JPH119015A - Dried gel culture medium having forcedly spouted seed - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain the subject dried gel culture medium capable of facilitating storage and transfer, improving spouting ratio and storing for a long period without wastefully consuming gel culture medium by opening a through hole in vertical direction in a gel culture medium, inserting a seed into the through hole, forcibly spouting the seed 2 and drying the seed. SOLUTION: This dried gel culture medium is obtained by opening a through hole 1a in vertical direction in a gel culture medium 1 such as sodium alginate, inserting a seed 2 into the through hole 1a, spouting the seed 2 in the get culture medium 1 and drying the seed 2 in 30-95 wt.%, preferably 50-90 wt.% water content. Furthermore, the dried gel culture medium is excellent in restoring property to gel by addition of water content and can ensure water content necessary to sprout the seed 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technique for sowing seeds in a gel medium composed of a gel, enabling the gel medium to be stored for a long period of time, and reducing the volume and the transfer cost.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, seeds of vegetables and flowers (hereinafter simply referred to as seeds) have been grown in a plant growth medium in order to prevent withering or delay in growth at an early stage of growth. The technology using gel for this plant growth medium is described in
No. 4017 and JP-A-63-71108.

[0003] In the former technique, seeds are coated with an aqueous gel, and the gel is formed in a cylindrical or prismatic shape, and holes are formed in the seeds before or after coating. Then, by swelling by 2 to 1000 times by applying water, water and nutrients are obtained from this gel to germinate, and the necessary oxygen is obtained by obtaining oxygen in the air from the pores and transplanting when the desired size is reached. You do it.

[0004] In the latter technique, a gel is formed into a sheet to form a culture medium, and the culture medium is dried and solidified, and seeds are fixed thereon. Then, the gel sheet is germinated with water, and when the gel sheet has grown to a desired size, the gel sheet is cut into a predetermined size and transplanted.

[0005]

The gel medium is dried, small in volume, and light in weight, so that it can be easily transported and stored. Although germinated, not all of the sown seeds germinate. That is, seeds are damaged in the process of harvesting, transporting, etc., there are problems with the seeds themselves, or there are dead seeds. Further, in the case of the former technique, when the seeds are coated and dried, the seeds are over-dried and the seeds die, or the seeds are damaged when the holes are opened and do not germinate. Also, in the case of the latter technique, the roots tend to crawl on the space (surface) side where the germination occurs more easily than they enter into the gel medium, and the roots die without absorbing moisture and nutrients. Even if roots were formed in the medium, they sometimes withered due to lack of oxygen. As described above, seeds cannot be sprouted in the seeds, or seedlings that wither even when sprouted occur. Therefore, extra seeding is required, and the efficiency cannot be improved beyond a certain level. The present invention further provides a gel medium having a high germination rate, capable of being stored for a long period of time, and capable of obtaining seeds that are lightweight and easy to transfer.

[0006]

The problem to be solved by the present invention is as described above. Next, means for solving the problem will be described. That is, a through-hole is opened in the gel medium in the up-down direction, a plant seed is inserted into the through-hole, and after seeds in the gel medium are germinated, 30-95, preferably 5
Dried to 0-90%.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS First, since seeds often differ in germination rate depending on the type of plant, pretreatment is usually performed to promote germination. As this pretreatment method, besides a method of immersing the seed in a solution of a germination accelerator, for example, gibberellic acid, a seed coat abrasion method, a high temperature treatment or a low temperature treatment method is appropriately selected and performed according to the properties of the seed. On the other hand, the gel culture medium used in the plant culture medium of the present invention is obtained by mixing an aqueous gelling agent to a concentration of 2 to 10% by weight with respect to pure water,
It is allowed to stand for 1 to 2 hours to sufficiently absorb and swell, and then stirred to form a uniform fluid having strong viscosity.

The aqueous gelling agent used here is not particularly limited as long as it is a substance having such properties, and can be selected from a wide range of natural gels, synthetic organic gels, inorganic gels and the like. For example, sodium alginate, gellan gum, xanthan gum, locust bean gum, carboxymethyl cellulose, pectin,
Gelatin, carrageenan, agar, and the like.
These can be suitably used alone or in combination, and are preferably gels that can be safely used without affecting not only plants but also humans.

When sodium alginate or pectin is used, a gel is not formed only by dissolving a simple substance in water. Therefore, it is necessary to add a cross-linking agent containing a cross-linking ion such as calcium sulfate or the like for forming a gel. There is. In addition, as a thing to adjust the function of this cross-linking agent,
Sodium polyphosphate such as sodium tripolyphosphate may be added to the system.

