JP6815604B2 - Planting medium - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a medium for planting. More specifically, the present invention relates to a medium for planting, which is a medium for isolated hydroponic cultivation and is capable of low cost, labor saving, high production, and resource recycling.

Traditionally, not only in Japan but also in the world, in vegetable cultivation, open-field, open-field mulch, open-field tunnel, house floor, house ground mulch, house ground tunnel, house isolation, etc. have been performed, and the cultivation method has evolved.・ It is diversified. The reason why these various cultivation methods are created and practiced is to deal with the cultivation environment where severe weather changes such as Japan can occur.

For example, in "outdoor cultivation" such as open field / open field mulch / open field tunnel, or "ground cultivation" such as house ground / house ground multi-house ground tunnel, natural natural soil is cultivated and the physical properties of the soil are cultivated. -The chemical and biological properties are being improved as much as possible. However, there are various problems in open-field cultivation and ground-based cultivation in which such soil improvement is carried out. For example, problems such as unbalanced chemical properties of residual fertilizers and residual pesticides, obstacles to continuous cropping due to biological properties, cultivation methods for various soil textures and soil volumes, and difficulty in maintaining physical properties due to natural disasters, etc. Problem is occurring.

In "isolation-type cultivation" such as house isolation, containers of various sizes and shapes are filled with soil and medium whose physical, chemical, and biological properties have been prepared in advance, using various materials that can be used as soil and medium as raw materials. And cultivate. This isolated cultivation (root area restriction) is an effective cultivation method especially in the cultivation of tomatoes, melons, etc. from the viewpoint of the necessity of controlling the water content of the soil and the countermeasures against continuous cropping disorders. In addition, as described in "Takii Frontline 2016 Autumn Species Special Issue Vol.42 Tomato Low Stage Hydroponic Cultivation at Plant Factory (see page 57)", tomato low stage hydroponic cultivation begins with sowing, raising seedlings, and planting. , The process shifts to the field management, and then the processes of harvesting / shipping preparation, tidying up / preparation are repeated. This low-stage tomato hydroponic cultivation has the advantage that the cultivation period per crop is short and the number of cultivations per year is large, so that the workers can quickly acquire the skills and the risk of disease can be dispersed. The low-stage tomato hydroponic cultivation is a hydroponic cultivation method in which tomatoes are pinched and cultivated at a low stage.

However, in isolated cultivation, the quality and cost of physical and biological properties in the soil and medium are problems. One of the problems is that it is difficult to share cultivation technology information because the scale expansion and information between producers cannot share the quality such as the performance of hilling and medium. Be done.

For example, as described in the "Low-Cost Plant Factory Introduction Manual", the annual tomato fruit yield per 10a in facilities in the early 1970s was about 20 tons in both Japan and the Netherlands. After that, in the Netherlands, the yield per area increased rapidly, and now it is said to be 65t or 75t, and it has been reported that the yield exceeds 100t.

In response to this Dutch achievement, Japan has decided to develop a cultivation technique of how to stress tomatoes so that the leaves do not grow in tomato cultivation. On the other hand, in the 1980s, when rock wool cultivation became widespread, the development of varieties for hydroponic cultivation was strongly promoted in the Netherlands. In other words, in the environment of hydroponic cultivation using "medium (for example, rock wool)" (in an environment where both water and nutrients are abundantly given), varieties that are strongly biased toward vegetative growth were cultivated in conventional Japan. In the Netherlands, we have cultivated varieties that are not strongly biased toward vegetative growth.

Regarding the problem of quality of the isolation type cultivation medium, countermeasures are taken with the granular medium described in Patent Document 1.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-341898

In recent years, effective use of houses with long paid holidays (unused period), difficult-to-cultivate houses that are suffering from continuous cropping obstacles, and houses that wish to resume cultivation have been studied. Especially in Japan, for example, in paddy rice cultivation, rationalization of paddy rice productivity is required, and the scale is increasing. Therefore, since a large amount of seedlings are required to be raised, the number of seedling raising facilities using seedling raising houses is increasing. However, the period of use of the nursery facility is as short as about one month, and most of the year is not used. Therefore, effective use of nursery facilities (nursery greenhouses) is being considered.

On the other hand, in order to use a closed house (seedling house) after raising seedlings of paddy rice, the cultivation environment of the closed house can be quickly spatially and physically changed from paddy rice seedlings to vegetable cultivation and from vegetable cultivation to paddy rice seedlings. It is required to be able to restore alternately. In other words, in order to use the paid holiday house after raising seedlings of paddy rice, it is important to have a cultivation system that is easy to prepare and clean up, and the development of such a cultivation system is required.

Based on the above, there is a cultivation technology that can cope with the environment where severe climate change occurs like Japan, and also can cope with the effective use of the nursery house for paddy rice cultivation during the holiday period. It has been demanded.

