JP2945641B2 - Crop seedling box packing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a seedling storage box used for transporting crop seedlings such as rush seedlings and transferring crop seedlings to a seedling cradle of a seedling transplanter. The present invention relates to an apparatus for packing crops and seedlings into which boxes are packed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in the case of rush seedlings, an operator separates a mother plant grown from a seed stock into approximately one rush seedling for planting, either manually or by using a stocking device. The separated rush plants were manually packed into the seedling storage box.

[0003]

Since the operation of packing the separated seedlings into the seedling storage box as described above is very time-consuming and requires a large amount of labor, the efficiency of the pre-processing work for the planting operation is improved. In view of this, automation of the operation of packing crop seedlings into a seedling storage box is desired. If there is variation in the packing condition (density) of crop seedlings in the seedling storage box,
Even after the transfer of the crop seedlings to the seedling rest of the seedling transplanter, the degree of packing (density) of the crop seedlings at the seedling rest remains uneven. In some cases, a plant may be formed, or the number of plant seedlings planted may vary. An object of the present invention is to provide a box for packing seedlings that can be packed in seedling storage boxes without any variation in the degree (density) of the seedlings and without damaging the seedlings.

[0004]

A feature of the present invention resides in that a boxing apparatus for crop seedlings is configured as follows. [1] A feeding mechanism for feeding the crop seedlings into the seedling storage box in a standing posture with the root part down, and a crop seedling sent from the delivery section of the seedlings of the feeding mechanism to the seedling storage box is placed on a predetermined wall of the seedling storage box. A pressing mechanism for pressing the head toward the side, and a supporting mechanism for movably supporting the seedling storage box along the pressing direction of the pressing mechanism, and the seedling storage box was sent to the seedling storage box in a standing posture with the root part down. By pressing the crop seedling toward a predetermined wall portion side of the seedling storage box by the pressing mechanism, the seedling storage box is moved along the pressing direction, and the crop seedling is packed in the seedling storage box. A seedling pressing member for aligning the upper portion of the crop seedling sent into the seedling storage box by pressing the upper portion while moving up and down; and a linking means for linking the pressing mechanism and the seedling pressing member.

[2] A feeding mechanism for feeding the crop seedlings into the seedling storage box in a standing posture with the root part down, and a crop seedling sent from the feeding section of the feeding mechanism into the seedling storage box by the pressing section. A pressing mechanism that presses the seedling storage box toward a predetermined wall portion side by an operation, and a support mechanism that movably supports the seedling storage box along the pressing direction of the pressing mechanism, with a root portion standing down. By pressing the crop seedling sent into the seedling storage box in the posture toward a predetermined wall side of the seedling storage box by the pressing mechanism, the crop seedling is moved while moving the seedling storage box in the pressing direction. A seedling pressing member that is configured to be packed in the storage box and that aligns the top of the crop seedling sent to the seedling storage box by pressing the top while moving up and down, wherein the pressing portion holds the seedling in the seedling storage box at a predetermined position. Press toward the wall side of When the seedling pressing member retreats upward, and the pressing portion retreats away from the crop seedling, the pressing mechanism and the seedling pressing member are linked so that the seedling pressing member descends and presses the upper part of the crop seedling. There is a linking means.

[0006]

[I] According to the feature of the first aspect, the seedling is fed into the seedling storage box by the feeding mechanism in a standing posture with the root part down, and the crop seedling sent to the seedling storage box is pressed by the pressing mechanism. The seedling storage box is pressed toward a predetermined wall.
Thereby, when the crop seedling first sent to the seedling storage box reaches a predetermined wall portion of the seedling storage box, the subsequent feeding of the crop seedling to the seedling storage box, and the pressing of the crop seedling by the pressing mechanism, A predetermined wall portion of the seedling storage box is pressed via the crop seedling, and the seedling storage box moves along the pressing direction of the pressing mechanism. Therefore, between the predetermined wall portion of the seedling storage box and the pressing mechanism, the crop seedlings in the seedling storage box are compressed to have a substantially uniform density, and the seedling storage box is moved along the pressing direction of the pressing mechanism. As they move, the seedlings are packed in the seedling storage box.

