JP2017216912A - Plant growth-accelerating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a plant growth-accelerating apparatus capable of accelerating the growth of a plant by a small power source with a small current and a low voltage to lower the equipment cost thereof.SOLUTION: According to the present invention, there is provided a plant growth-accelerating apparatus comprising: a power source 109 and electrodes 107, which are provided for applying a voltage. The electrodes 107 are in contact with the root of a plant 101 and have no movable part. At least one of electrodes applies an electric field in the direction of water flow 106 in which a culture solution 103 circulates, while changing application areas sequentially.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a plant growth promoting apparatus that promotes growth by applying an electric field to a plant root in hydroponics, and realizes a reduction in cost of growing a plant by downsizing a power source that applies an electric field. It is about technology.

  Plant cultivation by hydroponics is an important technique for solving recent food problems. Plant cultivation by hydroponics can be controlled in a controlled space such as a factory. However, for the spread, plant cultivation costs are reduced by shortening the cultivation period or reducing operating running costs such as equipment depreciation. Is essential.

  In order to shorten the growing period, an apparatus that promotes the growth by applying electrical stimulation to the root of the plant through a culture solution used in hydroponics is known (for example, see Non-Patent Document 1). .

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional plant growth promoting apparatus. In FIG. 7, the panel 51 on which the plant 50 is arranged is placed in a cultivation container 53 containing a culture solution 52, an electric field is applied between parallel plate electrodes 55 output from a power supply 54, and the culture solution 52 is passed through. The root of the plant 50 is electrically stimulated.

Yamada, “Growth control of lettuce with pulsed electric field for application to plant factories” The Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan Foundation, Materials, Common Division, March 2015, p. 325

  It is an apparatus that promotes growth by applying an electric field to the roots of plants in hydroponics, and it is effective to reduce the distance between the electrodes in order to reduce the power source for low current and low voltage. However, if the electrode is downsized, an electric field cannot be applied to the entire root.

  However, in the plant growth promoting apparatus shown in FIG. 7, it is possible to apply an electric field to the entire root by moving the electrode. However, when the electrode moves in the area where the root exists, the electrode hits the root, and the root Cutting or scratching occurs.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a plant growth promoting apparatus that can promote growth with a small power source with a small current and a low voltage, and can reduce the equipment cost.

In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, a culture medium for cultivating a plant, a container for putting the roots of the plant into the culture liquid, and a circulation for circulating the culture liquid An apparatus, a power source for applying a voltage, at least one pair of plate electrodes arranged to apply the voltage by the power source in the culture medium, and voltage control means for controlling the voltage application ,
The pair of flat plate electrodes have no movable part in contact with the roots of the plant, and at least one flat plate electrode of the pair of electrodes is in the direction of the water flow in which the culture solution is circulated by the circulation device. An electric field is applied while sequentially changing the application area.

  With this configuration, an electric field can be applied with a small current and a low voltage without applying stress such as scratches or cuts to the roots.

  Therefore, according to the plant growth promotion apparatus concerning the said aspect of this invention, growth promotion can be performed with a small power supply of a small electric current and a low voltage, and reduction of installation cost is possible. In addition, since the space between the electrodes can be narrowed, the amount of the culture solution can be reduced.

The block diagram of the plant growth promotion apparatus in the 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram of the plant growth promotion apparatus in the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram of the plant growth promotion apparatus in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The figure explaining operation | movement of the plant growth promotion apparatus in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The figure explaining operation | movement of the plant growth promotion apparatus in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The figure explaining operation | movement of the plant growth promotion apparatus in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The figure explaining the application example of the plant growth promotion apparatus in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The figure explaining the application example of the plant growth promotion apparatus in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram of the plant growth promotion apparatus in the 4th Embodiment of this invention. The figure which shows the structure of the conventional plant growth promotion apparatus.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a plant growth promoting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and the configuration of the plant growth promoting device will be described below.

  In FIG. 1, the root of the plant 101 exists in a container 104 containing the culture solution 103 through the panel 102, and the culture solution 103 circulates in the direction of the water flow 106 in the circulation device 105. At this time, the sequential electric field area variable type electrodes 107 are arranged to face each other in the same direction as the water flow 106 of the culture solution 103 and exist in the electric field application area 108 between the sequential electric field area variable type electrodes 107 arranged opposite to each other. Electrical stimulation is applied to the root of the plant 101 using the power source 109. Further, the electric field area variable electrode 107 can sequentially apply an electric field while changing the electric field application area 108 in the direction of the water flow 106 in which the culture solution 103 circulates by the control device 110. In FIG. 1, both the sequential electric field area variable electrodes 107 facing the roots of the plant 101 are controlled by the control device 110, but one side of the facing electrodes 107 may be a simple conductor plate. In this case, the uniformity of the electric field applied to the electric field applying area 108 is lower than that in the case of controlling both of the electric field area variable electrodes 107, but the structure is simple, and the equipment cost is further reduced. Can do.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the plant growth promoting apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a device that performs area variable control of the sequential electric field area variable electrode 107 of FIG. 1 by mechanical electrode movement. In FIG. 2, using the control device 110, the small electrode 111 is moved by the electrode moving mechanism 112 in the direction of the electrode moving direction 113 parallel to the water flow 106 through which the culture medium 103 circulates, and the electric field application area 108 is changed. Apply an electric field. At this time, the fixing plate 114 is disposed between the small electrode 111 and the plant 101. The fixing plate 114 shown in FIG. 2 is described in a manner in which the conductor 114a is divided by an insulator 114b. When the culture solution 103 exists between the small electrode 111 and the fixed plate 114, the conductive portion 114a of the small electrode 111 and the fixed plate 114 is conducted through the culture solution 103. The small electrode 111 and the fixed plate 114 need not be in contact with each other at the timing of applying an electric field. Of course, the small electrode 111 and the fixing plate 114 may be brought into contact with each other. Further, at the timing of applying an electric field to the small electrode 111 for promoting plant growth, it is necessary to arrange the plane of the small electrode 111 at a position facing the plane of the conductor portion 114a of the fixed plate 114.