Further, in order to surely popularize such isolated cultivation, it is necessary to have a cultivation technology system that is safe, inexpensive, and easy to handle (that is, labor saving is possible).

For example, in the form of low-stage dense planting of tomatoes, an independent pot type or a continuous container type cultivation method is typical, and this method requires a stand on which a container (pot, bag, mat, etc.) is installed. The installation conditions of the gantry are required to have mechanical strength and to be able to prevent the container from falling off. Furthermore, especially in mat cultivation, if the mat (container) is placed so as to be inclined, a difference in water level occurs in the container, and the water content of the medium becomes uneven, resulting in problems such as poor growth and uneven growth. There is. In order to solve this problem, the container is required to be arranged horizontally as a necessary condition. Further, when the slope on the ground surface of the field is unstable, the water content in the medium becomes non-uniform due to the slope, and in order to avoid this phenomenon, highly accurate terrain correction is required.

However, when the container is filled with a medium of a general organic material, the medium becomes highly water repellent. In addition, due to the structure of the particle group due to various particle sizes and particle shapes, there are variations in characteristics, and it is difficult to supply homogeneous water and nutrient solution. Therefore, it is difficult to achieve a uniform root growth environment, which causes a problem that uniform growth becomes difficult. Attempts to eliminate such problems will result in high costs and will not result in low-cost cultivation techniques.

By the way, in the conventional isolated cultivation using solid soil and medium, the raised seedlings are planted on the medium provided on the cultivation bench and cultivated. In the conventional isolation cultivation using solid soil and medium, a composite material obtained by mixing one or more kinds of fibrous or granular organic materials such as peat moss and coco peat crushed to an arbitrary particle size is used. I am using it. Then, the composite material is filled in various containers (bag-shaped bags / mats, continuous containers molded from styrene or resin, independent pots, etc.) and arranged to form a cultivation bench. For example, in the case of independent pot cultivation, seedlings raised by covering 3 to 4 inch bottomless pots (that is, flower pots made of plastic or the like) with vinyl or the like are planted. Similarly, in rock wool cultivation, the side surface of block-shaped rock wool is covered with vinyl or the like and seedlings are planted. Independent pot cultivation is a method in which seedlings such as tomatoes are put into pots for each plant and the root areas of the seedlings are cultivated independently.

Here, the one-year temperature in Japan rises sharply after June and remains high until September, and this period is said to be the high temperature period. In particular, the highest temperature is 1.5 to 2 months from July to mid-August to September after peaking in August (representative example: Japan Meteorological Agency past weather 2015 "Shizuoka Airport").

In this way, taking Japan as an example where the temperature changes for one year, for example, tomatoes have a maximum plant physiology temperature of 28 ° C, but the so-called "average daily maximum temperature" indicated by the Japan Meteorological Agency data. The "monthly average of daytime maximum temperatures" is approaching 28 ° C, and there are periods when this temperature is exceeded. Therefore, cultivation during this period has become a particular problem. In the September-October harvest type of tomato cultivation, July-August is the time for planting.

Specifically, the problem lies in the balance between the amount of transpiration in the above-ground part of the plant and the amount of water absorption in the underground part. That is, due to a natural factor that the transpiration amount increases as the temperature rises, the water absorption amount is insufficient for the transpiration amount that increases in the high temperature period.

More specifically, the cause is insufficient root amount, more precisely, insufficient root hair amount, which is the water absorption site of the root. The solution to this problem is to expand the root area, and in order to realize it, secure the root extension area (root formation space) and water / nutrient solution to that space, that is, the root area. Realization of irrigation.

In many cases, in the conventional method of planting seedlings, as shown in FIG. 11, a medium 200 having a substructure is placed on a cultivation bench (not shown), and a seedling raising pot 150 (hereinafter, simply "pot") is placed. A method of forming a two-layer structure in which the bottom surface 151 is brought into contact with the medium 200, which is the substructure thereof, and is allowed to take root is adopted.

In this planting method, the contact surface between the lower structure and the upper structure is only the bottom surface of the upper structure. In this planting method, there is no problem in the period when the temperature change in spring and autumn is small, that is, when the plant growth speed is moderate or late. However, in the cropping type that grows in the high temperature period in summer, the growth speed of the plant is fast, so that there is a problem of poor growth. In other words, poor growth occurred due to insufficient root mass, and as a result, productivity was not sufficient.

Further, among the isolated hydroponic cultivation, in rock wool cultivation, it is necessary to treat the medium after the cultivation, and there is a problem that the treatment of this medium also costs money. In this rock wool cultivation, resource recycling is not sufficiently carried out.

The present invention aims to solve the above problems, and the problem is to provide a medium for planting, which is a medium for isolated hydroponic cultivation and is capable of low cost, labor saving, high production, and resource circulation. To provide.

