JPH08317738A - Method for irrigation-water-culture and apparatus for it - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a method and an apparatus for irrigation-water-culture in which a float mat is placed near the upper surface of a culture liquid stored in a culture container, the roots of a crop is placed on the mat, and a stalk and leaves are supported by a planting panel to culture the crop. CONSTITUTION: A float mat 6, which is formed of rock wool and a styrene foam board 5, is made to float on the upper surface of a culture liquid 3 stored in a culture container 2. The roots B of a crop A are placed on the upper surface of the float mat 6. Protrusions and recesses are formed on the surface of the float mat 6. A planting panel having a planting hole for supporting the stalk and leaves of a crop is placed at the upper part of the culture container 2 with a specified space between the upper side of the float mat 6 and the panel. A rolled water-absorbing material is fixed in a synthetic resin-made hollow cylinder and a seeding hole is formed on the upper part of the water-absorbing material. A cylindrical tip formed in this way is inserted into the planting hole of the planting panel. The lower part of the water- absorbing material is immersed in the culture liquid, and seeding and raising seedlings are performed by using this apparatus. Further, the box-shaped culture container made of a synthetic resin has a structure able to assemble and disassemble.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a planting plant which doubles a float mat near the upper surface of a culture solution contained in a cultivation container to locate the root of a crop, and which also serves as an upper lid with a predetermined space above the float mat. The present invention relates to a new form of submerged hydroponic cultivation method and apparatus, in which a panel is installed to support cultivation of foliage of a crop.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hydroponics is mainly cultivated in NFT and rock wool, and as of 1993, it has a cultivation area of 690 ha nationwide. In recent years, hydroponics has been in the direction of heavy equipment such as plant factories, and it is the current situation that farmers cannot easily tackle it due to the introduction cost and incidental equipment. In order to further popularize hydroponics in agricultural production, development of a simple and low-cost hydroponic device is desired.

[0003]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As the aging of farmers and the shortage of successors become more serious, light labor and labor-saving agricultural production technology is required. The inventors of the present application have developed a simple hydroponic device as an approach for solving this problem.
As a concrete goal ,. It should be a hydroponic device with a simple structure and low cost. To achieve this, it does not require a power source (no circulation of the culture solution with a pump) and omits ancillary equipment such as underground buried tanks.
． The structure is simple and easy to assemble on site,
． The cost should be reduced as much as possible. The development was carried out for the purpose of solving these problems by setting issues such as stable production.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides (1). A vinyl film is laid on a cultivation container to accommodate a predetermined amount of a culture solution, and in the vicinity of the upper surface of the culture solution, Float mat with the water-absorbent material having the property of sinking in the liquid under its own weight on top, with the floating member down and the whole covered with a root preventive sheet, and the root of the crop positioned on the upper surface of the float mat. From the bottom of the mat, the culture solution, so that the air is supplied to the root from the upper surface side of the float mat so that it is cultivated.

(2) An unevenness is formed on the surface of the float mat, a part of the root of the crop is soaked in the culture solution, and a part of the crop is exposed to the air, and the upper surface of the float mat and a predetermined space A planting panel that also serves as an upper lid is provided at the position where the plant is placed, and the foliage portion is supported in the planting hole of the planting panel so that the crop is cultivated.

(3) In raising seedlings and planting the seedlings, a water-absorbing material was wound in a cylindrical shape, fixed in a hollow cylinder made of synthetic resin, and a cylindrical chip with a seed hole formed in the upper part was prepared,
The lower part of the water-absorbing material was soaked in a culture solution, seeded in a seed hole to germinate, and further planted in a large number of planting holes perforated at predetermined intervals of the planting panel,

(4). A large number of box-shaped cultivation containers made of a synthetic resin containing a predetermined amount of culture solution are used as one bottom plate, two vertical side plates and horizontal side plates, and one upper lid. It is characterized in that it is assembled and disassembled with a planting panel with a planting hole.