On the other hand, when carboxymethyl cellulose is used, it is necessary to add a crosslinking agent such as alum. In addition, if the gel medium for plant cultivation contains a water retention agent, germination becomes easy even in seeds that take a long time until germination, and sufficient water can be supplied to the seeds. High germination rate and high yield are desirable.

[0011] Here, if the gel medium for plant cultivation contains a fertilizer component that contributes to the growth of the plant, it is desirable because the effect of fertilization can be obtained together. This fertilizer component is not limited to inorganic fertilizers and organic fertilizers as long as it contributes to the growth of the plant, but those that may hinder gel formation, or may hinder the growth of plants by coagulating the gel. Must be excluded.

If the gel culture medium for plant cultivation contains a preservative, the decay of the gel can be prevented, and as a result, the growth of bad bacteria which hinders the growth of the plant can be prevented.
An effect such as prevention of plant diseases can be provided.

The aqueous gel culture medium for plant cultivation used in the present invention is poured into a molded body and molded into a three-dimensional shape having a predetermined size. Examples include a columnar shape, a prismatic shape, a box shape, a dice shape, a sheet shape, and the like. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the gel 1 is formed into a cylindrical shape, and a through hole 1a is opened in the axial direction. This through-hole 1a has a diameter corresponding to the size of the seed of the plant to be sown, and matches the growth direction of the main root emerging from the seed, and if it penetrates the medium, air (oxygen) Is supplied from above and below this hole, and even if the root grows as a result of the root growing and the upper part of the hole for root growth is closed, oxygen is supplied from the lower part, so that growth is not hindered. If the through hole is equal to or smaller than the plant seed to be cultivated, and is thicker than the root at the time of germination, the upper portion of the through hole is not blocked as described above, Is not hindered, so that sufficient oxygen is supplied to the roots.

According to the present invention, the seed 2 is inserted into the through-hole 1a of the gel medium 1 thus obtained, and the room temperature (22 ° to 26 °)
The sprouts 3 and the primary roots 4 are allowed to emerge for about several mm to germinate after leaving for several tens of hours to several days.
Preferably, it is dried to 50% to 90%. Then, the dry gel medium having germinated seeds thus obtained is stored at a low temperature until immediately before sowing. By drying in this way, the moisture and temperature required for growth can be suppressed and long-term storage is possible, and the weight is reduced by reducing the moisture,
The volume also decreases. Then, since only the germinated ones are stored and emerged to be seedlings, dead seeds and problematic seeds can be removed in advance, and cultivation efficiency can be improved.

Further, since the gel medium has excellent stability to the gel due to the addition of water, when the water is supplied, the dried gel around the seeds sufficiently absorbs the water to return to the original gel state and retain the water. The amount of water required for seed germination can be secured. Further, oxygen necessary for germination is sufficiently supplied from the through holes. The seedlings thus germinated can be transplanted manually or mechanically by a transplanter.

[0016]

EXAMPLE Next, a specific example in which the gel medium into which the germinated seeds are inserted is dried, and the dried gel medium is restored to grow seedlings will be described. [First Example] Carrageenan 2.0% by weight, potassium nitrate 0.5% by weight, sorbite 1.0% by weight, water 96.5
After mixing at a weight percentage, the mixture was heated at 65 ° C. and dissolved by stirring to obtain a gelling agent. To produce a cylindrical block, a gelling agent was poured into a container having an inner diameter of 18 mm and a depth of 100 mm, and was cooled and cured at room temperature. After hardening, use a thin pipe to connect the center of the upper and lower bottom of the cylinder to a diameter of 2mm.
Was opened to obtain a gel medium. In the through hole,
Beet (breed name: humming) seeds were sown so as to have a depth of 5 mm from the upper surface. Inoculate the gel medium at day temperature 20 °
C. The seeds were germinated in a thermostat set at a night temperature of 10 ° C. for 3 days.

(Test zone 1) has an inner diameter of 18 mm and a depth of 100 mm
Was filled with soil to a depth of 95 mm, seeded, and covered with soil.

(Experiment 2) In a gel medium having germinated seeds, put in a closed container deeper than the bud height of the seeds, put an amount of silica gel that hides only the sides, close the lid of the container, and then in a room temperature room. Left. The drying time is 4, 8, 12,
The measurement was performed for 16, 20, and 24 hours, and the moisture content (on a wet basis) at each time was measured using an infrared moisture meter. The results are as shown in Table 1.