[1] A block-shaped medium having a planting hole-forming body, which is a block-shaped molding medium in which a planting hole is formed and is made of at least one material selected from an organic substance and an inorganic substance, is provided, and the planting hole-forming body is provided. , The side of the planting hole is inclined , the planting hole is a hole for planting the planting object grown by raising seedlings, and the block-shaped medium is the planting. The hole-forming body is provided as an upper layer unit, and one or more lower layer units are provided below the upper layer unit, and the lower layer unit is made of at least one material selected from organic substances and inorganic substances. A block-shaped molding medium that is molded and has a spacer as an aeration structure .

[2] The culture medium for planting according to the above [1], wherein the planting hole forming body is swollen by water supply.

[3] The culture medium for planting according to the above [1] or [2], wherein the planting hole is formed as a through hole penetrating from the front surface to the back surface of the planting hole forming body.

[4] In the planting hole, the planting object before planting can be removed from the pot and directly planted or sown, or the pot on which the planting object before planting is grown can be placed as it is. The medium for planting according to any one of [1] to [3].

Since the medium for planting of the present invention can be used in a closed house after raising seedlings of paddy rice, it is possible to carry out isolated hydroponic cultivation at a low price. Further, since the medium for planting of the present invention is a medium in which planting holes have already been formed, it is not necessary to form the planting holes and labor is saved. In addition, since the planting medium of the present invention can sow and plant the planting object in the planting hole, the contact area of the root extension region is increased as compared with the medium without the planting hole, so that the root extension speed is increased. The delay is eliminated and the root mass increases, that is, the colonization area increases. Further, unlike rock wool and the like, the medium for planting of the present invention is made of at least one kind of material selected from organic substances and inorganic substances, so that resource circulation is possible.

It is a perspective view which shows typically one Embodiment of the culture medium for planting of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows typically the state which one embodiment of the culture medium for planting of this invention was cut in the depth direction of the planting hole. It is sectional drawing which shows typically the other embodiment of the culture medium for planting of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which the culture medium for planting shown in FIG. 3 expanded by water supply. It is a partial cross-sectional view which shows the state in which the planting object was planted about still another embodiment of the culture medium for planting of this invention. It is a perspective view schematically showing still another embodiment of the culture medium for planting of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows typically the state which cut the other embodiment of the culture medium for planting of this invention in the depth direction of a planting hole. It is a partial cross-sectional view which shows the state in which the planting object was planted about still another embodiment of the culture medium for planting of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which arranged in the field about still another embodiment of the culture medium for planting of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which the tomato is cultivated using still another embodiment of the culture medium for planting of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state which the planting object was planted in the conventional culture medium. It is a photograph which shows still another embodiment of the culture medium for planting of this invention. It is a photograph for demonstrating the state at the time of cultivation in Example 1. FIG. It is a photograph which shows the state of the root after cultivation in Comparative Example 1.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described, but the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments. Therefore, it is understood that, within the scope of the present invention, the following embodiments are appropriately modified or improved based on the ordinary knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. Should be.

[1] Concept of root area-restricted plant growth, transpiration, and root nutrient water absorption characteristics in vegetable cultivation:
Published by J-STAGE June 24, 2016 "Root Research" Vol. 25 (2016) No. 2 p. The following reports have been made by Hidetoshi Inada, Shoichi Nakahara, Toshihiro Ueda, etc., 29-36 and "Growth, transpiration and nutrient water absorption characteristics of roots of Japanese and Dutch varieties with limited root area".

That is, according to the above "root study", "Japanese tomato variety'Reiyo'and Dutch variety'Levanzo' were cultivated under root area restriction conditions of 0.3 L of soil, and cultivated with 3 L of soil. Growth was suppressed in both varieties compared to the control plot. In'Levanzo'in the root zone restricted plot, the amount of leaf evaporation was significantly reduced, but in'Reiyo', this tendency was not observed. As a result of estimating the amount of water transfer in the root area restricted area, it was reduced to about 1/3 of that of the control group in'Reiyo', but it was reduced to about 1/8 of that of the control group in'Levanzo'. The TTC reduction activity of both varieties was low in the root area restricted area. Analysis of the effluent rate and effluent components of Kibe overflow collected by cutting at the edge of the stem revealed that the root area restricted area. In both varieties, the effluent rate was low, but in'Levanzo'in the root zone restricted area, the nutrients contained in the Kibe overflow were concentrated. From the above, the growth was suppressed under the root zone restricted. The causes differ between varieties. In'Reiyo', the amount of nutrient transport to the above-ground part decreases and the amount of foliage growth decreases, and in'Levanzo', the amount of water transport to the above-ground part decreases and the amount of leaf evaporation decreases. It was thought that it was done. "

In the above "Root Research" report, it is pointed out that it is not only a problem between varieties but also a problem of soil volume. However, as a matter of course, the growth of plants lies in the growth of roots, that is, the expansion of the root area, and the problem of the rapid settlement speed immediately after planting, that is, the settlement speed, should be recalled and should be a research subject. is there. However, no such report has been made to date. Therefore, as a result of a joyful investigation and research on this, it became clear that the problem of poor growth mentioned above is the problem of this survival rate.