[0008]

With the above means and structure, the submerged hydroponic cultivation method and apparatus of the present invention perform the following operations. ． Position the root of the crop on the top of the float mat,
By supplying a culture solution from below the float mat and supplying air to the root from the upper surface side of the float mat, the root zone environment of the crop is optimized, and easy management and stable productivity can be obtained. ． Unevenness is formed on the surface of the float mat, part of the root of the crop is soaked in the culture solution, part of it is exposed to the air, and the upper surface of the float mat also serves as a top lid at a position with a predetermined space By providing a planting panel and cultivating the plant by supporting the foliage part in the planting hole of the planting panel, the root of the plant that extends the surface of the float mat is in contact with the culture solution and the air at the same time and is not subjected to water stress. .

[0009] In raising seedlings and planting, a water-absorbing material is wound into a cylindrical shape, fixed in a synthetic resin hollow cylinder, and a cylindrical chip with a seeding hole formed in the upper part is produced,
The lower part of the water-absorbing material is soaked in a culture solution and seeded in a seed hole to germinate, and further planted in a large number of planting holes perforated at predetermined intervals of the planting panel, not only for cultivating young plants but also for raising seedlings. Used and versatile. ． A box-shaped cultivation container made of a synthetic resin material containing a predetermined amount of culture solution is used as a bottom plate, two vertical side plates and a horizontal side plate, and one upper lid is also used as a fixed planting with a large number of planting holes. Since it can be assembled and disassembled with the panel, the cultivation container can be easily assembled and disassembled on site, and the structure is simple and the cost is low.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, the present invention develops a labor-saving and low-cost hydroponic device using leaf vegetables as the target vegetables as a part of “development of a simple hydroponic device for labor saving of vegetable production”, and as a result, FIG. And the float mat hydroponic device 1 shown in FIG. 2 was invented. The novelty of this hydroponic device 1 is.
Optimization of root zone environment by float mat 6 ,. Device 1
Simple assembly method of. These are three points of the seedling raising method using the cylindrical tip 9.

The float mat hydroponic device 1 comprises a cultivation container 2
A vinyl film (not shown) is laid inside to accommodate a predetermined amount of the culture solution 3, and a rock wool mat 4 which is a water-absorbent material having the property of sinking in the liquid under its own weight is placed near the upper surface of the culture solution 3 and the floating member 5 The float mat 6 is floated by the styrofoam plate which is, the root B of the crop A is positioned on the upper surface of the float mat 6, and the culture solution 3 is supplied to the root B of the crop A from below the float mat 6. Air is supplied to the root portion B of the crop A from the upper surface side of the float mat 6 to absorb the air, thereby cultivating the crop A.

The float mat 6 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (a), FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the surface is made flat and partition projections 4a are formed in the vertical direction, and FIG.
Also, as shown in (c), low irregularities 4b or high irregularities 4c may be formed on the surface. The root B of the crop A extending on the surface of the float mat 6 is partially immersed in the culture solution 3 and partially exposed to the air, and the upper surface of the float mat 6 and a predetermined space are provided. On the upper part of the cultivation container 2, there is provided a planting panel 2d having a planting hole 7 for supporting the stems and leaves C of the crop A having the root B located on the upper surface of the float mat 6, and the stems and leaves C are supported by the planting panel 2d. Then, the crop A is cultivated.

A large number of planting holes 7 are formed at predetermined intervals in the planting panel 2d, and seedlings grown in these planting holes 7 are planted and cultivated. Further, when raising seedlings with this device 1, as shown in FIG.
Wrap the rayon nonwoven fabric, which is the water absorbing material 8, in a cylindrical shape.
Fixed in a synthetic resin hollow cylindrical chip 9, the lower part of the water-absorbing material 8 is dipped in the culture solution 3, the cylindrical chip 9 with a seed hole 10 formed in the upper part is inserted, and seeded in the seed hole 10 and germinated. Let the seedlings grow. At the time of this seedling raising, the cylindrical tip 9 may be used by inserting it into the planting hole 7 of the planting panel 2d, or as shown in FIG. 6, it may be supported by the floating plate 14 for raising seedlings made of expanded polystyrene.