[II] As described in the above item [I], when the seedlings are fed into the seedling storage box in a standing posture with the root part down by the feeding mechanism, the seedlings are lifted from the other seedlings. Crop seedlings may be sent to the seedling storage box. As a result, when the crop seedlings are transferred to the seedling cradle of the seedling transplanter and planting work is carried out with the raised crop seedlings, the raised crop seedlings cannot be planted well, and May occur.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the upper part of the seedlings fed into the seedling storage box is pressed and aligned by the seedling pressing member which moves up and down. When the seedlings are sent to the seedling storage box in a standing posture, even if there are raised seedlings, the raised seedlings are pressed by the seedling pressing member and aligned with other seedlings.

[III] According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the linking means for linking the pressing mechanism and the seedling pressing member is provided, the pressing mechanism directs the crop seedling toward a predetermined wall of the seedling storage box. While pressing, the seedling pressing member also moves up and down to press the upper part of the crop seedling sent to the seedling storage box, and while the pressing mechanism is stopped, the seedling pressing member also stops. Can be configured. When unnecessary, such as when the pressing mechanism is stopped, by stopping the seedling pressing member, the upper part of the crop seedling sent to the seedling storage box by the seedling pressing member is constantly pressed. There is no such thing as breaking the stem of the crop seedling.

[IV] According to the feature of the second aspect, similar to the case of the first aspect, the "action" described in the above-mentioned [I], [II], and [III] is provided. It has various “actions”.
A pressing mechanism is configured to press the crop seedling sent to the seedling storage box toward a predetermined wall side of the seedling storage box by reciprocating operation of the pressing section, and such a pressing mechanism and a seedling pressing member are provided. If provided, the pressing portion of the pressing mechanism presses the crop seedling toward the predetermined wall side of the seedling storage box, and at the same time, the seedling pressing member descends and presses the upper part of the crop seedling sent to the seedling storage box. With such a configuration, the pressing portion and the seedling pressing member of the pressing mechanism affect each other, and the pressing by the pressing portion of the pressing mechanism and the pressing by the seedling pressing member are not properly performed. Is likely to occur.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the pressing portion of the pressing mechanism presses the crop seedling toward the predetermined wall of the seedling storage box, the seedling pressing member is retracted upward. The seedling pressing member does not affect the pressing by the pressing portion. Conversely, when the pressing portion of the pressing mechanism retreats away from the crop seedling, the seedling pressing member descends and presses the upper portion of the crop seedling, so that the pressing portion of the pressing mechanism affects the pressing by the seedling pressing member. Never.

[0012]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to obtain an apparatus for packing crop seedlings into the seedling storage box at a substantially uniform density. It is now possible to prevent the harmful effects of not being packed (such as occurrence of missing stocks during planting work and variation in the number of plant seedlings planted). Thereby, the planting accuracy of the crop seedling by the seedling transplanter could be improved.

[0013] According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the seedling pressing member is provided for pressing the upper part of the raised crop seedling to align it with another crop seedling, the raised seedling cannot be planted well in the seedling transplanter. Can be prevented beforehand, and the planting accuracy of the crop seedling by the seedling transplanter can be further improved.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, by providing a linking means for linking the pressing mechanism and the seedling pressing member,
The seedling pressing member is also stopped when it is unnecessary, such as when the pressing mechanism is stopped, and damage to the crop seedling due to the constant pressing by the seedling pressing member (such as a broken stem portion of the crop seedling). Was prevented beforehand. As a result, the harmful effects (such as a decrease in the survival rate and the adverse effect on the growth of the sprout) caused by the breakage of the stem of the crop seedling can be prevented beforehand, and the yield can be further improved. .

