the closed structure 10, a stabilizer for an air conditioner, a culture solution tank, an irrigation pump, which are not shown,
A carbon dioxide cylinder, operation panel, distribution board, etc. are arranged.

The box-shaped seedling raising device 12 is equipped with a seedling raising space 13 having a depth of 700 mm and an air chamber 14 having a depth of 300 mm,
A perforated plate 15 is arranged at the boundary between the two. The front of the nursery space 13 is opened, and the inside of the nursery space 13 is divided into four stages by three nursery shelves 16, and the lowermost shelf uses the lower side wall surface of the box-shaped nursery apparatus as it is.
A saucer (not shown) is placed on the nursery shelf 16, and cell trays 17 are placed side by side in the width direction of the nursery shelf 16 on the saucer. Although the seedling-growing space 13 is divided into four stages in the drawing, the present invention is not limited to this example, and it can be divided into five stages or six stages as described above.

A saucer (not shown) is placed on each seedling raising shelf 16 in the seedling raising space 13, and cell trays 17 are placed side by side in the width direction of the seedling raising shelf 16 on this saucer.
An artificial lighting device 18 that irradiates the plant with light is arranged on the upper side of the cell tray 17. The artificial lighting device 18 for the uppermost seedling raising shelf is arranged on the lower surface of the upper wall of the box-shaped seedling raising device as described above.

The perforated plate 15 arranged at the boundary between the nursery space 13 and the air chamber 14 is made of a metal plate having a thickness of 1 mm, and the through holes having a diameter of 2 mm are uniformly dispersed with a perforation rate of 25%. Perforated. An air fan 19 is provided on the back surface of the box-shaped seedling raising apparatus, and air retained in the air chamber is passed by the air fan 19 between the wall surface of the closed structure and the back surface of the box-shaped seedling raising apparatus to forcibly control the air conditioner 11. Lead to the side. A space having a width of 30 cm is provided between the wall surface of the closed structure and the back surface of the box-shaped seedling raising apparatus, and serves as a circulation passage for air passing through the air chamber of the box-shaped seedling raising apparatus. FIG. 1 shows an example in which one air fan 19 is provided for a two-stage seedling raising shelf.

Although two box-shaped seedling raising devices are visually recognized in FIG. 2, two or more box-shaped seedling raising devices may be arranged further in the back depending on the size of the closed structure. Is as described above. FIG. 2 shows an example in which one air fan 29 is provided for a single-stage nursery shelf. In Fig. 2, internal dimensions are width 3600 mm, depth 3600 mm, height 2700
In the closed structure 20 having a size of mm, a doorway with an air curtain (not shown) is installed. Inside the closed structure 20, the outer dimensions are 1300 mm wide and 6 deep.
A box-shaped seedling raising device 22 having a height of 50 mm and a height of 1850 mm is arranged. On the ceiling wall of the closed structure, the air conditioner indoor unit 2
1 is attached. Outside the closed structure 20,
A stabilizer of an air conditioner, a culture solution tank, an irrigation pump, a carbon dioxide gas cylinder, an operation panel, a distribution board, and the like, which are not shown, are arranged.

The box type seedling raising device 22 is equipped with a seedling raising space 23 having a depth of 700 mm and an air chamber 24 having a depth of 300 mm,
A perforated plate 25 is arranged at the boundary between the two. The front of the nursery space 23 is opened, and the inside of the nursery space 23 is divided into four stages by three nursery shelves 26, and the lowermost shelf uses the lower side wall surface of the box-shaped nursery apparatus as it is.
A saucer (not shown) is placed on the nursery shelf 26, and cell trays 27 are placed side by side in the width direction of the nursery shelf 26 on the saucer. Although the seedling-growing space 23 is divided into four stages in the drawing, the present invention is not limited to this example, and it is possible to divide into five or six stages as described above. FIG. 2 shows an example in which one air fan 29 is provided for a single-stage nursery shelf. Nursery space 23
On the upper side of the cell tray 27 placed on each seedling shelf 26 of
The artificial lighting device 28 for irradiating the plant with light is arranged, and the ballast (inverter) box of the artificial lighting device is
Although not shown, it is attached to the outer wall of the closed structure.