Here, as shown in FIG. 11, as described above, in the root extension immediately after planting of the seedlings grown in the conventional pot 150, only the portion in the root area of the bottom surface 151 of the pot 150 is the survival surface. In other words, the root area is concentrated on the bottom.

Furthermore, since the typical functions of the root are water absorption and respiration, it can be said that the root area is also in an environment competing for water and oxygen at each position in that function.

The present invention solves the problem of root elongation immediately after planting of grown seedlings.

[2] Medium for planting of the present invention:
(1) Medium for planting:
One embodiment of the planting medium of the present invention is the planting medium 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The planting medium 100 includes a block-shaped medium 30 having a planting hole-forming body 20 which is a block-shaped molding medium in which a planting hole 10 is formed and is made of at least one material selected from an organic substance and an inorganic substance. The planting hole forming body 20 is a molded medium.

This planting medium 100 is a medium used for isolated hydroponic cultivation, and by using this planting medium 100, isolated hydroponic cultivation capable of low cost, labor saving, high production, and resource circulation is possible. become. Specifically, as the planting medium 100, a closed house after raising seedlings of paddy rice can be used, so that isolated hydroponic cultivation can be performed at a low price. Further, since the planting medium 100 is a medium in which the planting holes 10 have already been formed, it is not necessary to form the planting holes 10 and labor is saved. In particular, in the conventional cultivation method, the same number of planting holes as the number of planting objects are manually formed. Therefore, when there are a huge number of planting objects, even if an instrument is used, it is necessary for the worker. It was an excessive burden of cost, time, labor, etc.

Further, in the planting medium 100, by sowing and planting the planting object in the planting hole 10, the root amount is increased as compared with the medium without the planting hole 10 (see FIG. 11), so that the survival area is increased. That is, as in the conventional case, when a pot containing a planting object is simply placed on a flat ground where a planting hole is not formed, the root grows only from the bottom of the pot in contact with the flat ground. Growth was restricted and sufficient growth could not be expected. This point will be described later.

Further, unlike a medium such as rock wool, the culture medium 100 for planting is made of at least one kind of material selected from organic substances and inorganic substances, and therefore can be plowed into cultivated soil in fields, so that resources can be recycled. Is possible.

In addition, in this specification, "planting" is the work of replanting a plant (planting object) grown in a pot or the like into a place (medium) where it is finally grown. "Isolated nutrient solution cultivation" is a cultivation method in which the medium is isolated from the ground and cultivated with nutrient solution without using the ground of the existing cultivated land.

(1-1) Block medium:
The planting medium of the present invention comprises a block-shaped medium. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this block-shaped medium may consist only of the planting hole forming body 20 in which the planting hole 10 is formed, or as shown in FIG. 6, the planting hole forming body. (Upper layer unit) 20 and one or more lower layer units 21 may be provided below the upper layer unit 20.

(1-1-1) Planting hole forming body (upper layer unit):
The planting hole forming body is formed into a block shape, for example, by opening a planting hole in which a seedling (planting object) raised in a pot (300 to 500 cc) of 3 to 4 inches (9.1 to 12.1 cm) can be accommodated. It is a thing. The planting hole forming body is not particularly limited in its shape, the area and volume of the upper surface (the surface through which the planting hole opens), and the number of planting holes.

The planting hole forming body is made of at least one or more materials selected from organic and inorganic substances. By being composed of such a material, resource circulation is possible unlike a medium such as rock wool. That is, the planting medium of the present invention can be plowed into the cultivated soil of the field after the cultivation is completed.

Specifically, the planting hole forming body may be composed of one kind of various materials such as organic matter, pumice stone, clay mineral, or a mixture of two or more kinds of the above various materials. It can also be configured.

The planting hole forming body is a molded block-shaped medium, and by forming the molded block-shaped body, it is easy to transport because the packaging is in order, and the transportation cost is also reduced. Here, the molding includes compression molding, heat binding molding to which a binder such as PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) is added, and the like. The compression conditions are not particularly limited, and are preferably selected as appropriate according to the material, cultivation use, cultivation environment, and cultivation conditions.

Examples of the material of the planted hole forming body include a plant fiber material and the like. When the plant fiber material is used, for example, the length direction of the plant fiber material is mixed and laminated with the thickness direction and the width direction of the planted hole forming body, and the planting hole forming body is compression-molded. It expands in the thickness direction of the planting hole forming body and in the width direction of the planting hole forming body. Further, by changing the ratio of mixing the length direction of the fiber material of the plant with the thickness direction and the width direction of the planting hole forming body, the thickness direction of the planting hole forming body and the width of the planting hole forming body are changed. The rate of expansion in the direction can also be adjusted. However, if the length direction of the fiber material of the plant is excessively mixed with the thickness direction and the width direction of the planted hole forming body, the density of the fiber material becomes high due to the expansion of the fiber material after water supply. This may cause the medium to become excessively hard and inhibit root growth. Therefore, it is preferable to mix them appropriately.