[0019]

[Table 1]

(Test Zone 3) A gel medium having germinated seeds was placed upright on a stainless steel net having an aperture of 2 mm, and dried by blowing dry air at a temperature of 30 ° C. and a relative humidity of 12%. I let it. The passed air is discharged to the outside of the drying chamber. The drying time was from 1 hour to 30 minutes at intervals of 30 minutes, and the moisture content (wet basis) was measured at each time using an infrared moisture meter. The results are as shown in Table 2.

[0021]

[Table 2]

In (test group 4), the gel medium in a germinated state was used for the test as it was.

After leaving the test sections 1 to 4 in a refrigerator (set temperature: 8 ° C., low-temperature storage section) and at room temperature for 30 days, the test sections 2-1 to 2-6 and the test sections 3-1 to 3-1
3-5 was placed in a sufficient amount of water to restore the shape and size before drying. In the germination test, seedlings were raised for 30 days in a vinyl house having an average restored day temperature of 21 ° C. and an average night temperature of 8 ° C. while being appropriately watered, and the number of seedlings was examined. The number of test specimens was 400 in each test plot, and only the low-temperature storage plot was tested because the cotyledon had already been developed only in the test plot that had been left at room temperature in test plot 4. The results are as shown in Table 3.

[0024]

[Table 3]

Second Embodiment Carrageenan 1.0% by weight, potassium nitrate 0.5% by weight, sorbitol 1.0% by weight, guar gum 1.0% by weight, water 96.5% by weight, and then mixed. The mixture was heated at 0 ° C. and stirred and dissolved to form a gelling agent. 18m inside diameter for manufacturing cylindrical block
The gelling agent was poured into a container having a depth of 100 mm and a depth of 100 mm, and was cooled and cured at room temperature. After curing, a through-hole having a diameter of 2 mm was opened using a thin pipe so as to connect the centers of the upper and lower bottom surfaces of the cylinder, thereby obtaining a gel medium. 5mm from the top surface in the through hole
Beet (breed name; humming) seeds were sown so as to have a depth of. The inoculated gel medium was heated at day temperature of 20 ° C and night temperature of 10 ° C.
The seeds were germinated for 3 days in a thermostat set at ° C.

(Test zone 1) has an inner diameter of 18 mm and a depth of 100 mm
Was filled with soil to a depth of 95 mm, seeded, and covered with soil.

(Experiment 2) In a gel medium having germinated seeds, put in a closed container deeper than the buds of the seeds, put an amount of silica gel in which only the sides are hidden, close the lid of the container, and then in a room temperature room. Left. The drying time is 4, 8, 12,
The measurement was performed for 16, 20, and 24 hours, and the moisture content (on a wet basis) at each time was measured using an infrared moisture meter. The results are as shown in Table 4.

[0028]

[Table 4]

(Test Zone 3) A gel medium having germinated seeds was erected on a stainless steel net having a mesh size of 2 mm, and was dried by blowing dry air at a temperature of 30 ° C. and a relative humidity of 12%. I let it. The passed air is discharged to the outside of the drying chamber. The drying time was from 1 hour to 30 minutes at intervals of 30 minutes, and the moisture content (wet basis) was measured at each time using an infrared moisture meter. The results are as shown in Table 5.

[0030]

[Table 5]

In the (test zone 4), the gel medium in the germinated state was subjected to the test as it was.

After leaving test sections 1 to 4 in a refrigerator (set temperature: 8 ° C., low-temperature storage section) and at room temperature for 30 days, test sections 2-1 to 2-6 and test sections 3-1 to 3-1
3-5 was placed in a sufficient amount of water to restore the shape and size before drying. In the germination test, seedlings were raised for 30 days in a vinyl house having an average restored day temperature of 21 ° C. and an average night temperature of 8 ° C. while being appropriately watered, and the number of seedlings was examined. The number of test specimens was 400 in each test plot, and only the low-temperature storage plot was tested because the cotyledon had already been developed only in the test plot that had been left at room temperature in test plot 4. The results are as shown in Table 6.

