JPH01148132A - Safflower sprout for food and culture apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide safflower sprout for food having suppressed bitter taste, at a low cost, by sowing safflower seeds on a water-retaining mat, sprouting and growing the seed in a dark room without applying fertilizer to obtain a vegetable sprout, tinting the sprout in pale green color by the irradiation with a greening fluorescent lamp for a prescribed period, harvesting the sprout and removing seed coat therefrom. CONSTITUTION:Seeds of safflower are sowed on a water-retaining mat 52 and introduced into a dark culture chamber 3 in a culture chamber 1. A door 11 is closed and the seeds are subjected to sprouting and growth to obtain vegetable sprout of about 10cm in height under the supply of water with a water-spraying apparatus 7 and the control of temperature with a hot air heater 9 without applying fertilizer. The sprout is transferred from the dark culture chamber 3 to a culture chamber 2 furnished with a fluorescent lamp 8 for greening and irradiating with the fluorescent lamp 8 for a prescribed period until the whole sprout is slightly tinted with green color. The obtained sprout composed of a relatively soft hypocotyl and cotyledon and having decreased bitter taste is harvested and the seed coat is removed to obtain the objective sprout safflower for food.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Object of the Invention) This invention aims to grow safflower sprout vegetables, which are normally hard and bitter and have never been used for food, under special conditions. The aim is to produce edible safflowers by harvesting them, that is, "edible safflowers" (hereinafter the same), and to develop edible safflowers with a novel structure that is necessary for forced cultivation of edible safflowers. The purpose is to provide a cultivation device for Kaiware safflower.

(Conventional technology) Safflower, which is the prefectural flower of the Yamagata region, has been used in lipsticks, dyes,
In addition to being used as edible oil, ink, dried flowers, and other decorations, the linoleic acid contained in safflower has recently been extracted and added to various foods, such as milk and juice, and has become a cause of concern as an adult disease. Its usefulness has been in the spotlight, as it has come to be used as an ingredient in the production of health foods suitable for preventing arteriosclerosis and heart disease.

The safflower used to make this health food is fully grown and then only the necessary components are extracted. Not only does it take time and effort to grow, but it also takes time and effort to extract the components. Since special equipment is required for this purpose, if you try to use the effective ingredients of safflower, you have to be prepared for the cost to be extremely high.

Therefore, in order to make it easier to ingest the components of safflower that are useful for health, we have spent many years researching the development of ways to do so. However, since it has been confirmed that the active ingredients are contained in sufficient amounts, instead of extracting the active ingredients from grown safflower and using them as before, we have grown safflower in large quantities as a sprout vegetable and made it into soybean sprouts. The aim is to make it possible for anyone to easily ingest the active ingredients of safflower by eating it on a daily basis, such as red bean sprouts, and to efficiently mass-produce this edible safflower. We are trying to provide cultivation equipment here.

(Structure of the Invention) The edible safflower of the present invention is obtained by germinating and growing safflower seeds sown on a water-retaining mat in a dark room without using fertilizers, but without using fertilizers.
Before and after a, the sprouted vegetables and pears are irradiated with a chlorophyllizing fluorescent light for the required period of time before being taken out of the dark room, so that they are slightly green and have relatively soft hypocotyls and cotyledons, and are harvested with less bitterness. It is made by removing the seed coat.

It is advantageous to boil safflower seeds for about a day and night before sowing them on a water-retaining mat to increase cultivation efficiency.

Many of the Kaiware safflowers that have grown to around 10 centimeters and reached the harvest time still have hard seed coats on their cotyledons, so these seed coats should be removed by appropriate means such as showering or washing with water before shipping. It is desirable to do so.

The best water to be supplied during the growing process is natural water, such as well water or spring water, which has been left in a water storage tank for an appropriate period of time and maintained at a predetermined temperature (for example, around 1,000 ℃). No fertilizers such as liquid fertilizers are added, and the ingredients necessary for growth are provided by the seeds themselves.

