MXPA96004008A - Method of cultivation of plants of multiple stages and an apparatus for the cultivation of plants of multiple stages to be used in - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a multistage plant culture method, adapted to grow plants such as Cucurbitaceae, Solanaceae, Rosacea and the like for harvesting the fruit and an apparatus for the cultivation of the multi-stage plant for use in such a Plant method of stages of multiple stages

Description

.. PEOPLE OF CULTURE OF MULTIPLE STAGE PLANTS AND A QPQPQTfl FOR THE CULTIVATION OF PLANTS OF MULTIPLE STAGES FOR 1ITTI T7ARSF IN THE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION i) Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of '- "Cultivation of multi-stage plants, adapted to cultivate plants such as Cucurbitaceae, Solanaceae, Rosacea and the like for the harvest of the fruit and an apparatus for the cultivation of the multi-stage plant for use in such method of growing plants of multiple stages. ii) Description of the Related Techniques: The cultivation in greenhouses of vegetable fruits such ^ vno eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, melons and the like and fruit trees has recently been carried out extensively. In such culture methods, the seedlings are plants in the soil and open crop or in culture beds, such as culture vessels filled with root media from a block or slab of mineral wool or the like. In the cultivation of vegetable fruits using growing beds, the seedlings are planted in such cultivation beds placed on the ground and allowed to grow upwards to achieve a yield as high as possible, the fruit is harvested vatíSf > ués that the fruits are formed from the bunches of flowers of multiple stages. For example, tomato plants are usually grown to carry fruit to the fifth or sixth bunch of flowers before harvest. In such a crop of the tomato plant, that is, up to the fifth or sixth bunches of flowers, two harvests a year are possible in general. Planting at the end of the harvest, represents a cycle and after the first harvest, a certain period of rest (one week to one month) is taken to clean the remaining plants, sterilize the growing beds and as in the previous, begin the second harvest, Even if the resting period is as short as possible and the seedlings of the second harvest are planted immediately before the first harvest is over (so that the plants grow with the bunch of flowers as tall as possible) only two harvests in a year until the seventh or eighth cluster of -ares are possible. In addition, the beginning of the harvest of the fruit is usually around the time of flowering of the fifth bunch of flowers and therefore the planting period for the harvest of the first fruit represents a lost period in which fruits can not be harvested. Therefore, in such a conventional growing method, there is a long lost period from planting at the beginning of the harvest, and the harvest period is restricted. Therefore, a culture method capable of allowing a continuous harvest that extends into a prolonged triode has been sought. In order to meet this demand, a method has been developed to grow plants up to a cluster of multi-stage flowers, higher; and although an initial lost period still exists in this method, plants can be grown continuously beyond the thirteenth stage of the flower cluster. However, since the growth of the stems and leaves occurs simultaneously with flowering, fruit production and "- curing, a supply of nutrient solution is required, which maintains a balance between vegetative growth and reproductive growth. It is very difficult to make such a supply of nutrient solution and its success depends to a large extent on the technical skill of the growers.Therefore, such an elevated multi-stage culture method is labor intensive and thus is not suitable for automation. of the supply of nutrient solution and culture to "• xran scale. French Patent No. 1,491,459 describes a method for growing plants in a plurality of stages at different heights, plants in cultivation moving in order from the upper stages down to the lower stages. However, in this conventional method, in relation to the synchronization of the movement of the plant, only the following description appears, that is, different predetermined periods that depend on the varieties of plants to be cultivated and predetermined amounts tj? daily solar radiation, required for the blooms are used. as criteria. Hence, in the end, a criterion of whether or not the time to move the plant has arrived. In other words, whether or not the plant has received a sufficient amount of daily solar radiation required at a certain stage was carried out by the subjectivity of the worker. This conventional method is not suitable for the automation of large-scale cultivation and cultivation work.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of growing plants in multiple stages free of the above problems of the prior art, which is capable of providing a continuous harvest for a prolonged period and allowing an fast supply ^ nutrient solution and which is suitable for automation, to reduce manual tasks and capable of large-scale cultivation. It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for multi-stage plant cultivation which is capable of allowing such method of cultivation of plants in multiple stages to be effectively carried out, particularly by reducing the interception of sunlight that plants growing in lower culture vessels and which is suitable for such a method of cultivation of plants in multiple stages fall on the plants. According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of cultivating multi-stage plants for cultivation planted in a culture bed, with plants that are aligned on at least one line in a longitudinal direction of the culture bed. , which comprises the steps of arranging at least one growing bed in each stage, for growing the plants in a multi-stage plant growing apparatus, having at least two stages (upper and lower) to different heights; moving the culture beds downwards, in the order of the stage most superior to the lowest stage after cultivating the plants in the culture bed placed in each stage during a predetermined cultivation period, with the culture bed placed in the lower stage that is removed; place a new crop bed containing the plants planted in it - the topmost vacant stage; and repeat the steps of moving the culture beds down and placing the new culture beds on the higher-vacancy stage. In this multistage plant culture method, a number N (N = integer) of stages of the multi-stage plant breeding apparatus can be determined to satisfy a formula H x N ± TI, in which TI r- it represents a period of complete cultivation planned from a seed, cutting and grafting to end the harvest and H represents a planned harvest period. The period of time in each stage is determined to be equal to the period H of the planned harvest. In this way, a period P that the seedling produces, which is defined as that of a seed, cut or grafting stage until the placement of a new culture bed on the uppermost stage, can be determined to satisfy the formula P = TI - H x N. In addition, a number (N) of the stages of the multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus, and a growing period M T2) from the stage most superior to the lowest stage in the multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus, can be determined correctly, such that a culture period (T) in each stage can be determined to satisfy the formula G = T2 / N. Furthermore, in this method of cultivating multi-stage plants, when the multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus has two stages, the culture bed is ^ Ovolved down from the upper stage to the lower stage, after the plants they are growing on the upper stage, up to the time at the beginning of bearing fruit in the first stage and until the beginning of the harvest of the latest, and then the plants are cultivated in the lower stage until the harvest is finished. In such a method, it is preferable that the culture bed can be moved down from the upper stage to the lower stage, after the plants have grown up to the time when pruning of the growing tip is reached and that after that, the plants can be made < . Ecer in the lower stage until the harvest is finished. In a similar way, when the multi-stage plant culture apparatus comprises three stages, the culture bed can be moved down from a higher stage to a middle stage after the plants are growing in the upper stage, until the time of differentiation from the bud of the first flower in the most initial to the time of the early fruits until the last. The cultivation bed can be moved down from the middle stage to a lower stage after the plants have grown in the middle stage until the time of the first fruit at the beginning and at the beginning of the harvest at the latest and after the plants can be grown in the lower stage until the harvest ends. In such an apparatus, it is preferable that the. Crop bed is moved down from the upper stage to the middle stage after the plants have grown in the stage .Upper, until the moment of the first differentiation of bud-flower in the most initial and the time to bear fruit initial in the last stage. The culture bed moves down from the middle stage to the lower stage, after the plants have grown in the middle stage until the moment when the growing tip is pruned and then the plants are grown in the lower stage until the harvest ends. The method of cultivation of plants in multiple stages, is suitable for plants that are going to be cultivated, either by a cultivation method or a training method for the succession and fruits successively in three very different parts and in particular for the plants of tornado. During the supply of the nutrient solution in the method of cultivation of the multi-stage plant, the drainage of the nutrient solution supplied to the plants, involved mainly in the vegetative crop, is collected and the collected drainage can be supplied to the plants involved mainly in reproductive growth. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a multi-stage plant growing apparatus for growing plants in a plurality of stages comprising a support unit q and including a plurality of support means for supporting containers of crops have a predetermined length, the support means is arranged vertically at different heights; and a high unit culture vessel that includes a medium that maintains , & \ culture vessel, which are able to move "is to, or from the culture vessels, and maintain the culture vessels and move the culture vessels up and down to move the culture vessels down from a top support means to a lower support means. In this case, the support unit may include hanging bar members to support the culture vessels, by means of hanging wires that are to be connected to the culture vessels, the bar members are disposed above the culture vessels. in its longitudinal direction, and the brackets for supporting the hanging bar members, which are mounted to vertical pillars at different heights so that they are perpendicular to the longitudinal sides of the culture vessels. the vertical pillars to support the end portions of the culture vessels can be "" used as the means of support. rte. In addition, the support means may include container support members mounted to vertical pillars, to support the end portions of the culture vessels and the support unit may include brackets for supporting the bar members, which are mounted to the support members. vertical pillars at different heights, so that they are perpendicular to the longitudinal sides of the culture vessels; Y Guiding strings suspended from the bar members downwards, towards the culture vessels carried in the direction of growth of each plant. The medium that holds the culture vessel of the elevated unit of the culture vessel can be approximated, while maintaining the culture vessels, at least one of the hanging bar members and culture vessels. The elevated unit of culture vessel is preferably movable along one side of the unit of seed in a longitudinal direction of the culture vessels. For example, the guide members are installed on a base surface along one side of the support unit in the longitudinal direction of the culture vessels and therefore the raised unit of culture vessel is movable on the members of the culture vessel. guide. In this example, the culture vessel lifting unit includes a base which includes a first movable base member "^ • on the guide members; and a second base member mounted to the first base member that is to be movable in one direction, perpendicular to the direction of movement of the first base member, and when moving the second base member, the medium that holds the culture vessel. can move to, or from the culture vessels. In addition, the multi-stage plant culture apparatus preferably also includes a system of - "minister of nutrient solution which includes liquid supply tubes for supplying a nutrient solution for the media inside the culture vessels, the tubes have inlets which receive the liquid at one end and small openings in their peripheral walls and which are mounted within the culture vessels in their longitudinal direction.The system also includes tubes for the supply of the nutrient solution, to supply the nutrient solution to the liquid supply tubes, which have tips facing the inlets They provide liquid from the liquid supply tubes, without being physically connected to it, as well as a drainage discharge system that includes drainage discharge tubes mounted to project from the culture vessels, and drainage pipes. that face the drain discharge tubes without being connected to them. multistage latents of the present invention, may consist of "culture vessels having a predetermined length; and a support unit, including hanging bar members for supporting the culture vessel by means of hanging wires which are to be connected to the culture vessels, which are disposed above the culture vessels in their longitudinal direction; and brackets for supporting the hanging bar members, which are mounted to vertical pillars at different heights, so that they are perpendicular to the longitudinal sides of the culture vessels. Also, the multi-stage plant growing apparatus of the present invention may consist of culture vessels having a predetermined length and a support unit including container support members mounted to vertical columns to support end portions of the columns. culture vessels. In such an apparatus, the support unit may include brackets for supporting bar members, which are mounted to the vertical peels at different heights so that the longitudinal sides of the culture vessels are perpendicular; and guide ropes suspended from the bar members downward toward the culture vessels to control the growth direction of each plant. Alternatively, the support unit may include pendant members to support the culture vessels by means of hanging wires to be connected to the end containers, which are arranged in a longitudinal direction of the culture vessels by above the culture vessels; and brackets for supporting the hanging bar members, which are mounted to the vertical pillars at different heights, so that they are perpendicular to the longitudinal sides of the culture vessels.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION PE LQS DRAWINGS The foregoing objects and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective, schematic view of a first embodiment of a multi-stage plant culture apparatus according to the present invention, in which a pair of culture beds with seedlings planted in rows are placed on top support means; Figure 2 is a schematic, perspective view of a lower support means supporting the culture beds moved downwardly from the upper support means in the multi-stage plant growing apparatus shown in Figure 1; Figure 3 is a schematic, perspective view of the multi-stage plant growing apparatus shown in Figure 1, in which the following two culture beds are placed on the first support means, in a form according to that shown in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a perspective, schematic view of a second embodiment of multi-stage, multi-stage plant culture apparatus according to the present invention; and Figure 5 is a fragmented, cross-sectional view showing a drainage system used in the multi-stage plant culture stage, shown in Figure 4.