Further, when the planted hole forming body is compression-molded by laminating the plant fiber material while directing the length direction of the plant fiber material toward the width direction of the planting hole forming body, it expands in the thickness direction of the planting hole forming body. However, the degree of expansion in the width direction is small or hardly changes (constant). As a result, the diameter of the planting hole does not change (it is difficult to change). As described above, by using the fiber material of the plant, it is possible to easily produce a planted hole forming body in which the diameter of the planted hole does not change. Further, even if the fiber material expands after water supply, the medium does not become harder than necessary and does not inhibit root elongation, which is preferable.

As the planting hole forming body, one that swells by water supply may be used, and the degree of expansion of the planting hole forming body differs depending on the material of the medium and the production method.

(Planting hole)
As described above, a planting hole is formed in the planting hole-forming body in the medium for planting of the present invention, and the formation of the planting hole promotes the survival of the planting object. That is, for example, the root survival area in the planting hole forming body is proportional to the root circumference of the seedling raising pot, and in the conventional cultivation method, the bottom area portion of the seedling raising pot is the survival area. Therefore, the survival area was "radius of seedling raising pot x 2 x π" which is the bottom area of the seedling raising pot. On the other hand, in the present invention, since the side area of the seedling raising pot is also a survival surface, the bottom area of the seedling raising pot is "radius of the seedling raising pot x 2 x π", and further "π x diameter x height of the seedling raising pot". The total area including the side area that is "sa" can be used as the contact area (growth area) with the planting object. Therefore, in the present invention, the survival surface can be expanded by the amount of the side area of the seedling raising pot as compared with the conventional case. For this reason, in the present invention, since the root area is released and dispersed from the conventional state of root area concentration on the rooting surface, root survival is promoted and root growth is promoted.

The planting hole may be a space (region) of any shape as long as the planting object is inserted and the roots are sufficiently rooted on the contact surface between the planting object and the planting hole forming body. Further, the seedlings raised in the planting hole (object to be planted) may be small enough to fit in the planting hole, and the shape, opening area, volume, size, and depth of the planting hole are not particularly limited. For example, it can be an inverted truncated cone-shaped space. Further, in the case of this inverted truncated cone-shaped space, specifically, the side surface of the planting hole is inclined by 5 to 10 degrees from the vertical (indicated by "θ" in FIG. 2), which is a wide-angle inverted space. It can be a truncated cone-like space (see FIG. 2). That is, as shown in FIG. 2, in the cross section in the thickness direction passing through the central axis of the planting hole, the side surface of the planting hole is inclined by 5 to 10 degrees from the vertical (straight line L parallel to the central axis of the planting hole). May be good.

The number and formation position of the planting holes are not particularly limited, but the planting holes may be holes having one opening in the center of the upper surface of the planting hole forming body.

In the planting hole of the planting hole forming body, basically, the planting object before planting is removed from the pot and directly planted, but the pot in which the planting object before planting is grown (for example, peat moss pulp) (Pot made of organic matter, etc.) may be placed as it is. Alternatively, the planting hole may be filled with a medium (for example, a conventionally known medium) and seeded directly. That is, the planting object is put into a pot and grown in the stage before planting, but when through holes such as slits and holes are formed on the side surface and the bottom surface of the pot, or the pot is easily disassembled. In this case, the planting object may be placed in the planting hole of the planting hole forming body together with this pot. By placing the pot on which the planting object before planting is grown as it is, the planting work can be further reduced.

Furthermore, it is also possible to fill the planting holes with a medium and sow directly.

(Planting hole (through hole))
The planting hole of the planting hole forming body may be formed as a through hole penetrating from the front surface to the back surface of the planting hole forming body, or is a hole (that is, a depression) that does not penetrate from the front surface to the back surface of the planting hole forming body. You may. In other words, the "fixed planting hole" is a concept that includes both a through hole and a non-penetrating hole (dent). When the block-shaped medium further includes a lower layer unit, the planting holes of the planting hole forming body may be formed as through holes. By doing so, the lower layer unit can be effectively utilized, and root survival can be further promoted. That is, the survival area for the side area portion is increased, the planting object can be stably placed, the root growth is less burdensome, and the root growth can be promoted as compared with the conventional case. Note that FIG. 2 shows an example in which a planting hole 10 which is a hole (that is, a depression) that does not penetrate is formed. FIG. 7 shows an example in which a planting hole 10 which is a through hole is formed.