This water supply not only provides hydration necessary for growth itself, but also functions to stimulate growth hormones. That is, by alternately supplying warm air at predetermined intervals, the room temperature remains at a substantially constant temperature (
The optimum temperature is around 25°C), and -
Water, which is much cooler than room temperature at around 12°C, is sprinkled occasionally to stimulate the cells and give them a boost in growth.

More effectively, the watering interval should be extended as long as possible without hindering growth to systematically achieve a state of water starvation (an advantage of hydroponic cultivation with sufficient water supply). As a result, the water absorption action of the sprout vegetables in the growing process is accelerated and efficient water absorption is carried out, and this action also stimulates the growth hormone, which allows the sprout vegetables to grow in good condition. It is possible.

According to experiments, the relationship between the watering interval after seeds are sown on the watering mat and room temperature adjustment is that when the room temperature is about 25°C5 and the natural water temperature is around 12°C, the watering interval is about 3 to 4 hours. By achieving watering for 2 to 3 minutes, good results were obtained in that safflower, which is suitable for harvesting at around 10 cm in height and 5 to 6 mm in thickness, could be harvested in about 5 days. .

Next, a cultivation device for cultivating this edible safflower will be explained.

That is, as is clearly understood from the representative embodiment shown in the drawings, the inside of the box-shaped outer shell 1 made of a heat insulating material is vertically partitioned into at least three chambers, each with cultivation chambers 2, 3, . . .
. . . In each chamber 2, 3° 4 . . . , a cultivation case insertion space 6 is placed in which a cultivation case 5 having a draining plate 51 formed at the bottom can be freely inserted and removed, and a watering device 7 is installed. are arranged, at least one of these cultivation rooms 2, 3, 4, etc. is a dark room, and the other cultivation rooms are formed into cultivation rooms where a fluorescent light 8 for greening is installed , each room 2゜3.
4... are supplied with warm air from a hot air heater 619, and each room is controlled at a constant temperature and humidity by supplying the warm air and sprinkling water.

The box-shaped outer body 1 has a structure in which a heat insulating material, such as a foamed plastic material, is sandwiched between stainless steel plates, and on the front side there is a large opening/closing door 11 made of a similar laminated structure. It is designed so that it can be opened and closed without any support when taking in and out of the cultivation case 5.5, which will be described later, and has a sealing effect.

The size of the box-shaped outer shell 1 may be appropriately selected depending on the cultivation scale, and there are cultivation chambers 2°3.4 inside.
・are arranged in the vertical direction. However, cultivation room 2.3.4
Each of these is further divided into multiple parts,
For example, there are two cultivation rooms 2, two cultivation rooms 3, and two cultivation rooms 4.
The cultivation room can be divided vertically or horizontally into 5 rooms, etc., and cultivation rooms 2, 3, 4, etc.
For example, 2, 3, 4.2.3.4...
It is possible to form an optimal cultivation room in consideration of cultivation efficiency and work efficiency, such as by repeatedly forming multiple layers.

In addition, in the example, those cultivation rooms 2.3.4...
Further below, there is provided a machine room in which a hot air heater 9 for supplying hot air and other power equipment are arranged, but the arrangement of this hot air heater 9 is not limited to this embodiment. not,
It is possible to employ appropriate means, such as combining it separately from the box-shaped outer shell 1 or integrating it into the top of the box-shaped outer shell 1, contrary to the embodiment.

The cultivation chambers 2, 3, 4, . It must be formed so that it does not flow into other rooms.

In the figure, 12 is an outlet for discharging the water that has flowed out through the draining plate 51, and 13 is a ventilation fan that adjusts the internal temperature, and can be repeatedly activated and deactivated in conjunction with a thermostat. Further, 71 is a pipe that supplies water to the water sprinkler 7, which is connected to a water storage tank (not shown), and can supply water at predetermined intervals by the operation of a pump, and which operates the hot air heater 9 described above. Both will be linked by a timer so that they will operate alternately.