DESCRIPTION PE THE PREFERRED PROMOTIONS Now with reference to the drawings, in which similar reference numerals designate similar or corresponding parts to all the various views and in this way their repeated description may be omitted for brevity, the first embodiment is shown in FIGS. of a multi-stage plant growth agent suitable for a multi-stage plant culture method according to the present invention. In this embodiment, the multi-stage plant culture method of the present invention will be described, making the cultivation of the tomato plant as an example. It is effective and appropriate to use the multi-stage plant culture apparatus, illustrated in Figures 4 and 5, which They will be described in the second embodiment of the present invention when the multi-stage plant cultivation method according to the present invention is performed, however, the first embodiment is described with reference to the culture apparatus. of plants, which has a simple construction as shown in Figures 1 to 3, to facilitate better understanding.First, as shown in Figure 1, an apparatus ** U of multi-stage plant culture, comprises a top support means 14a formed of a plate material or the like, maintained by appropriate means such as support bars or the like at a suitable height of a base surface such as the surface of the ground, or a floor surface and a pair of lower support means 14b and 14c composed of the same material as the upper support means 14a and arranged not directly below, but laterally displaced from the upper support means 14a on their respective sides . The difference in height between the upper supply means 14a and the lower support means 14b and 14c is determined depending on the varieties and the type of plants to be grown, such that the plants planted in the growing beds placed in the lower support means 14b and 14c, they can receive sufficient sunlight for growth without being intercepted by the plants in the culture beds placed on the upper support means 14a. In this embodiment, the upper support means 14a has a width sufficient to support two culture beds 10 and 11, placed side by side in each lower support means 14b or 14c, has a width sufficient to support a culture bed. The width of the upper support means 14a may be designed to be sufficient to support only one culture bed and one of the two lower support means 14b and 14c may be omitted, as required. -more, the upper and lower support means 14a, 14b and 14c can also be made of tubes assembled transversely. In addition, as a support surface, that of the earth, the floor or the like, can be used in place of the lower support means 14b and 14c. In this mode, although the two ap > Two-stage plant culture plants are described and illustrated in Figures 1 to 3, the number of stages is not restricted to two only, and a multi-stage plant culture apparatus, which has a plurality of plants, can be used. stages at different heights.