If the planting hole is a through hole, it is necessary that the medium and the ground surface of the planting object match, and that the bottom surface and the side surface of the planting object are in appropriate contact with each other.

Like the planting medium 102 shown in FIG. 9, the planting medium of the present invention can be used by placing it on the ground surface G of the field in a state of being stored in an exterior material such as vinyl or resin. It can be arranged in a straight line with the flow lines secured in an appropriate orientation.

In such a case, if the planting hole is formed in the planting hole forming body, the time for the planting work is reduced. Specifically, in normal low-stage dense planting cultivation, since the plants are cultivated at a density of 5000 to 10000 strains per 10a, it is necessary to make the above number of planting holes in the medium as a labor for planting. Therefore, it takes about 1 minute to plant one plant. In addition, the planting work time of one plant in independent pot cultivation (including the work time of quantitative filling of the medium, water supply before planting, and individual installation of the drip line) also takes about 1 minute. However, by using a medium in which a planting hole is opened in advance, such as the medium for planting of the present invention, the planting work time is reduced by about 30 seconds per plant, that is, 42 hours in the case of 5000 plants per 10a, for example. .. From this, according to the culture medium for planting of the present invention, it is possible to save labor by reducing the working time, and further, by shortening the working time, it is possible to suppress costs such as labor costs. Can be cultivated at a low cost.

The size of the planted hole forming body is not particularly limited and can be adjusted as appropriate, but the size when expanded by water supply is, for example, 16 to 30 cm in length, 16 to 30 cm in width, and 9 to 12 cm in thickness. be able to.

(1-1-2) Lower layer unit:
As the lower layer unit, there is no particular limitation on the material and the presence or absence of compression molding, and an appropriately determined one can be used. For example, like the upper layer unit, from at least one material selected from organic substances and inorganic substances. At the same time, a compression-molded block-shaped molding medium can be used.

As the lower layer unit, a conventionally known solid granular medium can also be used. In particular, as such an example, the medium described in JP-A-2005-341898 can be mentioned. Specifically, as the medium, a powder of clay mineral, a binder made of a water-soluble polymer material insolubilized by heating, and water are added to a water-repellent organic material and mixed until the water content becomes 10% by weight or less. It is a medium obtained by heating and drying at a product temperature of 70 ° C. or higher and 150 ° C. or lower.

The shape of the lower layer unit 21 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, a shape in which a hole (a space corresponding to a planting hole of the upper layer unit) is not formed (see, for example, FIG. 7).

As the material of the lower layer unit, the same material as that of the upper layer unit may be used, but a different material may be used. The lower layer unit may be expanded by water supply in the same manner as the upper layer unit.

(1-2) Container:
The planting medium of the present invention can be provided with a bag-shaped exterior material (container) capable of storing the block-shaped medium, as in the planting medium 103 shown in FIG. The bag-shaped exterior material is preferably a light-shielding container 25 (see FIG. 3). By providing such a bag-shaped exterior material, it is easy to transport, and since it can be installed as it is in a holiday house after raising paddy rice seedlings, it becomes a cultivation system that makes it easier to prepare and clean up cultivation.

The container may have at least one or more drain holes formed around the bag-shaped exterior material. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to save the trouble of forming the drainage hole.

The material of the container is not particularly limited, and conventionally known materials (for example, vinyl, resin, etc.) can be appropriately selected and used, but a biodegradable material is preferable. By using such a biodegradable material, it is possible to recycle resources in the container as well. That is, by using a biodegradable material (biodegradable vinyl, etc.) as the bag-shaped exterior material constituting the container, almost all of the planting medium can be plowed into the cultivated soil of the field. In this way, it is not necessary to dispose of the cultivated medium (including the container). As a result, the cost of processing the medium is not required, which results in a lower cost cultivation technique.

(1-3) Spacer:
The planting medium of the present invention may have a spacer as an aeration structure (that is, a structure capable of forming a gap of about several mm for maintaining aeration). The spacer 27 includes a peripheral spacer 27a for forming a ventilation structure between the block-shaped medium 30 and the light-shielding container 25, and a ventilation structure for forming a ventilation structure between the upper layer unit 20 and the lower layer unit 21. (See FIGS. 5 and 8). The planting medium 104 shown in FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which the planting target 160 is planted for still another embodiment of the planting medium of the present invention. The planting medium 105 shown in FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state in which the planting target 160 is planted for still another embodiment of the planting medium of the present invention.

By arranging the spacer, a gap is formed between the upper layer unit and the lower layer unit and between the block-shaped medium and the container, oxygen is sufficiently supplied into the medium, and the inside of the medium becomes reductive. Can be prevented. For example, by arranging an interlayer spacer, it is possible to expand the root extension region (root formation space) and suppress the reduction of the inside of the planting medium.