  Note that when the conductivity of the fixing plate 114 is more than twice that of the culture solution, the fixing plate 114 needs to be divided into a plurality of insulators 114b as shown in FIG. . This is because if the conductivity of the fixed plate 114 is high, the amount of current flowing through the conductor portion 114a of the fixed plate 114 increases. Further, the fixing plate 114 needs to have a conductivity of 0.5 times or more that of the culture solution 103. This is because if the conductivity is low, the loss in the fixed plate 114 increases. When the electric conductivity of the fixing plate 114 is in the range of 0.5 to 2 times that of the culture solution 103, the electric resistance of the fixing plate 114 can be regarded as almost equal to that of the culture solution 103, so the fixing plate 114 needs to be separated by an insulator. There is no.

  FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the plant growth promoting apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 shows an apparatus for performing the electrode moving mechanism 112 of FIG. In FIG. 3, using the control device 110, the small electrode 111 is moved by the crawler mechanism 115 in the electrode movement direction 113 parallel to the water flow 106 through which the culture solution 103 circulates, and an electric field is applied while changing the electric field application area 108. To do. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, the plane including the roller rotation direction 117 of the roller 116 in the crawler mechanism 115 is perpendicular to the plane of the small electrode 111.

  Moreover, FIG. 4A-FIG. 4C are figures explaining operation | movement of the plant growth promotion apparatus in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 4A is a timing chart illustrating the operation. 4B is a diagram for explaining the position of the small electrode 111 when the time is 0 second in FIG. 4A, and FIG. 4C is a diagram for explaining the position of the small electrode 111 when the time is 2000 seconds in FIG. 4A. 4A to 4C, using five crawler mechanisms 115, electrode movement is performed for four rows of plant A row 118, plant B row 119, plant C row 120, and plant D row 121. An electric field is applied by moving the small electrode 111 in the direction 113. An electric field is applied to the plant 101 in four rows of a plant α row 122, a plant β row 123, a plant γ row 124, and a plant δ row 125, which are orthogonal to the electrode movement direction 113. Plant 101 is targeted for 16 lines of 4 rows by 4 rows.

  Note that the small electrode 111 performs an application operation by dividing one strain of the plant 101 into five areas. In order to promote plant growth, 100 shots (1 Hz) can be applied per location, and the small electrode 111 can be moved in less than 1 second.

  Now, the operation of the small electrode 111 in FIGS. 4A to 4C will be described. The operation of the small electrode 111 is described in the timing chart shown in FIG. 4A. First, at time 0 seconds immediately after the start, the small electrode 111 exists at the position shown in FIG. 4B. As shown in FIG. 4B, the small electrode 111 applies 100 shots (1HZ) at the positions of the plant A row 118, the plant C row 120, and the plant α row 122 to promote plant growth. The small electrode 111 moves 100 seconds after 100 shots are completed. The movement of the small electrode 111 is possible in less than 1 second, and since the electric field application is 5 areas per strain of the plant 101, the electric field application of one strain of the plant 101 is completed after 500 seconds, and the small electrode 111 moves to the plant β row 123. To do. The small electrode 111 moves to the plant γ row 124 after 1000 seconds, and the small electrode 111 moves to the plant δ row 125 after 1500 seconds. After 2000 seconds, the application of the electric field to the plant A row 118 and the plant C row 120 is completed, the small electrode 111 moves to the opposite side of the crawler mechanism 115, and the small electrode 111 moves to the position shown in FIG. 4C. As shown in FIG. 4B, the small electrode 111 is present at the position of the plant B row 119, the plant D row 121, and the plant δ row 125. The small electrode 111 moves to the plant δ row 125 after 2500 seconds, the small electrode 111 moves to the plant β row 123 after 3000 seconds, and the small electrode 111 moves to the plant α row 122 after 3,500 seconds. After 4000 seconds, the electric field application of the plant B row 119 and the plant D row 121 is completed, and a series of operations is completed.