According to the feature of claim 2, the "effect of the invention" of the above-mentioned claim 1 is provided similarly to the case of the claim 1. In addition to the "effect of the invention", the following "invention" is provided. Of the effect. When the pressing mechanism is configured to include a pressing portion that performs a reciprocating operation, as in the feature of claim 2, by being configured such that pressing by the pressing portion of the pressing mechanism and pressing by the seedling pressing member are performed alternately, The pressing portion of the pressing mechanism and the seedling pressing member do not affect each other, and the pressing by the pressing portion of the pressing mechanism and the pressing by the seedling pressing member are appropriately performed. As a result, the planting accuracy of the crop seedling by the seedling transplanter could be further improved.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings, in the case of a box packing device for rush seedlings m, which is an example of crop seedlings. FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show a box packing device, in which a mother plant M to be fed is separated into rush seedlings m and sent out downward, a stock splitting section B, and the rush seedlings m sent out from the stock splitting section B are stored in a seedling storage box 1. A box packing section C for feeding and packing is provided,
The stock splitting section B is arranged to be inclined backward.

As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 7, the stock splitting section B moves the mother stock M between a pair of elastic belts 2 and 3 (corresponding to a feeding mechanism) arranged opposite to each other, and the stem is higher than the root. And a dividing device 5 that acts on the root of the mother plant M conveyed by the conveying device 4 to forcibly loosen and disperse the root. Stock M
A supply section 6 for feeding the rush seedlings m is formed at a start end of the transport apparatus 4, and a discharge section 7 (corresponding to a feed section) of the separated rush seedlings m is formed at an end section of the transport apparatus 4.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 12, the supply section 6 is provided with a mounting table 46 for the parent M which can be folded and stored at a fulcrum Y in the front-rear direction.
6 is configured to be supported in the working posture. The stand 47 is configured by connecting an upper member 47a supported by a first fulcrum P1 in the front-rear direction of the mounting table 46 and a lower member 47b to be grounded by a second fulcrum P2 in the left-right direction. Thus, the stand 47 can be stored without interfering with the box packing device by folding the lower member 47b with respect to the upper member 47a in a state where the mounting table 46 is swung downward and folded. The mounting table 46 is provided with a vertical wall 46b which bends an end of the mounting surface 46a and abuts the root of the mother plant M. The vertical wall 46b has a window 48 for removing mud.
Are formed.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
The transport path W bent by the elastic belts 2 and 3 formed by a large number of pulleys is formed so as to obtain a favorable transport state. The transfer path W by the transfer device 4 is formed into a substantially L-shape by a horizontal path ws, an oblique path wn, and a vertical path wt, and is conveyed more than the start end of the upper left elastic belt 2 that has been displaced and displaced. Lower right elastic belt 3 greatly extended to the upper side
As a result, a supply section 6 for the mother plant M is formed, and a discharge section 7 for rush seedlings m separated into approximately one stock at a time is formed at the lowermost pair of the rolling wheels 12.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, and 5, a root cutter 13 and a stem cutter 14 for trimming the roots and stems of the parent plant M are provided on the upper and lower sides of the transport device 4 in the horizontal path ws. Are arranged, and the dividing device 5 is arranged from the oblique path wn to the vertical path wt. FIG.
As shown in the figure, a large-diameter upper roller 4 provided with an elastic ring 41a having a common axis on the lateral outer side of the root cutting cutter 13.
1 and a small diameter lower roller 42 are arranged, and the elastic ring 41a and the lower roller 42 come into contact with each other and rotate integrally. Thus, the root of the parent plant M is sandwiched between the upper and lower rollers 41 and 42, and the root is prevented from escaping when the root is trimmed by the root cutter 13.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a movable guide plate 8 for adjusting the position of the root cutting by the root cutting cutter 13 and a marker plate 9 having an end corresponding to the position of the root cutting cutter 13 are provided. Are provided at a position before the root cutter 13. Thus, the trimming position of the root cutter 13 which is not covered by the cover 18 can be grasped by the mark plate 9, and the trimming position can be accurately set by the guide plate 8.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 6, and 7, the dividing device 5
A pair of left and right lower belts 15 and 16 having locking projections 21
And a dividing mechanism 5B for reciprocating the holding claw 24 and the separation claw 25 acting on the root. In the root conveying mechanism 5A, an upper carry-in port 19 in which the opposing interval between the lower belts 15, 16 is widened upward, and a straight path portion 20 in which the opposing interval between the lower belts 15, 16 is narrow and straight, are formed. The lower belts 15 and 16 are opposed to each other, and
The root portion of the mother plant M sent into the upper carry-in port 19 is pinched and conveyed, and the root portion of the mother plant M is conveyed downward while being crushed flat and deformed by the strong clamping force in the linear path portion 20. It is configured to be.