[0033]

[Table 6]

Third Embodiment Sodium Alginate
0% by weight, calcium nitrate 1.0% by weight, potassium pyrophosphate 1.0% by weight, magnesium carbonate 6.0% by weight,
After mixing at a rate of 90.0% by weight of water, the mixture was stirred and dissolved to form a gelling agent. In order to manufacture a cylindrical block, a gelling agent is poured into a container having an inner diameter of 18 mm and a depth of 100 mm,
Cooled and cured at room temperature. After curing, a through-hole having a diameter of 2 mm was opened using a thin pipe so as to connect the centers of the upper and lower bottom surfaces of the cylinder, thereby obtaining a gel medium. Beat the through hole so that it is 5 mm deep from the top surface (product name; humming)
Seeds were sown. The seeded gel medium was germinated for 3 days in a thermostat set at a day temperature of 20 ° C. and a night temperature of 10 ° C.

(Test zone 1) has an inner diameter of 18 mm and a depth of 100 mm
Was filled with soil to a depth of 95 mm, seeded, and covered with soil.

(Test group 2) In a gel medium having germinated seeds, put in a closed container deeper than the bud height of the seeds, put an amount of silica gel in which only the sides are hidden, close the lid of the container, and then in a room temperature room. Left. The drying time is 4, 8, 12,
The measurement was performed for 16, 20, and 24 hours, and the moisture content (on a wet basis) at each time was measured using an infrared moisture meter. The results are as shown in Table 7.

[0037]

[Table 7]

(Test zone 3) A gel medium having germinated seeds was erected on a stainless steel net having a mesh size of 2 mm, and was dried by blowing dry air at a temperature of 30 ° C. and a relative humidity of 12%. I let it. The passed air is discharged to the outside of the drying chamber. The drying time was from 1 hour to 30 minutes at intervals of 30 minutes, and the moisture content (wet basis) was measured at each time using an infrared moisture meter. The results are as shown in Table 8.

[0039]

[Table 8]

In (test zone 4), a germinated gel medium was used for the test as it was.

After leaving the test sections 1 to 4 in a refrigerator (set temperature: 8 ° C., low-temperature storage section) and at room temperature for 30 days, the test sections 2-1 to 2-6 and the test sections 3-1 to 3-1
3-5 was placed in a sufficient amount of water to restore the shape and size before drying. In the germination test, seedlings were raised for 30 days in a vinyl house having an average restored day temperature of 21 ° C. and an average night temperature of 8 ° C. while being appropriately watered, and the number of seedlings was examined. The number of test specimens was 400 in each test plot, and only the low-temperature storage plot was tested because the cotyledon had already been developed only in the test plot that had been left at room temperature in test plot 4. The results are as shown in Table 9.

[0042]

[Table 9]

[Results] According to the above test, the seedlings of the gel medium were dried to a water content of 25% or less (each test section 2-5, 2
-6, 3-4, 3-5), the germination stops, and the germinated shoots and roots are considered to have died. Then, it can be seen that the seeds sown directly on the soil instead of the gel medium (test group 1) have a lower germination rate than those in the gel medium with seeds in the germinated state (test group 4). In other words, seeds in the gel medium are germinating and seeds in the gel medium are germinating. It is promoted.

Then, the remaining test plots 2-1, 2-2, 2
-3, 2-4, 3-1, 3-2, 3-3, the germination rate is almost the same as that of a gel medium having seeds in a germinated state (test group 4) that does not dry, and the germination rate is negatively affected by drying Will hardly be seen. That is, even if the gel medium having seeds in a germinated state as in the present invention is dried to 50% to 90%, if the water is given to restore the original state, the germinated seeds can be sprouted with almost the same probability as when they are not dried. You can do it.

[0045]

As described above, the present invention has the following advantages. That is, since seeds are sown in the gel medium to be in a germination state, or the germinated seeds are inserted into the gel medium and then dried, seeds without buds can be omitted at this time, and the germination rate is improved. The gel medium is not wasted.

Also, by drying the gel medium, the volume and weight can be reduced.
When mass-produced, portability becomes easier, storage space and transfer space can be reduced, and costs can be reduced. In addition, long-term storage is also possible, and it is possible to produce a gel medium having a large amount of germinating seeds before transplantation,
A desired number of seedlings can be reconstructed in accordance with the transplantation time, and the restoration can be carried out easily because the restoration only provides water.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view and a partial cross-sectional view of a state in which seeds are inserted and germinated in a gel medium.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Gel medium 2 Seeds

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A through-hole is vertically opened in a gel medium,
A dry gel medium having germinated seeds, wherein plant seeds are inserted into the through holes, seeds in the gel medium are germinated and dried.