JPH07284351A - Non-soil culture device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the non-soil culture device having a medium not requiring its dumping, exchange and disinfection due to the remarkable excellent regeneration ability of a raw material used as the medium and capable of being continuously used over a long period by supplying the used and reduced portion of the medium, not requiring an installation for supplying a calcium fertilizer raw solution, having durability also against the partial interruption or stoppage of the fertilizer raw material supply, excellent in water retainability, fertilizer retainability and antibacterial property, and not harmful to man and beast. CONSTITUTION:This non-soil culture device is provided with a container 1 whose upper surface is opened, a medium 2 received in the container and comprising particles consisting at least mostly of coral fossils as a raw material having many pores, a plant 3 set in the medium, and a water-containing fertilizer 4 supplied into the medium.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for plant cultivation, particularly soilless cultivation, that is, an apparatus which enables cultivation of plants on a special medium without using soil.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The conventional traditional method for cultivating plants using soil as a medium requires a great deal of labor, time and cost for suitable soil preparation, prevention of continuous crop failure and disinfection of soil. . Therefore, assuming that the roots of all these defects are to use the medium as soil, a hydroponic cultivation method was developed instead of using the medium at all.

The hydroponic cultivation method, however, has an advantage that soil, which is a difficult substance in the past, can be ignored, but on the other hand, it requires that a large tank for supplying a culture solution is provided underground, and the installation work is required. I was forced to make a large investment.

In recent years, as the above-mentioned improved type, solution cultivation using rock wool or the like as a medium has been developed.
Although an automatic dilution device that automatically mixes water into the liquid fertilizer to adjust its concentration is essential, the dilution device is significantly smaller than the solution tank required for the hydroponic cultivation method, and its installation work is also required. It was easy and the construction period was short. However, not only is it impossible to regenerate the clogged rock wool used as a culture medium, but there is a big problem in discarding it.

[0005] By the way, conventionally, when a fertilizer stock solution containing calcium is mixed with another fertilizer stock solution and supplied when a culture solution is supplied to a medium for solid culture containing rockwool, calcium is precipitated, and calcium is precipitated. Inadequate supply of calcium causes insufficient absorption of calcium in the plant, resulting in, for example, so-called bottom rot, which causes the lower part of the fruit to rot. Therefore, conventionally, in order to prevent the adverse effect, a facility that can separately supply a fertilizer stock solution containing calcium without mixing with another fertilizer stock solution has been provided. However, there is a concern that the fertilizer undiluted solution supply equipment becomes large in size, takes up space, is costly, and its management is complicated.

[0006] The inventor of the present invention, on February 10, 1993, under Japanese Patent Application No. 5-45828, a medium for soilless cultivation comprising particles having a large number of pores made of coral fossil. I have applied for it.

[0007]

The first object of the present invention is that the material used as a culture medium has remarkably excellent regeneration ability, so that it is not necessary to discard, replace and / or disinfect the culture medium, The purpose of the present invention is to provide a soilless cultivation apparatus having a medium that can be continuously used for a long period of time by replenishing the reduced amount.

A second object of the present invention is nitrogen, phosphoric acid,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a soilless cultivation apparatus which is excellent in fertilizer components such as potassium and has a good water retentivity and which can temporarily suspend or stop the supply of a fertilizer stock solution.

A third object of the present invention is to provide an antibacterial soilless cultivation apparatus capable of suppressing the growth of bacteria in the medium and reducing the diseases of crops originating from the roots.

A fourth object of the present invention is that it is not necessary to supply the calcium fertilizer stock solution, and therefore the auxiliary equipment such as a tank, a measuring instrument and a supply pipe system used for it is also unnecessary, and the equipment is remarkably simple and low in cost. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a soilless cultivation apparatus which is easy to manage, but whose supply of calcium to crops is always sufficient and which can prevent the occurrence of, for example, bottom rot.

[0011]

A soilless cultivation apparatus according to the present invention comprises a container having an open upper surface and a large number of pores which are contained in the container and at least most of which are made of coral fossils. And a plant to be planted in the medium, and a fertilizer containing water to be supplied to the medium.

Further, the pores of the coral fossil particles are fired at a temperature of 200 to 250 ° C. in an atmosphere in which air is cut off, so that the surface area thereof is 10 times as compared with that of the particles which are not heat-treated. What is formed by being enlarged by 50 times is also used as the medium used in the present invention.