The dividing mechanism 5B is a device that enters the root from the lower side of the deformed mother plant M in the straight path portion 20 and forcibly separates it into approximately one plant rush seedling m. FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the base M enters the root of the base M in advance through the notch 23 formed in the placement guide plate 22.
And a separating claw 25 that is disposed on the lower side in the feed direction of the holding claw 24 and enters the parent M held by the holding claw 24, and constitutes a dividing mechanism 5B.

The holding claw 24 and the separation claw 25 have one ends supported by the crank arms 26 and 27, and a driving mechanism 43 which is supported on the way by the swing arms 28 and 29. The root of the mother plant M is scraped off by approximately one plant rush seedling m while the tip makes an elliptical movement with the rotation. The separation claw 25 is composed of two claw bodies 25a and 25b arranged in parallel in a direction intersecting with the feed direction of the parent M, and the tearing action of the claw bodies 25a and 25b approximates the shearing action. , So that a reasonable separation can be performed.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the claw members 25a,
A removal member 44 is provided for discharging the root of the mother M sandwiched between the notches 25c between the notches 25b, and a notch 25 is provided at the tip of a support arm 45 extended from the machine frame D in a swingable manner.
A removal member 44 composed of a hook-shaped bar that enters c. Accordingly, the removing member 44 reciprocates relatively in the notch 25c due to the movement of the separation claw 25, and the root portion and the mud of the mother plant M sandwiched in the notch 25c are discharged by the scraper action.

As shown in Figs.
A resistance mechanism A for changing the rush seedlings m to a standing posture suitable for sending out in the box packing section D is provided. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, a resistance mechanism A is composed of left and right side guides 10 fixed by a plate material and a pair of left and right resistance guides 11 that can swing and open and close, and the resistance guides 11 are sent out. The swivel around the fulcrum X can be oscillated between a closed receiving position for receiving the rush seedling m and a discharge position open so that the rush seedling m passes therethrough, and biases the resistance guide 11 to the receiving position. A spring 11a is provided.

Thus, the resistance guide 11 oscillates in the discharging position by the rush seedlings m, thereby giving resistance to the stem of the rush seedlings m and sending out the rush seedlings m while changing the rush seedlings m to the standing posture. The urging force of the spring 11a is set so that the resistance guide 11 swings from the receiving position to the discharging position by a pressing force of a predetermined value or more in the feeding direction of m.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, 7, and 10, the boxed portion C is provided with a guide rail 32 (corresponding to a support mechanism) provided on the machine frame D and a seedling storage box 1 that moves along the guide rail 32. The loading cart 33 (corresponding to a support mechanism), the pressing mechanism 34 for pressing the rush seedlings m sent from the discharge unit 7 toward the front wall of the seedling storage box 1, and the rush seedlings m sent to the seedling storage box 1. The rush plant m is provided with a pressing mechanism G that presses the upper part of the seedling storage box m against the bottom 1a of the seedling storage box 1 from above.

As shown in FIGS. 2, 7, and 10, the guide rail 32 is constructed by pivotally connecting a front rail 32a and a rear rail 32b fixed to the machine frame D, and connects the rear rail 32b when not in use. It is configured to be able to be folded up and stored around the fulcrum P, and the rear rail 32b is held in the stored posture by the lock piece 35. A pair of small-diameter rollers 36 are provided on the left and right sides of the rear part of the carriage 33 (the right side of the paper in FIG. 7), and the carriage 33 is configured to be able to move lightly along the guide rails 32. A brake (not shown) for providing power is provided between the bogie 33 and the guide rail 32. Fig. 13 (a)
As shown in (b), the seedling storage box 1 is a box body having no upper surface, and an openable and closable opening and closing plate 1c serving as a front wall after packing the rush seedlings m is closed at right and left bent portions. It is configured to go around the outside of the side wall 1b in the state of being turned.