In addition, if varieties of plants whose fruit quality and the like are not adversely affected by reducing the amount of sunlight after a certain stage of cultivation are cultivated, the lower support means 14b and 14c can be arranged immediately under the medium 14a of superior support. The first and second culture beds 10 and 11 are well known in the art and are composed of containers 10a • For cultivation purposes, for example, of a wooden or plastic box or a plastic sheet, such culture containers 10a and 11 contain means 10b and 11b for the roots, such as soil, mineral wool as a substitute. from the earth, water that includes nutrients, or similar. The two culture beds 10 and 11 are mounted on the upper support means 14a with their adjacent longer side walls as shown in Figure 1. "" * "In this case, the seedlings 15 and 16 of tornado plants are planted in media 10b and 11b contained within cultivation beds 10 and 11 at predetermined interval and for a predetermined time, for example, when seedlings 15 and 16 have grown to the time of flowering of the first bunch of flowers. modality, the seedlings are first grown in a bed of seeds until the time of the leaf bud of the first true leaves (one leaf in each seedling), then the seedlings are transplanted to the block means 10b and 11b so that they grow in a raised bed, >The seedling At about the time of the first bud-flower differentiation, that is, around-time when two to four true leaves develop (in the case of cutting or grafting, two to four leaves develop in addition to those originally joined) , the seedlings in the means 10b and 11b are placed in the culture containers 10a and lia, placed in a suitable place, apart from the multi-stage plant culture apparatus 14. After growing the culture containers 10a and lia, until the first flower cluster blooms, the culture containers 10a and lia are mounted on the top eop 14a of the culture apparatus 14. of multi-stage plants.Also, after the seedlings grew in the seedbed have been transplanted to the block means 10b and 11b, the seedlings can be grown on them until flowering and then placed in the containers 10a and " ^ .l of culture in the culture beds 10 and 11 placed on the upper support means 14a. Lae seedlings 15 and 16, planted in the first and second beds 10 and 11 of culture, are grown in the upper support means 14a, until the time of the first fruit in the early stages, until the beginning of the harvest in the late, preferably up to the time of completion of the growing tip. The growth conditions, such as the amount of light received and the nutrient solution supplied during the growth procedure on the higher supporting gods 14a, affect the quality and performance of the fruit and thus, must be properly controlled. In the cultivation of the tomato plant, each plant is pruned two leaves above the third bunch of flowers during the growing period in the upper support medium 14a. In the example of cultivation of this modality, the pruning time is approximately between the emergence time of the bud-flower of the third cluster of '- "Mores and the time to bear fruit thereof, then the first and second beds. 10 and 11 of culture move down onto the lower support medium 14b and 14c, respectively, as shown in Figure 2. In the two-stage culture, the movement time is almost the midpoint of the total culture period. in the multi-stage etap cultivation plant 14 in this modality, and this movement time varies within the previous range depending on the "Subie e of cultivation In the case of tomato plants, the seedlings are grown in the upper support medium 14a until the time of p >mentioned in the foregoing. means 14b and 14c of lower support is between the tie of the first fruit of the third bunch of flowers and the beginning of the harvest of the fruit in the first bunch of flowers.A pair of third and fourth beds 12 and 13 of cultivation, are placed in the vacant upper support means 14a, as shown in Figure 3. In the third and fourth growing beds 12 and 13, the seedlings .1.7 and 18 are grown in the same manner as described above and They plant in the block means 12b and 13b.After they are moved to the lower support means 14b and 14c, the plants (the seedlings 15 and 16) in the first and second growing beds 10 and .1.1 are grown until the fruits have been harvested, in this case, the tomato plants (the 15 and 16) enter a period of coloration although the fruit of the third bunch of flowers "" swells and it is not necessary to control the growing conditions such as the light received and the solution of nutrients supplied as strictly as the growing conditions or of culture in the upper support medium 14a. Therefore, even when the support means 14a is superior and the plants on the upper support means 14a intercept the sunlight supplied to the plants on The lower support means 14b and 14c, to decrease the amount of light received, the quality of its fruit is not adversely affected, In addition, the nutrient solution used in the culture on the upper support medium 14a and drainage thereof, can be collected and supplied to the plants in the lower support means 14b and 14c, ie, the nutrient solution drained from the plants, involved mainly in the vegetative growth on the upper support medium 14a is harvested and the nutrient solution collected can be collected. be supplied to the plants on the means 14b and 14c < G lower support.That is, the nutrient solution drained from the plants mainly involved in the vegetative growth in the upper support medium 14a is harvested and the nutrient solution collected can be supplied to the plants in the lower support means 14b and 14c directly or at an appropriate time after being stored in a t This approach is effective because its growth stage in the lower support means 14b and 14c, the plants mainly carry out the reproductive growth in the pruned crop until the third bunch of flowers of the tomato plants, such as this modality. The approach is also effective because the plants enter the coloring period, except for the thickening of the fruit of the third bunch of flowers, as described in the above and in the following, even when the composition of the nutrient solution is not controlled strictly and the quality ** "the fruit is not adversely influenced, on the other hand, the seedlings 17 and 18 planted in the block means 12b and 13b of the third and fourth crop beds 12 and 13, placed on the support means 14a The first and second cultivation beds 10 and 11 are mounted on the lower support means 14b and 14c, in such a way that the sunlight reaches the seedlings 17. and 18 in the third and fourth growing beds 12 and 13 on the upper support medium 14a, is not intercepted by the plants (seedlings 15 and 16) in the first and second growing beds 10 and 11. The fruit is harvested from the plants (seedlings 15 and 16) in the first and second crop beds 10 and 11, and after the end of the harvest, the culture beds 10 and 11 are scraped or the means 10b and 11b are scraped. the culture beds 10 and 11 are removed to prepare the reuse of the culture beds. Right away, the third and fourth beds of culture .2 and 13 move down on the lower support means 14b and 14c, respectively and two other culture beds having the seedlings in their means are placed on the upper support means 14a . The above procedures are repeated. Therefore, the method of cultivation of the tomato plant described in the above, produces an increased harvest. In this modality, the cultivation of up to the third bunch of "lords" allows eight harvests per year. Compared to a conventional method of cultivation (ie, two crops in one year with each harvest up to the eighth bunch of flowers), the present crop produces approximately 1.5 times more. Although the method of growing the plant using the medium of sop >The two-stage opener for the culture beds for the plant cultivation apparatus has been described in this embodiment, the present invention is not restricted to such modality and various changes and modifications can be made. For example, a plant growing apparatus including three stages of the upper, middle and lower support means may be used. In this way, the upper and lower support means 14a, 14b and 14c of the two-stage plant growing apparatus can be made to correspond to the medium and lower support means of a three-stage plant growing apparatus. In the upper support medium of such a three-stage plant culture apparatus, the seedlings are in the growth stage before they are placed in the medium 14a of "top support of the two-stage plant growth agar". say, between the time of the first bud-flower differentiation at the beginning and the time of beginning to bear fruits in the last stage.More specifically, after sowing, around the time of the first bud-flower differentiation, it is To say, at the moment when two to four leaves develop, the seedlings are transplanted to the block means, which then move inside the containers '' ie cultivation, and these culture vessels are then mounted on the upper support medium to grow the seedlings or until the time of beginning to bear fruit in the last stage.In addition, the time of transplanting the seedlings to the media The block can be determined to be different from the time in which the block means planted with the seedling is known on the culture vessels.The seedlings can be transplanted to the block means approximately at the time of emergence of the block. leaf of the first true leaves (one leaf on each seedling), and the block means planted with the seedling can be placed in the culture vessels around time when two to four true leaves develop. the upper support medium until the moment of the first fruit until the last, the culture vessels are moved downwards on the medium support medium. moves down on the support medium of the p > medium art, in the same manner as in the previous two-stage plant cultivation apparatus, the seedlings are grown on the medium supporting the p > average art until the time of the beginning of bearing fruit at the beginning or at the time at which the harvest begins in the last time, preferably, until the time of pruning. Then, the culture vessels move down on the lower support medium to grow the plants until the end of the coshaha. - Although in the previous description, the crop involves sowing, it can equally well involve cutting or grafting.The method of cultivation of multi-stage plants of the present invention, is not restricted to the previous cultures of two stages and three stages and a crop of four or more stages can be carried out.Thus, the period of growth in each stage and the down-time of movement can be determined based on the results of two-stage crops. Firstly, a period of total cultivation (IT) of sowing, cutting or grafting until the end of the harvest and a period (H) of harvest are planned based on the experience of cultivation. The period of total cultivation (TI) and the harvest period (H) change depending on the growing seasons, due to temperature differences, sun hours and the like, so the number (N) of the stages of the culture apparatus, it is determined c As an integer, which satisfies the formula H x N ± TI and the cultivation period in each stage is determined to be the same for the planned harvest period (H). As a result, the cultivation period in each stage is determined depending on the stage number (N). In this case, the time to move down is at the end of the growing period in each stage. A period of lifting the seedling (P) from the seed, cut or graft until the movement in the uppermost stage of the cultivation apparatus, is determined according to the formula P = TI - H x N. When P = 0, the Plants are grown in the most superior stage of the cultivation apparatus from the time of sowing, cutting or grafting. In the aforementioned case, after determining the TI period of total cultivation and the period H of harvest, the period of cultivation in each stage can be determined. In addition, after planning the stage number (N) and the culture period (T2) of the stage most superior to the lowest stage in the culture apparatus, a culture period (G) in each stage can be determined from according to the formula G = T2 / N.