Any spacer may be used as long as it is possible to form an aeration structure between the upper layer unit and the lower layer unit or between the block medium and the container. For example, the spacer may be formed from a decomposable rod or granular organic material (eg, twigs, granules, etc.). Further, as the spacer, a slow-acting fertilizer such as a granular fertilizer or a round rod may be adopted. By using such a spacer, resource circulation is possible for the spacer as well. As a result, the labor of disposing of the spacer can be omitted, and the work can be saved. In addition, the cost of disposing of the spacer can be reduced. It is preferable to use a spacer that does not cause growth inhibition.

In addition, instead of the peripheral spacer, an aeration structure can be formed by forming irregularities on the outer peripheral side surface of the block-shaped medium (for example, making the outer peripheral side surface of the block-shaped medium wavy). In this case, since no spacer is arranged, it is possible to cultivate at a lower price.

(1-4) Others:
Irrigation equipment for supplying water and nutrient solution is indispensable for isolated cultivation. As the irrigation equipment used for the planting medium of the present invention, a drip irrigation method is preferable. Here, the drip tube of the irrigation equipment by the drip irrigation method is equipped with a drip mechanism on the line (on a straight line) (called a "line dripper") and one with a branching device mounted on the line. There are two types, one with two, four, or eight branch lines and equipped with a dripper at the end (called a "蛸 foot dripper").

The line dripper can be easily laid by placing it on the medium, and the price is low. On the other hand, the octopus foot dripper is difficult to handle because its terminal part becomes complicated, and the price is also high.

When the planting medium of the present invention is used, both the line dripper and the octopus foot dripper can be adopted, but since the planting medium of the present invention can be installed in a plane, the line dripper 31 (Fig. 10) can be used. Therefore, when the culture medium for planting of the present invention is used, the irrigation equipment can be inexpensive and simplified. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 160 indicates a planting object (for example, tomato).

(2) Method for producing planting medium of the present invention:
The method for producing the planting medium of the present invention will be described below by taking the production of the planting medium as shown in FIG. 1 as an example. The planting medium as shown in FIG. 1 is selected from at least an organic substance and an inorganic substance, for example, in a bottomed block molding container in which a convex portion having a shape complementary to the shape of the planting hole is formed on the bottom surface. It can be manufactured by a method having a material filling step of filling one or more kinds of materials (molding raw materials) and a material compression step of compressing the molding material filled in the block molding container. By such a method, a culture medium for planting can be easily produced.

In the material filling step, as the molding raw material, the same material as the above-mentioned material for the planting medium of the present invention can be appropriately adopted.

The block molding container in the material filling step is not particularly limited, and a container made of metal, synthetic resin, or the like can be used, and it is preferable that the container can withstand the compression pressure in the next step (material compression step).

Since the block molding container has a convex portion formed on the bottom surface thereof, the planting hole is easily formed without filling the portion with the molding material.

In the material compression step, the pressure for compressing the molding material can be appropriately determined so that the planted hole forming body has a desired size.

In the case of producing "a medium for planting in which a block-shaped medium is stored in a container", a storage step of storing the block-shaped medium obtained by performing the above material compression step in a container can be performed. At this time, peripheral spacers may be arranged in advance on the bottom surface and the side surface of the container before storing the block-shaped medium in the container.

Further, when the lower layer unit is further provided as in the medium for planting shown in FIG. 6, it is preferable to carry out the lower layer unit manufacturing step before the storage step. In this lower layer unit manufacturing process, for example, a molding raw material (lower layer molding raw material) similar to the upper layer unit (fixed planting hole forming body) is filled in a box-shaped lower layer unit molding container, and then the lower layer is concerned. Compress the molding material. In this way, a compression molded lower layer unit can be obtained. In this case, in the storage step, after the lower layer unit is stored in the container, the interlayer spacer can be arranged on the lower layer unit, and then the upper layer unit can be arranged on the interlayer spacer.

(3) How to use the planting medium of the present invention:
The method of using the planting medium of the present invention will be described below by taking as an example a planting medium in which a block-shaped medium (having an upper layer unit and a lower layer unit) is stored in a container. First, the planting medium is placed on the ground surface of the field with the mouth of the container open, and water is supplied to expand the block-shaped medium (water supply expansion step) (see FIG. 9). Then, the planting object (for example, tomato) is planted in the planting hole forming body (upper layer unit) planting hole (planting step). At this time, basically, the planting object before planting is removed from the pot and directly planted, but the pot on which the planting object before planting is grown may be placed as it is. Alternatively, the planting hole may be filled with a medium (for example, a conventionally known medium) and seeded directly. As described above, by using the planting medium of the present invention, tomatoes and the like can be easily planted.

When the planting medium of the present invention is used, since the planting holes have already been formed in the planting medium of the present invention, it is possible to save labor and time for forming the planting holes.