As can be understood from the illustrated embodiment, the cultivation case 5 has a bottom formed with a draining plate 51 and a water-retaining mat (for example, open-celled plastic foam, vegetable fiber, etc.) inside. It has a shallow box shape with 52 sheets lined up and is made of materials such as plastic, stainless steel, and wood.

Draining plate 5 to be formed at the bottom of the cultivation case 5
1. In the process of growing safflower seeds from sown safflower seeds to sprouted vegetables, excess water that is sprinkled remains in the cultivation case 6, resulting in undesirable moisture and oxygen to the water-retaining mat 52. This function is to ensure that the supply of water is not disrupted.

(Operation and Effect) This invention has the above-described configuration, and safflower seeds are soaked in hot water to make them suitable for germination.
The seeds were sown on a water-retaining mat 52 inside the cultivation case 5 so as not to be sown too thickly, and first inserted into the cultivation room (cultivation room 3 in the illustrated embodiment) which was a dark room in the cultivation room.
After closing the opening/closing door 11 and sprinkling water to sufficiently supply water to the water-retaining mat 52, the hot air heating n9 is activated to bring the internal temperature of the box-shaped outer shell 1 to an appropriate temperature, optimally around 25°C. do it like this.

After approximately 3 to 4 hours have elapsed in this state where the temperature is controlled at a predetermined temperature, water is again sprinkled to replenish the water-retaining mat 52, and the hot air heating 119 is further activated to bring the room temperature back to the predetermined temperature. raise.

Thereafter, this process is repeated and after about 3 days and nights have passed, the seeds germinate and become early sprouted vegetables that have grown to about 3 to 4 cm.

When these initial sprouted vegetables have grown, the opening/closing door 11 is opened and the vegetables are moved to the cultivation room 1 or 2 where a greening fluorescent lamp is provided. However, if the cultivation chambers 2 serving as preliminary greening chambers are arranged side by side, the bottom is moved there first. After about one day and night, the plants are transferred to the greening room for another day and night, during which watering and temperature control are carried out at predetermined intervals, similar to the above-mentioned management.

During that time, if the indoor temperature rises too much due to some abnormality, the thermostat is activated and the ventilation [13] installed at the top of the box-shaped outer shell 1 is automatically activated to maintain the predetermined room temperature. do.

In this way, at about 56 eyes, the height grew to about 10 am,
You can harvest sprouted vegetables with the seed coat still in the cotyledons,
Each cultivation case is taken out and showered, the seed coats are removed cleanly, and the appropriate number of plants is placed in sales cases for commercial sale.

As mentioned above, this invention makes it possible to produce edible safflower, which has never been tried before. What used to be possible only by extracting only the necessary components and adding them to foods such as juice or bread can be easily eaten raw in the same way as other raw vegetables at every meal. Since safflower can be ingested easily and inexpensively, the active ingredients of safflower can be useful for health, and can greatly contribute to improving the health of modern people.

In particular, if the cultivation device of the present invention is used for cultivation, it is an extremely compact device that does not take up much space, and moreover, the safflower sprout vegetables grown in the dark cultivation room 3 can be By simply repeating the simple operation of sequentially moving the plants to cultivation rooms 2 or 3 where greening fluorescent lights are installed every time a predetermined period of time has elapsed, continuous production can be achieved in a short period of time. Therefore, it is highly anticipated that it will be used as a side job for farmers like those in the Yamagata region, whose farming is centered on rice and whose produce disappears depending on the season.