In this modality, although the cultivation of tomato plants has been described, the method of growing plants in etap > Multiple of the present invention, can be applied to other plants, such as plants growing by a cultivation method or a method of preparation for flowering and fruit successively in most of the three different parts of such plants. Of course, the time of movement from one stage to another stage may vary within the range described in the foregoing. Figures 4 and 5 show another multi-stage plant culture apparatus, for use in the second embodiment of multi-stage plant culture method according to the present invention. As it was described in the previous in the first modality, the construction p >For the multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus used for the multi-step plant culture method of the present invention, it is not restricted as long as the culture apparatus includes a plurality of stages of support means capable of supporting beds. of cultivation at different heights. Using the multi-stage plant culture apparatus shown in Figures 4 and 5, the multi-stage plant culture method of the present invention can be performed very effectively, and thus its use is preferable. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, the multi-stage plant culture apparatus .1.10 comprises a pair of vertical support units 120 arranged on opposite sides to a certain spacing; three long and narrow culture vessels 130, mounted horizontally to the support units 120; and a means 170 for lifting the culture vessel to bring the culture vessels 130 up and down. Each support unit 120 includes a pillar 121, which is mounted vertically on a base surface, such as that of the floor or the like, or is suspended from a beam of a greenhouse; the support members 122 of the container mounted to the pillar 121 at heights suitable for projecting horizontally towards the other pillar 121 of the other support unit 120 for supporting a respective end of the culture vessels 130 and brackets 123 mounted to the pillar 121, above of the support members 122 of the container, so as to project in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal sides of the culture vessels 130. The brackets 123 also act as a support means for the culture vessels 130. That is, the brackets 123 support hanging rod members 150 connected to the culture vessels 130, as described below. Therefore, in this embodiment, as the support means for the culture vessels 130, two means, ie, the support members 122 of the container and the brackets 123 are used and one of these two means can be omitted, as require However, when only the brackets are used, the hanging chains or wires 140 for attaching the hanging bar members 150 to the culture vessels 130 are required as supporting means. Further, when only the container support members 122 are used as the support means, the hanging bar members 150 and the brackets 123 can be used as means for retaining the ends of the guide ropes 160 to guide the plants in one direction of predetermined growth, as described below. In this embodiment, the two pillars 121 of the two support units 120 are arranged on opposite sides at a certain spacing. As described above, although the container support members 122 are mounted to the pillar 121 to project toward the other pillar 121 positioned on the opposite side, the container support members 122 can be mounted to project to one side of the passageway. , where the raising means 170 of the cultivation r-crop is placed. In addition, and in relation to the pillars 121, the pillars or member-like members of the greenhouse pillars can be used, for example, for the same purposes without providing special pillars. Furthermore, in this embodiment, three container support members 122 are mounted on each pillar 121 to carry out the cultivation in three stages. The area of the support members 122 of the container, preferably is made as small as possible to minimize the interception of sunlight shining on the culture vessels 130 placed in the lower stages. For example, the width of the members 122 of the container support may be smaller than that of the culture containers 130. Even if the support members 122 of the container become very small in area, there is no problem of stability for the culture vessels 130: this is because the culture vessels 130 can only be supported by the bar members 150 pendant supported by the brackets 123. The brackets 123 are mounted to the pillar 121 above the support members 122 of the container at a spacing equal to the height of the plant to be cultivated. In this embodiment, the middle and lower brackets 123 are placed on the upper side of the container support members Upper and middle 122, respectively, can be placed on the lower side of the same. Both of the ends 123a and 123b of each bracket 123 with the pillar 121 therebetween, may function as the support portions for the hanging bar members 150. Between the medial and lower brackets 123, an auxiliary bracket 124 is mounted to the abutment 121. In this embodiment, when the culture ripple .130 is moved down from the upper stage to the middle stage, as the plants grow higher, new hanging bar members 150 are attached to the middle brackets 123 to continue the cultivation. Under such circumstances, an auxiliary bracket 124 can be used to secure the temporary support pieces for the hanging bar members 150, used in the upper stage immediately after the movement or, as required, an auxiliary bracket 124, can be used for allowing the hanging bar members 150, used in the upper stage, to be used until the plant grows to a certain height. The shapes of corbels 123 and auxiliary brackets .1.24 are not restricted. However, an L-section is preferably used for the brackets 123 and the auxiliary bracket 124, so that they can easily support the hanging bar members 150. In addition, the brackets are preferably provided with notches similar to a U at the positions in which the hanging bar members 150 are placed. The culture containers 130 are each formed of a long and narrow box body., which has a cross section, square, rectangular, or semicircular. The plants can be completely planted in such culture vessels 130, using a medium such as mineral wool or the like stuffed therein, but since the culture vessels 130 move, it is preferable to reduce the amount of medium as much as possible, to reduce the total weight. Therefore, it is preferable to place the plants in the formed media in a predetermined form, for example, cubic mineral wool or the like and then align the media at a predetermined interval in the culture containers 130. The culture vessels 130 containing the media therein correspond to the culture beds described in the first embodiment. Therefore, in this specification, the movement of the culture beds is substantially equivalent to that of the culture vessels 130. The hanging bar members 150 are constituted by a bar and are supported in an arrangement in p >.the ends 123a and 123b of the bets 123 mounted on the support units 120, as described above. In this embodiment, the hanging wires 140, formed of wire or the like, extend to the culture vessels 130 from the portions near the ends of the hanging bar members 150 and as a result, the culture vessels 130 are kept stable, co or described in the above. More specifically, two suspension bar members are used for each stage and are placed in parallel on the ends 123a and 123b (defined as U-like notches) of the bets 123 at an approximately equal distance from the pillars 121. In this form, the two hanging wires 140 extend to the culture vessels 130 in a V-like manner. That is, the culture vessels 130 are held at three points by the upper end portions of the hanging wires. the container support members .122, and therefore, even though the area of the support members 122 of the container supporting the culture containers 130 is smaller than the width of the culture containers 130, stability can be ensured . The hanging bar members 150 are usually moved together with the culture vessels 130, in other words, the hanging bar members 150 are required to be inserted between the pillars 121 and thus become shorter than the distance between them. . In this case, when the culture vessel 130 is placed on the upper stage, the guide ropes 160 are not necessary, because the height of the plants is not so great. However, since the plants grow to some height, the guide ropes 160 corresponding to the number of the plants can be suspended from the hanging bar members 150, to the culture vessels 130 to promote growth and to stabilize the growth. duration of any growth, when the culture vessel 130 is moved down to the middle or lower stage in the members 122 of medium or lower container support. The pendant bar members 150 used for this purpose are subsequently described as the bar members. In this embodiment, a nutrient solution delivery system is formed of a main liquid supply tube (not shown), nutrient solution supply tubes 125 and liquid supply tubes 126. The nutrient solution supply tubes 125 are connected to the main liquid supply tube placed below the ground and are fixed along the pillar 121. In this embodiment, three tubes 125 of nutrient solution supply (corresponding to three vessels) 130 of cultivation) are mounted to the upper, middle and lower stages. The tips 125a of the nutrient solution supply tubes 125 are directed to the inlets 126a receiving the liquid at the ends of the liquid supply tubes 126 mounted at an end portion of the culture vessels 130. The liquid supply tubes 126 are each formed with an inlet 126a which receives the liquid at one end, the other end is closed; and with an adequate number of small openings 126b in its wall, as shown in Figure 5. Therefore, when the nutrient solution supplied to the inlet 126a reaches a predetermined amount, the nutrient solution leaves the openings * i.26b to be supplied to the media contained in the culture vessels 130. In this case, the nutrient solution supplied from the nutrient solution supply tubes 125 is received by the inlets 126a which are not directly connected to, or connected by the tips 125a of the nutrient solution supply tubes 125. Accordingly, when the culture vessels 130 move, it is not necessary to disconnect or reconnect the nutrient solution supply tubes 125 from, or with the liquid supply tubes 126.

