JPH0458936B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to an inclined floating root type hydroponic cultivation apparatus.

(Prior art) In the hydroponic cultivation of plants, it is especially important to solve two problems: how to supply oxygen to the roots, and how to constantly supply the roots with a nutrient solution with a concentration suitable for cultivation. It is. Various methods have been devised and proposed to solve this problem. One such method is the floating root hydroponic cultivation method according to the present invention. In this method, the roots can absorb oxygen from the air, so oxygen supply is easy, and compared to other methods in which the roots are immersed in the nutrient solution, bubbling of the nutrient solution is required to supply oxygen to the roots. This has the advantage that no additional operations are required.

As an apparatus for this kind of floating root type hydroponic cultivation, for example, the one shown in FIG. 2 is known. This is done by placing the root part 3 of the plant 20 in the liquid storage part 1 containing the nutrient solution.
A supporting part 2 made of, for example, a foamed polystyrene plate, which supports the nutrient solution, is suspended, and a liquid absorbing member 3, such as a non-woven fabric, which sucks up the nutrient solution by capillary force is placed on the horizontal surface of the upper surface of the support part 2, so as to be partially immersed in the nutrient solution. Place,
Furthermore, a liquid-permeable sheet 4 for preventing roots from entering the nutrient solution is placed on the liquid-absorbing member 3, and the roots 30 are supported on this liquid-permeable sheet 4 to allow the roots to grow. It is something. In addition, as a structure similar to this, in FIG. 2, a solid medium (not shown) in which plants are planted is placed on the liquid-permeable sheet 4, and this solid medium is fed by capillary force. A device that supplies liquid is known (Utility Model Application No. 54348/1983).

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, these devices which adopt a method of supplying a nutrient solution to roots in the air by capillary force have the following drawbacks. That is, plants require different nutrients depending on their growth period, and selectively absorb components in the nutrient solution. For this reason, components that are not absorbed by the roots, such as iron, magnesium, calcium, etc., accumulate in the center of the solid medium or liquid-permeable sheet, and the nutrient solution in the area where the roots actually come in contact with A phenomenon occurs in which the composition and concentration change to be unsuitable for plant growth. As a result, the normal growth of the roots in the central part is inhibited, while the roots grow in the peripheral part, which is equal to the nutrient solution composition in the liquid storage part 1, and as shown in FIG. It grows concentrated around the periphery of the liquid sheet. And for this reason, in order to develop the roots necessary for plant growth,
The area dominated by the supporting part per plant becomes large, forcing coarse planting.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present inventor has solved the above-mentioned drawbacks, does not require power except when supplying water, and promotes normal root growth and increases planting density. The present invention was completed as a result of studies aimed at providing a hydroponic cultivation device that can.

That is, the present invention provides a storage part for a nutrient solution, a support part having an inclined surface that supports the roots of a plant, a liquid absorbing member placed on the support part to suck up the nutrient solution and supply it to the plant, A tilted floating root type nutrient solution characterized by comprising a liquid passage sheet that prevents water from entering the nutrient solution, and a liquid supply section that directly supplies the nutrient solution onto the liquid passage sheet and washes it. It is a cultivation device.

(Function) In addition to the function of supporting the roots of plants, the support part used in the present invention has the following function as a result of its upper surface being an inclined surface.

That is, the roots grow on this inclined surface with the liquid-absorbing member and the liquid-permeable sheet stacked on top of each other. By additionally supplying the nutrient solution from the liquid supply section that directly supplies the liquid onto the liquid sheet, the nutrient solution that is being accumulated on the inclined surface of the support section 2 is brought about by selective absorption by the plants. It is possible to easily and quickly return the composition of the nutrient solution in such areas to the initial preferred composition by washing and removing excess components, etc., and as a result, there is no inhibition of root growth due to the accumulation of surplus components, and the liquid permeable sheet can be used for roots. It is possible to grow it all within. Note that the nutrient solution supplied from the liquid supply section may be the nutrient solution within the liquid storage section.

(Example) Next, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a nutrient solution storage section, in which the nutrient solution is stored in a recess. Examples of materials constituting such a concave portion include a container without a lid, a watertight sheet that maintains a constant concave shape, and the like. The liquid storage section 1 is preferably semi-underground in order to reduce changes in the temperature of the nutrient solution.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a support part, which may have any configuration as long as its upper surface is inclined with respect to the horizontal and the root part 30 can be maintained at a substantially constant height from the liquid level of the liquid storage part 1. However, for example, a material made of a material with high buoyancy in water, such as styrofoam, that floats on the liquid surface is used. FIG. 1 shows a case where the above requirements are satisfied by fixing a buoyant member 2b also made of styrofoam to the bottom end of a buoyant plate 2a made of styrofoam so that the buoyancy becomes uneven depending on the position. ing. This method is particularly suitable because it is simple and the positional relationship between the support portion 2 and the liquid level is always constant. Of course, a fixed trapezoid shape can also be used as long as it satisfies the above requirements.