As shown in FIG. 3, a box-shaped cultivation container 2 made of a synthetic resin containing the culture solution 3 has one bottom plate 2a, two vertical side plates 2b and a horizontal side plate 2c, and The planting panel 2d that also has a large number of planting holes 7 serving as the upper plate of one sheet,
A mortise hole 1 in which the mortise portion 11 provided on the vertical side plate 2b and the lateral side plate 2c is formed in the bottom plate 2a, the lateral side plate 2c and the planting panel 2d
It can be assembled by fitting it to 2 and can be disassembled. When the culture solution is stored in the cultivation container 2, a vinyl film is stretched along the inner surface of the assembled cultivation container 2.

The structure of the main part of the present invention will be described in more detail. 1. Float mat 6 The rock wool mat 4 has a strong water absorption property, but has a property of sinking in water under its own weight. The rock wool mat 4 is supported by the buoyancy of the styrofoam plate 5, and a part of the surface of the rock wool mat 4 is soaked in the culture solution 3 and part of it is exposed in the air. In addition, the culture solution 3 and air can be appropriately supplied, and the growth can be enhanced by optimizing the root zone environment. Such a mat that floats in the vicinity of the surface of the culture solution 3 was named a float mat 6. Specifically, a thin rock wool mat 4 is laid in one or two layers on a styrofoam plate that is the floating member 5 to make the surface uneven.
It is produced by covering the whole with the root-proof sheet 13.

2. Differences between float mat hydroponics and conventional hydroponic methods Conventional hydroponic methods are classified as follows. ． Method using solid medium Gravel cultivation, sand cultivation, rice husk cultivation, rock wool cultivation. Method without using solid medium Submerged hydroponics = submerged aeration method, circulation method, circulation forced aeration method, liquid level up / down method, capillary hydroponic NFT spray culture Float mat hydroponics according to the present invention is a submerged hydroponic method. There are two methods. It is the closest to capillary hydroponics in that it is a submerged liquid, it does not circulate the culture liquid, and does not perform aeration.
However, what is decisively different from the capillary hydroponics is that the float mat 6 creates a surface condition of the mat such that the root is in contact with the culture solution 3 and air at the same time.

In the case of capillary hydroponics, a water-absorbent non-woven fabric is placed on a floating plate such as polystyrene foam and floated on the culture solution. The hanging non-woven fabric absorbs the culture solution by capillarity and supplies nutrients to the roots. Therefore, the roots were completely exposed to the air, and their growth was often poor due to water stress. On the other hand, in float mat hydroponics, root B
The mat 6 for supporting is not floated on the water, but the mat 6 having an uneven surface is floated on the culture liquid 3 while being immersed in the culture liquid 3 by the balance of the rock wool mat 4 and the floating plate 5, A part of the surface is immersed in the culture solution 3, and a part of the surface is in the air. This point is very different from the conventional capillary hydroponics. According to this cultivation method, vegetables are stable in production without water stress.

3. Assembly of the cultivation container 2 A simple assembly method of the cultivation container 2 was developed. Cultivation container 2
For assembling, a bottom plate 2a1, a vertical side plate 2b2, a horizontal side plate 2c2, and an upper plate (planting panel) 2d1 are used. From the viewpoint that the material is light, strong, and low in cost, an eslen foam plate was selected for the bottom plate 2a and the side plates 2b and 2c, and a styrofoam plate (trade name: Woodrack) was selected for the upper planting panel 2d. Cultivation container 2 is simple by piercing mortise holes 12 in bottom plate 2a, top plate 2d, and lateral side plate 2c, and inserting plural mortar portions 11 protruding in vertical side plate 2b and lateral side plate 2c into these mortar holes 12 Be assembled into.