In addition, in this method, a drain discharge system is comprised of a main drain pipe (not shown), the drain pipes 127, the outlets 128 receiving the drain, and the drain discharge pipes 129. In this case, three drainage tubes 127 are placed to correspond to the three stages of the culture vessels 130 in the same way as the nutrient solution supply tubes 125, specifically, one end 127a of each of the tubes 127 drain is connected to a respective output of the outputs 128 receiving the drain. The outlets 128 are fixed to the container support members 122, which themselves are mounted to the pillar 121 at the opposite end of the culture vessels 130, to which the inlets 126a of the liquid supply pipes 126 are located. mounted. The other end of each of the drain tubes 127 is connected to the main drain pipe placed under the ground. The nutrient solution supplied to the culture vessels 130 is discharged to the outlet 128 which receives the drainage by means of the drain discharge tubes 129, which are secured to project outwards through the walls 130a of the other end of the drain. the culture vessels 130 (the end walls on the side where the other ends of the culture vessels 130 are supported by the support members 122 of the vessel to which the outlets 126 receiving the drainage are mounted). As shown in Figure 5, one end of each drainage discharge tube 129 is opened vertically upward at a predetermined level within the culture vessel 130 and the other end thereof opens straight down, above each exit 128 that receives the drainage. In this embodiment, the outlets 128 receiving the drain are not directly connected or in contact with the drain discharge tubes 129 and therefore no disconnection or reconnection of these two members is required., even when the culture vessels 130 are moved, which is very advantageous, in the same way as the relationship between the nutrient solution supply tubes 125 and the inlets 126a receiving the liquid. As shown in Figure 5, when the L-shaped pipes, preferably having a circular cross section, are used for the drainage discharge tubes 129, the rotation of such a tube around its straight line (which is projected horizontally through the wall of the culture vessel 130) allows the height of a drainage inlet 129a of the drain discharge tube 129 within the culture vessel 130 (the distance from the bottom of the culture vessel 130 at the drainage inlet 129a of the drain discharge tube 129) to be changed, and therefore, the amount of nutrient solution stored within the culture vessels 130 can be easily adjusted. In this embodiment, the means 170 that lifts the culture vessel includes a means 171 that maintains the culture vessel, which can move to, or separate from, the longitudinal sides of the culture vessels 130, and also maintains and moves toward up and down, the culture containers 130, to move the culture vessels 130 downward from the upper stage to the lower stage, ie, the upper container support members 122 to the lower container base members 122 . The construction of the raising means 170 of the culture vessel is not limited in principle, while the medium 170 raising the culture vessel is provided with the medium 171 which maintains the culture vessel. In this specification, reference to means for moving or separating the culture vessel 130 means any means that can be moved to maintain or carry the culture vessel 130 itself or the hanging bar members 150 that support the culture vessel 130. , or to stop the fastening or transport, or to separate it from them. For example, a robot arm that simulates the movement of a human arm can move the culture vessel 130 from any direction p >to maintain or transport the culture vessel 130, or to stop the maintenance or transport the culture vessel 130, or to separate it in the same direction. In this embodiment, the culture vessel raising means 170 can be moved under the culture vessel 130 or the hanging rod members 150, or both of the culture vessels 130 or hanging rod members 150, to maintain or transport them. In this case, for example, a rod-like member (not shown) can be mounted to be movable back and forth in a cylinder and the rod-like member can be controlled to move forward and backward and to lifting a container up and down using servomotors or the like, so that it freely changes the position of the member similar to a rod from one position to another position. In this embodiment, the medium 170 that lifts the culture vessel can simply be produced at a low cost. The medium 170 which raises the crop ripple includes a base 172, a vertical pest 173, which is placed vertically from the base 172 and the medium 171 that holds the culture vessel, i.e., first, second and third. means 171a, 171b and 171c that keep the culture vessel similar to a U, which are mounted to the pole 173 to be movable or slidable up or down along the post 173 and p > to project its bifurcated portions horizontally into the culture vessels 130. The first maintenance means 171a of the culture vessel for the upper stage can be moved up and down independently of the second and third means 171b and 171c which maintain the culture vessel for the middle and lower stages. The second and third means 171b and 171c that hold the culture vessel are connected to each other by a connecting member 174 to move together up and down. The driving means for moving the means 171a, 171b and 171c maintaining the culture vessel is not restricted and servomotors and the like can be used as described above. As shown in Figure 4, the simplest means, two pulleys 176 are mounted to the top of the post 173 and first and second drive chains (not shown) are connected to the first and second means 171a and 171b, which maintain the culture vessel respectively, by means of pulleys 176 to move medium 171a, 171b and 171c which maintain the culture vessel up and down manually. Pulling or pulling back the first impulse chain, the first half 17.1a which keeps the culture vessel moving up and down; and pulling or pulling back the second pulse chain, the second and third means 171b and 171c that hold the culture vessel move up and down simultaneously. On the other hand, the two impulse chains can be extended to the crank 178, such that by the operation of the crank 178, the means 171a, 171b and 171c which keep the culture vessel can be moved upwards and upwards. down, simultaneously. In Figure 4, on the upper surface of each of the bifurcated projections of the first medium 171a holding the culture vessel, two pairs of small projections 171a, 171a2, and 171a3, 171a4 are formed at a predetermined interval, to retain the bar members 150 hanging between the small projections. Similarly, on the upper surface of each of the bifurcated projections of the second medium 171b holding the culture vessel, two pairs of small projections 171bl, 171b2 and 171b3, 171b4 to maintain the hanging bar members 150 are formed in its outer end portions, and a pair of small projections 171b5 and 171b6 to maintain the culture vessel 130, are further formed in their central portion at a spacing almost equal to the width of the culture vessel 130. Further, on the upper surface of each of the bifurcated projections of the third culture container holding means 171c, only a pair of small projections 171c5, 171c6 to maintain the culture vessel 130, are formed at their tip portion. The base 172 includes a first base portion 172a having a frame structure and a second base portion 172b that also has a frame structure. The first base portion 172a is movably supported on a pair of rails 175 installed along the working passage by means of four rollers 172c mounted on the p > lower art of the first part 172a of base. The first base portion 172a is further provided with a pair of guide slots 172d extending perpendicular to the rails 175. The second base portion 172b is movably mounted on the first base portion 172a by engaging its side ends 172e with the slot 172d of guide of the first base portion 172a, so as to be slidable or movable to, or detached from, the longitudinal sides of the culture vessels 130. The post 173 is secured vertically over the center of the second base portion 172b. Accordingly, the means 171a, 171b and 171c which keep the container mounted on the post 173 can be moved to or away from the longitudinal sides of the culture containers 130, moving the second base portion 172b, and being moved further parallel at the longitudinal sides of the culture vessels 130, moving the first p > art 172a of base in lanes 175. In this mode, although the means 171a, 171b and 171c that man'u-? .