As a field for placing the planting medium, a paid greenhouse (seedling house) after raising seedlings of paddy rice can be used. By doing so, the seedling raising house can be effectively used, and cultivation at a low price becomes possible.

Furthermore, the planting medium of the present invention can be placed directly on the ground surface of the field. That is, conventionally, when the slope of the ground surface of the field is unstable, the medium water content becomes non-uniform due to the slope, so that highly accurate non-land correction is required. However, according to the planting medium of the present invention, the field It is easy to handle (that is, labor saving is possible) without considering the slope of the ground surface. This is because even if there is a slope on the ground surface of the field, each planting medium is independent for each plant, and the bottom surface of the single plant (each planting medium) is horizontal. The effect of uneven water content in the medium is extremely small.

In addition, the planting medium of the present invention can be plowed into the cultivated soil of the field after the cultivation is completed. This is because it is composed of at least one kind of material selected from organic substances and inorganic substances. As described above, the medium for planting of the present invention is capable of resource recycling unlike rock wool and the like.

When the medium for planting of the present invention is used, it is possible to suppress a rapid temperature rise in the high temperature period by placing it directly on the ground as described above. In other words, the temperature rises in summer, but the ground temperature is lower than the temperature. Therefore, the culture medium for planting of the present invention is cooled by placing it directly on the ground, and a rapid temperature rise in the high temperature period can be suppressed. It can also be placed directly on sheet-like materials and equipment that have a heat dissipation function. As the sheet-shaped materials and equipment, conventionally known materials and equipment can be appropriately adopted.

In addition, by placing it directly on the ground as described above, it is possible to keep warm and warm in the cold season. In other words, the temperature is low in winter, but the temperature of the ground is higher than the temperature. Therefore, the culture medium for planting of the present invention can be warmed by placing it directly on the ground, and can be kept warm during the severe cold season. It can also be laid on a heat insulating material or heating equipment. As the heat insulating material or the heating equipment, conventionally known materials can be appropriately adopted.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to Examples, but the present invention is not limited to these Examples.

(Example 1)
FIG. 13 shows the results of cultivating tomatoes (planting target 160) using the planting medium of the present invention (planting medium 106 as shown in FIG. 12). As shown in FIG. 13, it can be seen that the amount of roots is increasing. Therefore, it can be seen that the production volume is high.

In addition, since the planting medium of this example is made from the general distribution trade name "coco peat" (crushed coconut shell), it can be plowed into cultivated soil after cultivation and resource recycling is possible. ..

Further, as the planting medium of this example, a paid greenhouse (seedling house) after raising seedlings of paddy rice can be used, and cultivation at a low price is possible. Further, since the planting hole has already been formed, it is possible to save labor and time for forming the planting hole. In this respect as well, cultivation at a low price is possible.

(Comparative Example 1)
FIG. 14 shows the results of cultivating tomatoes by the conventional cultivation method as shown in FIG. It can be seen that only the portion of the bottom surface 151 of the pot 150 is the survival surface, and the amount of roots is smaller than that of the medium of Example 1 (extending only downward from the bottom surface 151 of the pot 150). It can be seen that the root area is limited as compared with the case of Example 1.

The planting medium of this example is a medium used for isolated nutrient solution cultivation, and by using the planting medium of this example, isolation type culture capable of low cost, labor saving, high production, and resource recycling is possible. It can be seen that liquid cultivation is possible.

The medium for planting of the present invention can be used as a medium used for isolated hydroponic cultivation.

10: Planting hole, 20: Planting hole forming body, 21: Lower layer unit, 25: Light-shielding container, 27: Spacer, 27a: Peripheral spacer, 27b: Interlayer spacer, 30: Block medium, 31: Line dripper, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107: Medium for planting, 150: Seedling pot, 151: Bottom, 160: Object for planting, 200: Medium, G: Ground surface, L: Central axis of planting hole Straight line parallel to, θ: tilt angle.

Claims (4)

A block-shaped medium having a planting hole-forming body, which is a block-shaped molding medium in which a planting hole is formed and is composed of at least one material selected from an organic substance and an inorganic substance, is provided.
The planting hole forming body is a molded medium, and is
Side surface of the planting hole is inclined,
The planting hole is a hole for planting a planting object grown by raising seedlings.
The block-shaped medium has the planting hole forming body as an upper layer unit, and further has one or more lower layer units below the upper layer unit.
The lower layer unit is a block-shaped molding medium made of at least one material selected from organic substances and inorganic substances, and molded.
A medium for planting having a spacer as an aeration structure . The culture medium for planting according to claim 1, wherein the planting hole forming body is swollen by water supply. The medium for planting according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the planting hole is formed as a through hole penetrating from the front surface to the back surface of the planting hole forming body. In the planting hole, the planting object before planting can be removed from the pot and directly planted or sown, or the pot on which the planting object before planting is grown can be placed as it is. The medium for planting according to any one of 3.