When the pores of the particles described in the preceding paragraph are clogged due to use and the water retention and fertilizing properties are deteriorated, the particles are recovered and fired again under the conditions described in the preceding paragraph. By doing so, reproduction is possible.

A firing atmosphere in which the air is cut off is formed by putting the particles in a rotary firing furnace and supplying 1 to 100 liters of nitrogen gas per second or 1 to 50 liters of carbon dioxide gas per second. To be done.

Further, to the medium used in the present invention, while a slow-release solid fertilizer is added, the supply of the culture solution can be stopped and the supply of water alone can be converted.

The container for storing the culture medium has a structure for storing the culture medium even on the inner bottom surface thereof, and a structure in which a shelf is provided in a horizontal direction in the middle of the interior thereof, and the culture medium is supported on the upper surface of the shelf but allows passage of water. Including.

When the fertilizer containing water is a water-soluble culture solution, a discharge hole of a culture solution supply pipe is arranged on the medium, and a drain hole is formed on the bottom surface of the container. It is desirable to provide a culture medium forced circulation means in which the end of the drainage hole and the start end of the supply pipe are opened in the culture liquid storage tank, and a pump is provided in the supply pipe system.

[0018]

First, the composition of the coral fossil raw material used as the medium used in the present invention will be shown in the order of wt%. CaCo ₃ 91.67 CaO 51.36 Ca 36.71 MgO 2.20 Na 0.50 Sr 0.11 Si 0.04 P 0.028 Al 0.0055 B 0.0031 As is clear from the above composition list. The main component of the coral fossil material is calcium, and more than a non-eluting calcium oxide CaO, a large amount of calcium carbonate CaCo ₃ having a crystal form of argonite that is easily eluted is contained. Therefore, if coral fossil particles having such a composition are used as a medium, it is not necessary to supply calcium as a culture solution, and calcium can be provided in an amount eluted from the medium. Moreover, as can be seen from the above composition list, magnesium is present in the maximum amount in the trace elements, so that it is not necessary to supply magnesium.

Next, the coral fossil particles having such a calcium content that can be eluted are porous at the same time, and the specific surface area of the particle pores is 2.767 m ² / g.
It is recognized that its adsorption capacity is 0.64 ml / g. Therefore, since it has excellent water-retaining property and fertilizing property, it is possible to obtain a buffering performance which does not hinder the growth even if the supply of the fertilizer stock solution is temporarily interrupted.

When the coral fossil particles having such a porosity are further fired in an atmosphere in a temperature range of 200 to 250 ° C. in which the air is cut off, a diaphragm or residual corpse remaining in the coral fossils is thermally decomposed. It is then incinerated to form extremely deep holes uniformly, and the diameter of those holes is 10 to 20μ.
The specific surface area is about 120 m ² / g.
(Approximately 40 times as much as the coral fossil particles described in the previous section), its adsorption capacity reached approximately 27 ml / g (approximately 40 times the same), and a large amount of water and fertilizer were stored in the remarkably deep pores thus formed. It Moreover, since the calcination temperature does not exceed 250 ° C, the crystal form of calcium carbonate, which is the main component of the coral fossil particles, does not change to carnite and maintains the argonite that can be eluted even after calcination. In the state of being preserved, the buffer performance excellent in water retention and fertilizing property is increased.

The above-mentioned operation is premised on the supply of the culture solution, but a simple energy-saving low energy-saving method in which a slow-release fertilizer is applied in the medium instead of the culture solution and only water is supplied. A costless soilless cultivation device is also possible.

[0022]

EXAMPLE A concrete embodiment of the soilless cultivation apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

If the constitutional examples of the soilless cultivation apparatus according to the present invention are sequentially shown from the simple type, a simple system (see FIG. 4), a storage system (see FIG. 3), a pouring system (see FIG. 1) and a forced circulation system. (See FIG. 2).

Therefore, as is apparent from the simple method shown in FIG. 4, the basic structure of the present invention is such that a container 1 having an open upper surface and made of, for example, styrene foam or synthetic resin, and a container 1 housed in the container 1. In addition, at least most of the medium 2 is composed of particles having a large number of pores made of coral fossil, a plant 3 planted in the medium, and a fertilizer 4 containing water supplied to the medium. Become.