- n the culture vessel move by sliding first l |? I? i72a by means of the rollers 172c and sliding the second base part 172b, the present invention is not restricted to such a construction. Further, in this embodiment, the reason why the raising means 170 of the culture vessel is mounted to move along the working passage formed parallel to the longitudinal sides of the culture vessels 130 in the greenhouse is that usually a plurality of support units .120 that support culture containers .130, they are placed in a longitudinal direction of the culture vessels 130 in the greenhouse and the movement of the culture vessels 130 can be transported by a lifting means 170 of the culture vessel. In this mode, lanes 175 are placed along the working passage for this sole purpose. However, the hot water supply pipes for controlling the temperature inside the greenhouse are usually installed along the working passage, and in this way, they can advantageously be used as the rails to reduce the cost. Next, the operation of the multi-stage plant culture apparatus described in the foregoing will be described in detail. First, it is assumed that the culture containers 130 are placed on the support members 122 of the upper, middle and lower container, as shown in Figure 4. Furthermore, in the case of the tomato plant culture, the container 130 Higher culture contains the seedlings planted shortly before in the cubic media at a predetermined interval, the medium culture vessel 130 contains plants that reach any growth period towards the beginning of the harvest and the lower culture vessel 130, contains plants that reach any period of growth after the beginning of bearing fruit. In this situation, when the culture vessels 130 are moved, the lower culture vessel 130 is manually manually removed, for example, after the final harvest in a multi-stage plant culture apparatus 110. At this time, after the hanging wires 140 are removed from the culture vessel 130 and the hanging rod members 150 are also removed from the brackets 123, the lower culture vessel 130 is removed from the position of the lower stage. Next, the medium 170 that lifts the culture vessel moves in the rails 175 to face the longitudinal sides of the culture vessels 130 in the multi-stage plant culture apparatus 110. In this case, this movement of the culture vessel lifting means 170 can be carried out before the lower culture vessel 130 is removed. Then, the first medium 171a that holds the culture vessel is moved up or down to almost face the upper, hanging bar members 150. Next, by moving the second base portion 172b forward (in the direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the first base portion 172a), the first medium 171a that holds the culture vessel is inserted under the bar members 150 upper, so that the small projections 171a, 171a2, 171a3, 171a4 of the first maintenance means 171a of the culture vessel, can be placed straight under the hanging bar members 150. Next, the first means 171a that holds the culture vessel is lifted to support the upper hanging bar members 150 and to lift the upper culture vessel vessel 130, supported by the upper hanging bar members 150, which results in removing them from the support members 122 of the upper container. At this time, by the forward movement of the second base portion 172b (similar to that of the first medium 171a maintaining the culture vessel), the second medium 171b that holds the culture vessel is inserted under the limbs 150 of means hanging bar, in such a way that the small projections 171 b, 171 b2, and 171 b3, 171 b4 of the second medium 171 b that holds the culture vessel, can be placed straight under the half suspension bar members 150. The third medium 171c that holds the culture vessel is also inserted under the medium culture vessel 130, such that the small projections 171c5 and 171c6 of the third medium 171c that holds the culture vessel., it can be placed straight under the medium culture vessel 130. Next, the second medium 171b that holds the culture vessel is lifted together with the first means 171a that holds the culture vessel to maintain the half suspension bar members 150 and to lift and remove the medium culture vessel 130 from the support members 122 of the middle container. The second base part 172b is then moved backward, to allow the means 171a, 17.1b and 171c that keep the culture vessel moving away from the multi-stage plant growing apparatus 110, to a position such that there is no obstacle (such as the culture vessels 130 and the hanging bar members 150), when the means 171a, 171b and 171c that hold the culture vessel move up and down, ie, the tips of the means 171a, 171b and 171c that hold the culture vessel, can move away from the sock members 122 of the vessel toward the passageway. Then, the means 171a, 171b and 171c that hold the culture vessel move down until the third medium 171c that holds the culture vessel is placed slightly above the support members 122 of the lower vessel. By moving the second base portion 172b forward, the means 171a, 171b and 171c that hold the culture vessel move forward until the culture vessel 130 is removed from the middle stage, is placed straight up the members. 122 of the lower container support. The second and third means 171b and 171c that hold the culture vessel move downward to place the culture vessel 130 on the support members 122 of the lower vessel, and to make the lower brackets 123 on the carrier units 120 support, support the hanging bar members 150. Next, the first means 171a which holds the culture vessel is moved downward, to place the culture vessel 130 removed from the upper stage on the support members 122 of the vessel, and to make the auxiliary brackets 124 on the units 120 of support, support members 150 of hanging bar. As described above, the culture vessels 130 placed on the upper and middle stages are moved down to the middle and lower stages. Then a new culture vessel 130 is placed in the vacant top stage, ie, the sock members 122 of the upper vessel, as follows. First, the first p >The base art 172a is moved to a suitable position for the operation. Next, after the first medium 171a that holds the culture vessel is adjusted to a suitable height for operation, the hanging bar members 50 and the hanging wires 150 are governed by the new culture vessel 130 containing the seedlings. planted shortly before and the hanging bar members 150 supporting the new culture vessels 130 are placed in the first medium 171a that holds the culture vessel. In addition, new hanging bar members 150, together with hanging wires 140 attached thereto, are placed on the second medium 171b that holds the culture vessel. The first part 172a of the base is then moved to the operating position. The second means 171b that holds the culture vessel is moved up or down, so that the height of the second medium 171b that holds the culture vessel may be slightly above the middle brackets 123 and the second part. 172b of base is moved forward. The second means 171b that holds the culture vessel is moved downward to cause the half brackets 123 to support the hanging bar members 150. Similarly, the first medium 171a that holds the culture vessel is moved downward to cause the upper brackets 123 to support the hanging bar members 150 that support the new culture vessel 130 and to place the new vessel 130 cultivation on the support members 122 of the upper container. The hanging wires 140 (attached to the new, mid-hanging rod members 150 supported by the middle brackets 123) are fixed to the culture vessel 130 in the middle part in the same manner as described above. At this time, the hanging bar members 150 supported by the auxiliary bracket .1.24 are removed. The operation of moving the culture vessels in the multi-stage plant growing apparatus is completed in the manner described in the foregoing. The medium 170 that lifts the culture vessel is moved along the rails .175 to an adjacent multi-stage plant culture apparatus and the above operation is repeated for the culture vessels 130 between the sock units 120.