As shown in FIGS. 7, 10, 11 (a) and (b), the pressing mechanism 34 has a pointed pressing portion 37a having a lateral width equivalent to the inner width of the seedling storage box 1 and having a pointed shape in plan view. The push arm 37 in the seedling storage box 1 continuously reciprocates back and forth by connecting the front link 39 and the upper rotating ring 17 with a rod. Driven.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 11 (a) and (b), a ring body 49 supported by upper and lower support shafts 39a and 39b of the front link 39 is interlocked by a chain 50, and is moved around the vertical axis Z. The pressing portion 37a, which is swingably supported to the left and right, and the lower wheel body 49 are interlockingly connected by a rod 51 to form a swing mechanism F. Power from a power transmission system (not shown) is input to the upper wheel body 49. By appropriately setting the number of rotations of the power and the operation cycle of the pressing mechanism 34, the pushing operation of the pushing arm 37 can be performed. The pressing portion 37a swings alternately left and right in synchronism, and the rush seedlings m are packed in the seedling storage box 1 without gaps.

As shown in FIG. 7, the pressing mechanism G includes a seedling pressing member 52 disposed on the rear side of the discharge section 7 for the rush seedlings m.
Is configured to swing up and down in synchronization with the pressing mechanism 34, and the seedling pressing member 52 supported by the support shaft 53 and the rear link 54 of the pushing arm 37 are linked and connected by a rod 55. ing. Thereby, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 7, when the pressing portion 37a of the pushing arm 37 presses the rush seedling m toward the front wall 1d (corresponding to a predetermined wall) of the seedling storage box 1, When the seedling pressing member 52 swings upward and the pressing portion 37a of the pushing arm 37 retreats away from the rush seedling m as shown by the solid line in FIG.
The upper part of the rush seedling m fed into the seedling storage box 1 is pressed from the upper side so that the seedling pressing member 52 swings downward and the root of the rush seedling m is attached to the bottom 1a. The seedling m is packed in the seedling storage box 1 so that m is not present. As shown in FIG. 2, a micro switch 40 is provided at the rear end of the guide rail 32, and the pressing mechanism 34 stops when the seedling storage box 1 touches the micro switch 40.

Next, the operation flow of the box packing device will be described. First, the mother stock M is artificially added to the supply unit 6 of the transport device 4.
Send. The mother plant M transported by the transport device 4 is separated into approximately one rush seedling m by the root transport mechanism 5A and the dividing mechanism 5B, and the separated rush seedling m is sent out from the discharge unit 7. The sent out rush seedlings m are smoothly fed into the seedling storage box 1 by the guiding action of the pair of guide bars (not shown) while being changed from the inclined posture to the standing posture by the resistance mechanism A, and are driven back and forth. The pushing arm 37 is used to move the rush seedling m into the front wall 1d of the seedling storage box 1.
It is pressed toward the side and packed in the seedling storage box 1. In this case, the upper part of the rush seedling m is pressed from the upper side by the seedling pressing member 52 which is driven to swing up and down so that the root part of the rush seedling m is attached to the bottom part 1a, and there is no floating rush seedling m. In this way, the seedlings m are packed in the seedling storage box 1.

As described above, the trolley 33 on which the seedling storage box 1 is placed is moved rightward in FIG. 7 by the pushing of the pushing arm 37 through the rush seedlings m. The rush seedlings m are packed from the front wall 1d side, and the movement of the carriage 33 more than necessary by the pushing of the pushing arm 37 is regulated by the above-mentioned brake.
The seedling storage box 1 is filled with the rush seedlings m at a substantially uniform density without gaps.

[Another Embodiment] The pressing mechanism G shown in FIG. 7 may be provided with a seedling pressing member 52 which moves up and down in parallel using an electric motor (not shown) as a drive source.