As for fertilization, not only liquid fertilizer but also solid fertilizer is applied or sprayed, or as shown in FIGS. A method corresponding to cultivation, and as shown in FIG. 2, the starting end of the supply pipe 5 is placed in a tank 6 for storing the culture solution, and a pump 7 is provided in the pipe system to store the culture solution. A continuous automatic supply method is included.

On the other hand, regarding the relationship between the inner bottom surface of the container 1 and the medium 2, the simplest method is generally a contact type in which the medium 2 reaches the inner bottom surface of the container 1 as shown in FIG. Is.

However, in consideration of the spoilage of the culture solution and the smooth supply of oxygen to the rhizosphere, the medium 2 and the container 1
It is desirable to provide a predetermined gap between the inner bottom surface and the inner bottom surface. The gap is formed by providing a shelf 8 in the middle horizontal direction inside the container 1, the medium 2 is supported on the upper surface of the shelf 8 and its descending passage is blocked, while water such as culture solution falls. Is forgiven. Considering them, the shelf 8 is made of a fine mesh in the embodiment shown in FIG. Alternatively, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, if a root preventive sheet material, for example, a non-woven fabric 9 is interposed between the medium 2 and the shelf 8, the plant 3 is prevented from extending downward from the shelf 8. It

The water level of the culture medium is 1/3 to 1/2 of the thickness of the layer of the medium 2 as shown by the broken line 10 in FIGS.
It is desirable to keep it during the period of time to help supply oxygen from above into the medium.

When the inner surface of the container 1 is white, it is desirable to lay a black vinyl sheet 11 along the inner surface of the container 1 in order to assist the root growth and activity of the plant 3.

The outlet 12 for the culture solution from the container 1 is shown in FIG.
3 and 4 but not installed in those of FIGS. 3 and 4. In FIG. 2, the end of the discharge port 12 opens into the culture solution storage tank 6 via the switching valve 13. Therefore, in the embodiment of FIG. 2, forced circulation of the culture solution is possible.

[0031]

[Table 1] Table 1 shows a comparison of two examples of the rockwool medium and Example 3 of the medium according to the present invention,
In order to make the cultivation conditions the same, the growth bed has a length of 10
m, width 30 cm, height 20 cm, using a styrofoam box, and planting 20 melon seedlings in the 2-leaf stage and 20 tomato seedlings in the 8-leaf stage per bed. Two kinds of cases for planting were prepared, and as a result of continued cultivation for 100 days, respectively, as a result, for melon, the weight per fruit and the incidence of bottom rot, and for tomato,
The yield per one share and the bottom rot occurrence rate are shown as comparative values, each of which is 100 in the case of Conventional Technology Example 1.

In Table 1, the slow-release fertilizer contains nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potassium in an amount of 12% each, and 2% per strain.
00 g was used, and as a means for providing a slow-release effect, a thin coating of fertilizer with a cellulose-based or vinyl acetate-based adhesive, or other means was used.

Examples 1, 2 and 3 of the invention in Table 1
The coral fossil particles used in
2 kg per strain was used, which was not burned to 20 mm.

As a result, Example 1 in which the coral fossil particles were used as the medium and the culture solution was supplied by pouring or circulating the solution gave the best results, and then the slow-release fertilizer was added to the medium, and Example 2 in which the culture solution was supplied showed the second favorable result, and further Example 3 in which the slow-release fertilizer was added to the medium and only water was supplied showed the third favorable result. However, none of the so-called bottom rots occurred.

200 coral fossil particles in an air-shielded atmosphere
For the details of the means for firing at a temperature of up to 250 ° C, the description in Japanese Patent Application No. 4-336613 filed by the same applicant is incorporated, and the outline of the means is as follows. From the air outlet to the outlet, the cylinder is installed in a posture having a gentle gradient, a mechanism for rotating the cylinder, an atmosphere forming means for interrupting air, and a hot air supplying means, and the air interrupting atmosphere forming means. As a result, 1 to 100 liters of nitrogen gas per second or 1 to 50 liters of carbon dioxide gas per second is supplied to the cylindrical body of the firing furnace to create a state in which oxygen-containing air in the cylindrical body is removed, and 2
Hot air adjusted to a temperature of 00 to 250 ° C is, for example,
The coral fossil particles are burned by being supplied for 10 to 30 minutes. Since the firing temperature range is 200 to 250 ° C,
In this temperature range, the crystal state of calcium carbonate, which is the main component of coral fossil particles, does not change to carnitite and maintains the argonite even after firing, so the state where elution is possible is preserved, and the fine particles of the particles are preserved. Carcasses of symbiotic algae remaining in the pores, foraminiferal shells, septa, etc. are melted or burned down to form deep pores or gaps, and these extremely deeply formed pores have excellent water retention and fertilizing properties. To enable.