In this embodiment, although the first means 171a that holds the culture vessel of the medium 170 that lifts the culture vessel is moved up and down independently of the second and third means 171b and 171c that maintain the culture vessel, the first medium 171a that holds the culture vessel can be joined with the second and third means 171b and 171c that maintain the culture vessel, such that all of the means 171a, 171b and 171c that holds the culture vessel can move up and toward down simultaneously. In such a dispensing, which is different from that of the embodiment described above, when the upper and middle culture containers 130 move downwardly on the support members 122 of the middle and lower container, it is impossible to lift only the container 130. of superior cultivation in advance, to avoid that it is an obstruction for the movement of container 130 of medium culture. Hence, of course, from a mechanical point of view it is necessary to move the upper and middle culture containers 130 up and down simultaneously. In such a construction, it is sufficient to use a pulley and a first drive chain to move the means 171a, 171b and 171c that holds the culture vessel up and down. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the middle and lower brackets 123 are mounted on the support members 122 of the upper and middle container. Therefore, members bar hanging p > For the middle stage they are higher than the lower part of the upper culture vessel 130. Accordingly, as described in the foregoing, when the middle culture vessel 130 moves downwards, it is necessary to lift only the upper culture vessel 130 per advance, to prevent the upper culture vessel 130 from being an obstacle. for the movement of the medium culture vessel 130. Alternatively, it is necessary to move the upper and middle culture containers 130 simultaneously. Therefore, the medial brackets 123 can be mounted to the vertical pillar 121 in a lower position than the support members 122 of the upper container and in this case, the medium culture container 130 can be moved down directly without prior lifting from the upper culture vessel 130 upwards. In this case, as in the previous embodiment, the first means 171a which holds the crop r-container can be moved up and down regardless of the second means 1.71b which keeps the culture vessel in the medium 170 that lifts the container of the crop. As described above, by applying a method of cultivating multi-stage plants according to the present invention, any period of loss in which the fruit can not be harvested, is shortened to a large extent and a continuous harvest of fruit it can be carried out to produce an increased culture, compared to any conventional method. In particular, the harvest is not concentrated in a period or season and the demand for work becomes uniform throughout the year, resulting in an improvement in work efficiency. In addition, the sun conditions are good during the beginning of the growing period until the first half of the growth stage and therefore the quality is not affected. In addition, the plants are grown in multi-stage support media at different heights and thus a supply of suitable nutrient solution for each stage of plant growth can be provided. In particular, it is sufficient to control the supply of nutrient solution strictly, only in the first half of the growth stage in which vegetative growth predominates; and it is not necessary to balance the supply of nutrient solution between vegetative growth and reproductive growth as in the prolonged-stage culture method. As a result, the nutrient solution as a whole is easily supplied. In addition, the work tasks in each stage can be determined and therefore the management of the work becomes easier and more reasonable. In addition, in the second half of the growth stage during which reproductive growth is mainly carried out, even when the drains of the nutrient solution are supplied in the first half of the growth stage (in which growth occurs mainly vegetative) is used, the quality is not affected; and in terms of environmental protection, the costs of the nutrient solution and the costs of treating the drainage, produce many other advantages. Further, in accordance with the present invention, in a multi-stage, plant-growing apparatus suitable for the above multi-stage plant culture method, the long and narrow culture vessels in the stages at different heights are supported by support means formed of pillars, brackets mounted to the pillars for projection to the sides and / or support members of the container mounted to the pillars; hanging wires stretched from the corbels; and hanging bar members positioned on the brackets, ie, the culture vessels are supported only by thin members such as rods and chains. Therefore, the interception of sunlight falling on the plants planted in the culture vessels placed in the middle and lower stages is reduced, and in this way the sunlight conditions for the growth of the plants in the containers of culture placed in the middle and lower stages is greatly improved, when compared with those in the upper stage. On the other hand, although the culture vessels are supported by such thin bars and chains, using the hanging bar members and the hanging ropes stretched from them to the culture vessels, the stability of the culture vessels is sufficient. In addition, manual operation is required only when the lower culture vessel is removed, such that the movement of the culture vessels can be effectively carried out. Therefore, the multi-stage plant culture apparatus is suitable for the multi-stage plant culture method mentioned in the foregoing. Furthermore, as described above, it is apparent that the multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus for use in multi-stage plant cultivation in accordance with the present invention is very suitable for automation, reduces the need for operation manual and allows large-scale cultivation. Although the present invention has been described in its preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, it will be readily understood that the present invention is not restricted to the preferred embodiments and that various changes and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the invention. spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims (12)