In the existing hydroponic method, the formwork relied exclusively on the molded product provided by the trader, but in the method for assembling the cultivation container 2 according to the present invention, the commercially available material is simply processed, The hydroponic device 1 can be installed in a short time with a light work. It can also be easily disassembled. The size of the cultivation container 2 in this embodiment is 1
It costs 82x45x23 cm and costs 3400 yen. If the cultivation containers 2 are arranged in the field at intervals of a passage width of 75 cm, the cost is about 1.5 million yen per 10a. Further, in assembling the cultivation container 2, the field to be installed does not need to be strictly leveled, and a power source or the like is not necessary, which is a great advantage in proceeding with the assembling work.

4. Raising seedlings using the cylindrical tip 9 Urethane seedlings are generally used in hydroponics up to this point.
However, for vegetables (eg spinach) that require oxygen for root growth, the roots did not penetrate into the humid urethane mat, and it was difficult to grow urethane seedlings. Therefore, a new seedling raising method using the cylindrical tip 9 was developed. The cylindrical tip 9 is obtained by fixing a water-absorbing material 8 (rayon non-woven fabric, etc., 10 cm in length) in a polyethylene hollow cylinder (φ18 mm, length 3 cm), and opening a seeding hole 10 (φ6 mm) in the upper part. The lower end of the cylindrical tip 9 (water-absorbing material 8) is dipped in a culture solution, and after seeding, the root-expanded plant is transplanted into the planting hole 7 of the planting panel 2d. The cost per cylindrical tip is about 6 yen.

In raising seedlings with the cylindrical tip 9, the water absorbing material 8
The lower end of the seed is immersed in the culture solution, and the vicinity of the seeding hole 10 is sufficiently wet with capillary water. The seeds placed in the sowing holes 10 absorb the nutrient water from the water absorbing material 8 after rooting, and extend downward in the cylinder while contacting the surrounding air. Since the water-absorbing material 8 has a cylindrical shape, the root does not constantly come into contact with it and dries. In this way, the germination environment of the cylindrical tip 9 is almost the same as the standard test method for germination rate (germination on the water-absorbent filter paper), and it is possible to give sufficient air and water to the roots. The seedling raising method using the cylindrical tip 9 is also a novel method that has never existed before.

Next, a test example of vegetable cultivation using the float mat hydroponic device 1 will be described. [Test Example 1] Summer and winter spinach cultivation by float mat hydroponics 1 A hydroponic device 1 was installed in an open-air tunnel, and Otsuka A formulation 1 was used.
Spinach variety "Okame" (summer), "try" using culture solution 3 with a concentration of / 4, 1/2, 1, 2, 4 units
Cultivated (winter crop). The temperature of the culture solution 3 is 26 in summer.
The temperature of the spinach fluctuated greatly at around 5 ° C in winter, but the growth of spinach by the float mat hydroponic device 1 was good. The yield was high at a culture solution concentration of 1 unit for summer crops and 2 units for winter crops, and the leaf weight reached 100 g after 25 days in summer and 40 g after 2 months in winter (see Table 1).

[0023]

[Table 1]

[Test Example 2] Comparison of growth of cruciferous vegetables in float mat hydroponic 1 and soil cultivation Cultivation of various cruciferous vegetables by float mat hydroponic 1 and soil cultivation in a rain shelter house and comparison of growth thereof Was done. Leaf vegetables such as Mizuna, Komatsuna, Pakchoi,
Pak choi, mustard, kohlrabi and kairan as stem vegetables, sowing on September 24, 1994, November 9
Harvested on the day. For leafy vegetables, float mat hydroponics 1 and soil culture had almost the same yield, and hydroponics was superior in terms of cohesion and softness of the strain. In addition, the yield of Float Mat Hydroponics 1 was far superior to that of soil cultivation in Kohlrabi and Kairan, which harvested enlarged stems (see FIG. 7). As described above, the stable production of vegetables was verified by the float mat hydroponic 1.