[0036]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, coral containing calcium carbonate having a crystal form of argonite, which is easy to elute, as a main component, and having pores rich in water retention and fertilization. Since fossil particles are used as a medium,
It is not necessary to supply the calcium fertilizer stock solution, and therefore the auxiliary equipment such as the tank, measuring instrument and supply pipe system used for it is also unnecessary, and the equipment can be provided in a remarkably simple and low cost, and the management is also conventional. It is easier and easier to use, and due to the water retention and fertilizing properties of the medium itself, it also has buffering performance that does not hinder growth even if the fertilizer stock solution is temporarily interrupted or stopped, so work that is inexperienced It is easy for staff to use, and mistakes are reduced.

Further, the medium used in the present invention does not cause a nuisance phenomenon in comparison with the conventional rockwool medium, can be reused or continuously recycled, and is harmful even when discarded. It is not harmful, is harmless to humans and animals even during use, does not need to be disinfected, and can be continuously used for a long period of time by supplementing the decrease in the medium due to use.

Further, it is apparent from experiments that the culture medium used in the present invention has the ability to suppress the growth of bacteria in the culture medium and reduce the diseases of crops originating from the roots.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a first embodiment (a pouring method) of a soilless cultivation apparatus according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view showing a second embodiment (forced circulation system) of the soilless cultivation apparatus according to the present invention,

FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view showing a third embodiment (storage system) of a soilless cultivation apparatus according to the present invention,

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a fourth embodiment (simple method) of a soilless cultivation apparatus according to the present invention,

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Container 2 Medium 3 Plant 4 Fertilizer Containing Water 5 Culture Solution Supply Pipe 6 Culture Solution Storage Tank 7 Pump 8 Shelf 9 Nonwoven Fabric 10 Water Level 11 Black Vinyl Sheet 12 Discharge Port 13 Switching Valve

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A container having an open upper surface, a medium housed in the container and comprising at least a large part of coral fossil-based particles having a large number of pores, and a medium planted in the medium. Or a plant to be planted, and a fertilizer containing water to be supplied or to be supplied to the medium, a soilless cultivation apparatus. 2. A medium comprising particles having a large number of pores made of the coral fossil as a raw material, and the particles are burned at a temperature of 200 to 250 ° C. in an atmosphere in which air is shut off, thereby The soilless cultivation device according to claim 1, wherein the specific surface area of a large number of pores in the particles is formed to be 10 to 50 times larger than that of the pores of the material. 3. As a means for regenerating pores of particles according to claim 2, wherein clogging occurs due to use and water retention and fertilization properties are deteriorated, the particles are recovered and the air is shut off again in an atmosphere of 200 to 200. The soilless cultivation apparatus according to claim 2, which is fired at a temperature of 250 ° C. 4. As a means for forming a firing atmosphere in which air is shut off, 1 to 100 per second is put in a rotary firing furnace containing the particles.
The soilless cultivation apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, which supplies liters of nitrogen gas. 5. The soilless cultivation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein carbon dioxide gas of 1 to 50 liters per second is supplied instead of nitrogen gas. 6. The soilless cultivation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a shelf that supports the culture medium and allows the passage of moisture is provided in a horizontal direction inside the container. 7. The soilless cultivation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the fertilizer containing water is a water-soluble culture solution, a discharge hole of a culture solution supply pipe is provided on the medium. 8. The soilless cultivation apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein a drainage hole is provided on the bottom surface of the container. 9. A tank for storing a culture solution is provided, the end of the drainage hole and the starting end of the culture solution supply pipe are opened in the tank, and a pump is provided in the supply pipe system. The soilless cultivation apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a culture fluid forced circulation means. 10. The soilless cultivation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a slow-release solid fertilizer is added to the medium.