  Furthermore, FIG. 5A-FIG. 5B are the figures explaining the application example of the plant growth promotion apparatus in the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating an example in which the electrodes in all rows move, and FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating an example in which the one-side electrode is fixed. In FIG. 5A, there are five crawler mechanisms 115, whereas in FIG. 5B, only two crawler mechanisms 115 are required, so that the equipment cost can be reduced.

  FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of a plant growth promoting apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a device that performs the area variable control of FIG. In FIG. 6, the conductor electrode 127 is partitioned by an insulator 128, and is installed in a shape that sandwiches the root of the plant 101 in parallel with the water flow 106 through which the culture solution 103 circulates. Connection to the conductor electrode 127 is performed by the switch 126 using the control device 110. By sequentially switching the connection of the switch 126, an electric field is applied while changing the electric field application area.

  With the apparatus described above, growth can be promoted with a small power source with a small current and low voltage, and the equipment cost can be reduced. Moreover, since the space between the electrodes can be narrowed by the water flow through which the culture solution 103 circulates, the amount of the culture solution 103 can be reduced. For example, when hydroponically cultivating lettuce, the cultivation interval is set to 15 cm, and in the conventional technique, the interelectrode distance is set to 15 cm and the electrode width is set to 15 cm for one lettuce strain. With this configuration, the distance between the electrodes can be 3cm at 1/5 of the conventional, the electrode width can be 3cm at 1/5 of the conventional, the voltage is 1/5 of the conventional, and the current is 1/5 of the conventional. A 1/25 power supply can be used compared with the conventional one. Moreover, in the space of 15 cm square which is a lettuce cultivation area, the usage-amount of a culture solution becomes proportional to the distance between electrodes, and becomes 1/5 at the maximum. By using any one of the embodiments of the present invention, the direction perpendicular to the water flow through which the culture solution circulates narrows the space in which plant roots can exist, but the water flow direction through which the culture solution circulates Therefore, cultivation is possible without applying stress to the roots and without disturbing the circulation of the culture solution.

  In addition, it can be made to show the effect which each has by combining arbitrary embodiment or modification of the said various embodiment or modification suitably. In addition, combinations of the embodiments, combinations of the examples, or combinations of the embodiments and examples are possible, and combinations of features in different embodiments or examples are also possible.

  According to the plant growth promoting apparatus according to the aspect of the present invention, an electric field can be applied with a small current and a low voltage without applying stress such as a wound or a cut to the root. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the size of the power source, and it is possible to reduce the equipment cost. Moreover, the amount of the culture solution can be reduced by reducing the distance between the electrodes. Moreover, the cultivation container generally used by hydroponics is manufactured by making the dimension of the water flow produced by circulating a culture solution long, and shortening the dimension in the orthogonal direction. In the plant growth promotion apparatus according to the above aspect of the present invention, switching of the electric field area is performed in a direction in which the size of the cultivation container, which is the direction of water flow, is long, and therefore, practical development is easy. Since current can be reduced, safety measures can be facilitated, and the introduction of growth promotion technology by electrical stimulation to hydroponic cultivation is accelerated. By this, the cultivation period in hydroponics can be shortened, the plant cultivation cost can be reduced, and it can contribute to the solution of the food problem of the whole world.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Plant 102 Panel 103 Culture solution 104 Container 105 Circulating device 106 Water flow 107 Sequential electric field area variable type electrode 108 Electric field application area 109 Power supply 110 Control device 111 Small electrode 112 Electrode moving mechanism 113 Electrode moving direction 114 Fixed plate 115 Crawler mechanism 116 Roller 117 Roller rotating direction 118 Plant A row 119 Plant B row 120 Plant C row 121 Plant D row 122 Plant α row 123 Plant β row 124 Plant γ row 125 Plant δ row 126 Switch 127 Conductor electrode 128 Insulator

Claims (4)

A culture solution for cultivating a plant, a container for putting the roots of the plant in the culture solution, a circulation device for circulating the culture solution, a power source for applying a voltage, and the medium in the culture solution Having at least one pair of flat plate electrodes arranged opposite to apply the voltage by a power source, and a control device for controlling the voltage application;
The pair of plate electrodes has no moving part at the part in contact with the root of the plant, and at least one plate electrode of the pair of plate electrodes is in the direction of the water flow through which the culture medium circulates by the circulation device. A plant growth promoting device that applies an electric field while sequentially changing the application area.   A mechanism for moving the plate electrode in the direction of the water flow through which the culture medium circulates; and a fixing plate that is installed between the plate electrode and the root of the plant and is made of a conductive material, the fixing plate Is more than 0.5 times the conductivity of the culture solution, and when the conductivity of the fixing plate is more than twice the conductivity of the culture solution, the fixing plate is divided into a plurality of insulators. The plant growth promotion apparatus according to claim 1.   The mechanism for moving the plate electrode is a crawler mechanism, and the rotation plane of the roller in the crawler mechanism is perpendicular to the plane of the plate electrode, and the two planes between the two rollers in the crawler mechanism are the two planes. The plant growth promotion apparatus of Claim 2 which performs the voltage application by a flat electrode.   The plant growth promoting device according to claim 1, wherein the plate electrode is divided into a plurality of parts by an insulator, and a switch is provided between the plate electrode and the power source.

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