A liquid absorbing member 3 is placed on the slope of the support portion 2, and one end thereof is immersed in the nutrient solution in the liquid storage portion 1. As the liquid absorbing member 3, one that can supply the necessary amount of nutrient solution to the plants 20 using capillary force without using power is used, such as a nonwoven fabric. In FIG. 1, a nonwoven fabric is used as the liquid absorbing member 3, which is placed on the floating plate 2a, and is immersed in the nutrient solution with one end of the fabric placed on the top of the slope and along the side of the floating material 2b. The case is shown in which the end is placed slightly in front of the lower end of the slope so that the end is not immersed in the nutrient solution, and the nutrient solution sucked up gradually moves from above to below the slope. Furthermore, as described above, when the support part 2 is made up of the floating plate 2a and the floating material 2b, the positional relationship between the support part 2 and the liquid surface is always constant, so that the liquid absorbing member 2
Since the amount of liquid absorbed is constant, a constant amount of nutrient solution can always be supplied to the vicinity of the roots 30, which is preferable.

Reference numeral 4 denotes a liquid-permeable sheet, which is placed on the liquid-absorbing member 3. The liquid-permeable sheet 4 prevents the roots of plants from elongating and entering the nutrient solution, and also prevents the roots of plants from extending into the nutrient solution.
This is to create a space with high humidity between the liquid absorbing member 3 and the liquid absorbing member 3. As the liquid-permeable sheet 4, a cloth, sheet, or the like is used that is water permeable and has pores so small as to prevent penetration of plant roots.

The liquid-permeable sheet 4 can be used by spreading it over the liquid-absorbing member 3 in the same way as shown in FIG. 2, but as shown in FIG. This is preferable for creating a high space. Furthermore, the planting board 5 is preferably shaped to cover the entire root portion 30 and the liquid-permeable sheet 4 in order to prevent moisture from evaporating from the liquid-permeable sheet 4. Note that if a member is provided to support the above-ground parts of the plants to be cultivated, the planting board 5 may be omitted.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a liquid supply section, which includes a liquid supply pipe 6a and a microtube 6b. The liquid supply pipe 6a is for supplying or appropriately replenishing the nutrient liquid into the apparatus of the present invention, and has conventionally been piped to directly supply the liquid to the liquid storage part 1. In the present invention, the liquid is supplied not only for the purpose of simply adding the nutrient solution into the device, but also for the purpose of collecting the liquid on the inclined surface of the support part 2 by directly supplying the liquid from the tip of the microtube 6b onto the liquid passage sheet 4. This is also carried out for the purpose of removing surplus components brought about by selective absorption by plants or surplus nutrient solution with an unbalanced composition ratio, and cleaning the roots 30, the liquid absorbing member 3, or the liquid permeable sheet 4. Therefore, it is preferable that the liquid supply pipe 6a be installed near the liquid passage sheet 4. The nutrient solution is replenished using the microtube 6b when the nutrient solution decreases. FIG. 1 shows a case in which the tip of the microtube 6b is set at a position close to the apex of the support section 2 within the space surrounded by the liquid-permeable sheet 4 to achieve this purpose. Further, as the liquid supply section 6, for example, an agricultural irrigation tube or the like can be used as long as it achieves the above purpose.

Incidentally, planting onto the planting board 5 can be carried out using, for example, urethane or rock wool pieces 7 for raising seedlings.

Reference numeral 8 denotes a light-shielding cover used for the purpose of preventing invasion of various germs, controlling root temperature, and preventing excessive transpiration, and is made of, for example, an aluminum vapor-deposited film.

(Effects of the Invention) Since the device of the present invention is constructed as described above, it is possible to constantly supply the entire root region with a nutrient solution that meets the needs of the plant, so that the root region is sandwiched between the liquid-permeable sheet and the planting board. It can be grown evenly throughout the space.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a conventional floating root type hydroponic cultivation apparatus. 1...Liquid storage part, 2...Support part, 2a...Floating plate,
2b... Floating material, 3... Liquid supply member, 4... Liquid passing sheet, 5... Planting board, 6... Liquid supply section, 6a... Liquid supply pipe, 6b... Microtube, 7... Seedling raising urethane piece, 8...light-shielding cover, 20...plant, 30...root.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A storage part for the nutrient solution, a support part having an inclined surface that supports the roots of the plant, a liquid absorbing member placed on the support part to suck up the nutrient solution and supply it to the plant, What is claimed is: 1. A tilted floating root type hydroponic cultivation device comprising: a liquid-permeable sheet that prevents liquid from entering the liquid-permeable sheet; and a liquid supply section that directly supplies a nutrient solution onto the liquid-permeable sheet.