The cell tray 31 is a molded product made of a resin sheet, as shown in a partially enlarged vertical sectional view in FIG. 3, and has a plurality of truncated conical cells (spaces) 32 arranged in a lattice. The bottom wall surface 33 of the cell 32 is provided with a small protrusion 34 and a cell hole 35. One cell hole may be provided in the bottom wall surface 33, and the small protrusion 34 may not be provided, but it is provided in the illustrated example.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, arrows indicate the direction of air flow. Although FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show an example in which the air conditioner indoor units 11 and 21 for a closed type structure are attached to the ceiling wall surface inside the closed space, the present invention is not limited to this place as described above. is there. The air cooled and dehumidified by the indoor unit operates the air fans 19 and 29 provided on the rear surface of each seedling raising rack to produce the box-shaped seedling raising devices 12 and 22.
Is sucked from the front side of the box and discharged through the air chambers 14 and 24 into the space between the wall surface of the closed structure and the back surface of the box-shaped seedling raising device. The air discharged into this space is used for the indoor units 11 and 21.
The temperature / humidity is adjusted by, and the temperature / humidified cold air is supplied to the open front side of the seedling raising spaces of the box-shaped seedling raising devices 12, 22.

[0034]

As described above in detail, the present invention has the following particularly advantageous effects, and its industrial utility value is extremely large. 1. The multi-stage seedling raising apparatus according to the present invention uniformly and efficiently removes heat at each seedling raising rack in the seedling raising space while giving sufficient light to the seedlings being raised by an artificial lighting device, and raises the temperature and wind speed. The conditions can be easily set to optimum conditions suitable for raising seedlings. 2. Since the multistage seedling raising apparatus according to the present invention has the perforated plate at the boundary between the seedling raising space and the air chamber, the airflow of each nursery shelf is made uniform without using a rectifying plate or the like, and uniform temperature control / Humidity can be adjusted. 3. The multi-stage seedling raising apparatus according to the present invention is a box-shaped seedling raising apparatus in which a plurality of seedling raising shelves are arranged in the internal space of a large-sized closed type box which is surrounded by a heat insulating wall and has a complete light-shielding property. Because it is located, the space utilization rate is extremely high. 4. When raising seedlings with the multi-stage seedling raising apparatus according to the present invention, a uniform and high-quality seedling is automatically saved, energy saving,
It can be produced by resource saving and low cost method.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a multistage seedling raising apparatus in which one box-shaped seedling raising apparatus is visually recognized.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a multistage seedling raising apparatus in which two box-shaped seedling raising apparatuses are visually recognized.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an example of a cell tray.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 20: Closed type structure 11, 21: Indoor unit of air conditioner 12, 22: Box type seedling raising device 13, 23: Nursery space 14, 24: Air chamber 15, 25: Perforated plate 16, 26: Nursery shelf 17, 27, 31: Cell tray 18, 28: Artificial lighting device 19, 29: Air fan 32: cell 33: Bottom wall surface 34: Small protrusion 35: Cell hole

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Junya Fuse             4-2 Asakusabashi 4-chome, Taito-ku, Tokyo Taiyo             Kogyo Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) 2B022 AA01 AA03 DA01                 2B029 FA09 FA10 FA15 KB03 MA01                       PA05 RA04 SA01 SF08 VA01                       VA11

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A multi-stage seedling raising apparatus in which one or a plurality of box-shaped seedling raising apparatuses are arranged in an internal space of a large-sized closed type structure surrounded by a heat insulating wall and having a complete light-shielding property,
An air conditioner is installed in an appropriate place in the internal space of the closed structure, the box-shaped seedling raising device is provided with a seedling raising space and an air chamber, the seedling raising space is open at the front, and the seedling raising space is Artificial lighting that irradiates the plants with light is placed on the upper side of the seedling raising containers placed on each seedling raising shelf is arranged in multiple stages, with a saucer on which multiple seedling raising containers containing a medium for growing plants are placed. The multi-stage seedling raising device is characterized in that a perforated plate is placed at the boundary between the nursery space and the air chamber, and multiple air fans are provided on the back side of the air chamber. apparatus. 2. The multistage seedling raising apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the seedling raising container is a cell tray, a seedling raising pot or a seedling raising box.