In the claims, reference numerals are provided for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration shown in the attached drawings.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall front view of a box packing device.

FIG. 2 is an overall side view of the box packing device.

FIG. 3 is a front view of the vicinity of the transfer device.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a longitudinal section near a root cutting and stem cutting cutter.

FIG. 5 is a plan view near a root cutting and stem cutting cutter.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the vicinity of the dividing device.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the lower portion of the box packing device.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing the operation of the dividing mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing an arrangement state of a holding claw and a separation claw of the dividing mechanism.

FIG. 10 is a vertical sectional front view of the vicinity of the box packing portion.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a pressing mechanism showing a state in which rush seedlings are packed in a seedling storage box.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a mounting table.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a structure near an opening / closing plate of a seedling storage box.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Seedling storage box 1d Predetermined wall part of seedling storage box 2, 3 Sending mechanism 7 Sending out part 32, 33 Supporting mechanism 34 Pressing mechanism 37a Pressing part 52 Seedling pressing member m Crop seedling

Continued on the front page (72) Yoshiyoshi Nakagawa 64, Ishizukita-cho, Sakai City, Osaka Prefecture Inside Kubota Sakai Works Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Narutori Saito 332, Ryohacho, Sakata City, Yamagata Prefecture (56) References 5-284808 (JP, A) JP-A-5-236804 (JP, A) JP-A-3-80003 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) A01C 1/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] Crop seedlings (m) in a standing posture with the root part down
Mechanism (2) for feeding the seedlings into the seedling storage box (1),
(3) The crop seedlings (m) sent to the seedling storage box (1) from the feeding part (7) of the crop seedlings (m) of the feeding mechanisms (2) and (3) are transferred to the seedling storage box. The predetermined wall part (1) of (1)
d) a pressing mechanism (34) for pressing toward the side, and supporting mechanisms (32), (3) for movably supporting the seedling storage box (1) along the pressing direction of the pressing mechanism (34).
3), the crop seedlings (m) sent into the seedling storage box (1) in a standing posture with the root part down, are pressed by the pressing mechanism (34) in a predetermined position of the seedling storage box (1). By pressing toward the wall (1d), the seedling storage box (1) is moved along the pressing direction, and the crop seedlings (m) are packed in the seedling storage box (1). A seedling pressing member (52) for aligning the upper portion of the crop seedling (m) sent to the seedling storage box (1) by vertically moving and pressing the same is provided, and the pressing mechanism (34) is pressed against the seedling. An apparatus for packing crop seedlings, comprising a linking means for linking a member (52). 2. A crop seedling (m) in a standing posture with the root part down.
Mechanism (2) for feeding the seedlings into the seedling storage box (1),
And (3) pressing the crop seedlings (m) sent from the sending part (7) of the crop seedlings (m) of the feeding mechanisms (2) and (3) into the seedling storage box (1) with a pressing part (37a). ), A pressing mechanism (34) for pressing the seedling storage box (1) toward a predetermined wall portion (1d) side of the seedling storage box (1), and the seedling storage box () along a pressing direction of the pressing mechanism (34). Support mechanisms (32), (3) for movably supporting 1)
3), the crop seedlings (m) sent into the seedling storage box (1) in a standing posture with the root part down, are pressed by the pressing mechanism (34) in a predetermined position of the seedling storage box (1). By pressing toward the wall (1d), the seedling storage box (1) is moved along the pressing direction, and the crop seedlings (m) are packed in the seedling storage box (1). At the same time, the seedling pressing member (5) aligns the upper part of the crop seedling (m) sent to the seedling storage box (1) by pressing the upper part while moving up and down.
When the pressing portion (37a) presses the crop seedling (m) toward the predetermined wall portion (1d) side of the seedling storage box (1), the seedling pressing member (52) moves upward. When the pressing portion (37a) retreats away from the crop seedling (m), the pressing mechanism (52) descends and presses the upper portion of the crop seedling (m). An apparatus for packing crop seedlings, comprising a linking means for linking (34) with a seedling pressing member (52).