The above-mentioned effects can be obtained by using the cultivation device of the present invention in combination with darkroom cultivation and cultivation that appropriately promotes greening, as well as cultivation that can be called shock cultivation in which intermittent water supply and appropriate temperature control are alternately repeated. Unlike soybean sprout cultivation, which is simply grown in a dark room to produce tasteless sprouts, chlorophyll is removed at the harvest stage. It is a sprout vegetable that is added appropriately, has a moderate bitterness in taste, and has a moderate texture, making it an extremely flavorful sprout vegetable.
Furthermore, unlike hydroponic cultivation of daikon radish, an extremely large cultivation area is not required, and extremely economical and efficient mass production is possible.

In addition, in this cultivation device, by realizing a structure in which the lowest layer is a dark room and germination and initial growth occur in the same place, temperature changes during repeated watering and hot air circulation are reduced in the space above the box-shaped outer shell 1. It is relatively calm compared to other parts of the world, and can create an environment that is relatively suitable for weak sprout vegetables that germinate and begin their initial growth. In addition, for sprouted vegetables that have gained growth potential before being harvested, there is a relatively clear temperature change in the space above them, and they are easily irritated.
Since a cultivation environment suitable for promoting growth, which can be called shock cultivation, can be achieved, a cultivation device employing this structure enables even more ideal harvest of safflower.

Furthermore, the cultivation room equipped with greening fluorescent lights placed above the outer shell 1 has a structure in which a pre-greening room is installed in parallel, thereby preventing rapid greening and ensuring sufficient natural growth. This structure has been shown to moderate the inherent bitterness of safflower, which is expected to result from greening, and this structure makes safflower, which was previously too bitter to be eaten as it is, into an edible vegetable. It will demonstrate its power greatly at the top.

As mentioned above, this invention allows safflower, a specialty of the Yamagata region, which has never been eaten raw, to be cultivated in a special environment.
By harvesting, safflower can be made into edible safflower, and it can be commercialized with special cultivation equipment, so linoleic acid containing safflower, which is said to be good for adult diseases. Not only will it be cheap and easy to ingest, greatly contributing to people's health management, but it is also expected to become a new source of income for farmers and greatly contribute to enriching the local economy.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show a representative embodiment of the cultivation apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the structure in a simplified manner. 1... Outer body, 11... Door, 12... Drain port, 13... Ventilation fan, 2.3.4... Cultivation room, 5... Cultivation case, 51... same draining board, 5
2... Water-retaining mat, 6... Cultivation case insertion space, 7... Watering device, 71... Piping, 8... Greening fluorescent lamp, 9... Warm air heater.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Safflower seeds sown on a water-retaining mat are controlled by water supply and temperature control in a dark room, but are allowed to germinate and grow without fertilizer to produce vegetable sprouts approximately 10 cm in length, and then taken out from the dark room. The edible seeds are harvested after being irradiated with a chlorophyllizing fluorescent lamp for the required period of time to have a slightly greenish appearance, have relatively soft hypocotyls and cotyledons, and have less bitterness, and the seed coat is removed. Kaiware safflower. 2 Cultivation in which the interior of a box-shaped outer shell having a heat insulating material layer is divided into at least three chambers in the vertical direction to form a cultivation room, and each chamber has a cultivation case with a drain plate formed at the bottom that can be taken in and out at will. A watering device is arranged next to the case insertion space, and at least one of the cultivation rooms is a dark cultivation room.
While the other cultivation rooms are equipped with fluorescent lights for greening, each room is also supplied with warm air from a hot air heater, and the above-mentioned method is used to supply warm air to each room. A device for cultivating edible safflower in which each room is controlled at a constant temperature and humidity by intermittent watering from a watering device. 3. The apparatus for cultivating edible safflower according to claim 2, wherein the lowest cultivation chamber in the cultivation chamber is a dark cultivation chamber. 4 The number of greening fluorescent lights to be installed can be changed from the cultivation room where greening fluorescent lights are installed, with the top layer being a greening room with many fluorescent lights, and the bottom layer being a preliminary greening room with fewer fluorescent lights. An apparatus for cultivating edible safflower according to claim 2, which comprises a chamber.