[0025]

As described above, according to the submerged hydroponic cultivation method and apparatus of the present invention, the following effects can be obtained. ． This is one of the labor-saving techniques in vegetable production, and can be regarded as the closest cultivation method to capillary hydroponic culture among the conventional hydroponics methods. ． Float mats are formed by supporting rock wool that sinks under its own weight with a Styrofoam floating plate, but by further roughening the mat surface so that part of it floats in water and part of it floats on the water surface. The roots that grow in are in contact with the culture solution and air at the same time, and are not subject to water stress. ． The growth of vegetables by the hydroponic device according to the present invention was equal to or higher than that of soil cultivation. ． Further, the device of the present invention is advantageous over the prior art in that it does not require a power source, is easy to assemble, and has low installation cost and running cost. ． This invention can be expected to further spread hydroponics in the future.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 (a) to 1 (c) are partial side views of a float mat hydroponic device according to the present invention.

2A is a side sectional view of the float mat hydroponic device, and FIG. 2B is a front sectional view of the same.

3 (a) to 3 (d) are exploded plan views of respective parts of the cultivation container.

4A is a plan view of the float mat, FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the float mat, and FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view of the float mat in a used state.

5A is a cross-sectional view of a seedling-growing cylindrical chip, and FIG. 5B is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the example in a seedling raising state.

FIG. 7 is a graph showing a difference in growth between float mat hydroponics and soil culture in leafy vegetables and stem vegetables.

[Explanation of symbols]

l Float mat hydroponic device 2 Cultivation container 2a Bottom plate 2b Vertical side plate 2c Horizontal side plate 2d Planting panel 3 Culture solution 4 Rock wool mat 4a Partitioning protrusion 4b Low unevenness 4c High unevenness 5 Floating member (Styrofoam plate) 6 Float mat 7 Planting hole 8 Water absorbing material (rayon non-woven fabric) 9 Cylindrical tip 10 Seeding hole 11 Hoso part 12 Hoso hole 13 Root-control sheet 14 Floating plate (Styrofoam) for seedling A Crops B Root C Stems and leaves

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Yuya Fujimoto 10 Oka, Nishikata-cho, Ayabe-shi, Kyoto (72) Inventor Toshihito Okada 1 1-ya, Shinoda-machi, Ayabe-shi, Kyoto

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cultivating container is covered with a vinyl film to accommodate a predetermined amount of a culture solution, and in the vicinity of the upper surface of the culture solution, a water-absorbing material having the property of sinking in the liquid under its own weight is placed on top, and a floating member is placed on the bottom. Then float the float mat entirely covered with a root preventive sheet, position the root part of the crop on the upper surface of the float mat, and supply the culture solution from below the float mat and the air from the upper surface side of the float mat to the root part. A submerged hydroponic cultivation method characterized in that it is adapted to be cultivated. 2. The surface of the float mat is made uneven so that part of the root of the crop is immersed in the culture solution and part of it is exposed to the air, and the upper surface of the float mat and a predetermined space are covered. I installed a planting panel that doubles as the upper lid at the position where I was,
The submerged hydroponic cultivation method according to claim 1, wherein the crops are cultivated by supporting the foliage portions in the planting holes of the planting panel. 3. In seedling raising and planting of young plants, a water-absorbing material is wound in a cylindrical shape and fixed in a synthetic resin hollow cylinder,
To make a cylindrical chip with a seeding hole in the upper part, soak the lower part of the water-absorbing material in the culture solution to seed the seeding hole for germination, and further into a large number of planting holes drilled at predetermined intervals of the planting panel 3. The plant according to claim 2, wherein the plant is planted.
The submerged hydroponic cultivation method described. 4. A box-shaped cultivation container made of a synthetic resin material containing a predetermined amount of culture solution, which is used as one bottom plate, two vertical side plates and horizontal side plates, and as one upper lid. A submerged hydroponic cultivation device characterized in that it can be assembled with a planting panel with holes and disassembled.