NOVELTY OF THE INVENTION CLAIMS

1. A multi-stage plant culture method using a plant growing apparatus, having a plurality of stages at different heights to support the culture beds, each culture bed contains plants planted in at least one line in one longitudinal direction, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: arranging at least one growing bed in each stage to cultivate the plants; moving down the culture beds from the uppermost stage to the lowermost stage after the plants in each stage are cultivated during a predetermined cultivation period equal to a planned harvest period H, while the cultivation bed placed in the lower stage is removed after the plants are grown during the planned harvest period H; place a new crop bed containing the plants grown during the period P that produces the seedling in the most superior stage vacant; and repeating the step of moving down the culture bed and the step of placing the new culture bed, in which a number N (N = integer) of the stages of the plant growth apparatus, is determined to satisfy a formula H x. TI, in which TI represents a period of complete cultivation, planned from sowing, cutting and grafting until the finished harvest and the period of cultivation in cane stage is determined to be equal to the period H of planned harvest and in which the P period that produces the seedling of one of the seeds, the cut and the graft still moving from the new culture bed on the uppermost stage are determined to satisfy a formula P = TI - H x N.

2. The cultivation method of plants, multi-stage according to claim 1, characterized in that the multi-stage plant growing apparatus has two etap > and in which the culture bed is moved down from the upper stage to the lower stage-, after the plants are grown in the upper stage until a time of beginning to bear fruit in the earliest and up to a time of beginning the harvest in the later one and after the plants are cultivated in the lower stage haeta that the harvest is completed.

3. The multi-stage plant culture method according to claim 2, characterized in that the culture bed moves down from the upper stage to the lower stage, after the plants are grown until a pruning time from the tip of the crop and after the plants are cultivated in the lower stage until the harvest ends.

4. The multi-stage plant culture method according to claim 1, characterized in that the multi-stage, plant-growing apparatus has three stages, and wherein the culture bed is moved down from one stage. superior to a middle stage after the plants are growing in the upper stage until a time of the first bud-flower differentiation at the time at the start and a time from the first fruit to the last and the cultivation bed is moved towards down from the middle stage to an etap > to lower, after the plants are growing in the middle stage until the time of the first fruit in the fastest time and a time of harvest that begins last and after, the plants are grown in the lower stage until the harvest ends .

The multi-stage plant culture method according to claim 4, characterized in that the culture bed is moved down from the upper stage to the middle stage, after the plants are growing in the upper stage until a time of the first differentiation of the bud-flower in the nearest time and a time of first fruit until the last and the cultivation bed is moved down the etap > a half to the lower stage after the plants are grown in the middle stage until the pruning time of the crop tip, and then the plants are grown in the lower stage until the harvest is complete.

6. The multi-stage plant culture method according to any of the claims 2 5, characterized in that the plants are cultivated either by a cultivation method or a method of preparation for flowering and fruit successively using at most three different parts.

7. The method of growing plants, from etap > multiple according to claim 1, characterized in that the drainage of a nutrient solution supplied to the plants, which mainly carry out the vegetative growth is collected and the collected drainage is supplied to the plants which mainly carry out the reproductive growth.

8. A multi-stage plant culture apparatus capable of supporting a plurality of culture vessels at different heights, each culture vessel having a predetermined length and containing plants that are to be grown in at least one line in a longitudinal direction, characterized in that it comprises: hanging bar members for supporting the culture vessels, by means of hanging wires to be connected to the culture vessels, which are arranged in a longitudinal direction of the culture vessels by above the culture vessels; and a support unit having brackets, for supporting the hanging bar members as a means of supporting the culture vessels, which are mounted to vertical pillars at different heights, so that they are perpendicular to the longitudinal sides of the containers. of culture.

9. The multi-stage plant cultivating apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the support unit includes container support members, mounted to vertical pillars to support the end portions of the culture vessels.

10. The multi-stage plant growing apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that the support unit includes guide ropes, of which the ends are connected to suitable portions of the hanging bar members and which they are suspended towards the culture vessels to guide the direction of growth of each plant.

11. A multi-stage plant culture apparatus according to claim 8, further characterized in that it comprises: a seven a of nutrient solution supply that includes: liquid supply tubes for supplying a nutrient solution to the media within the culture vessels, which have inlets that receive the liquid at one of their ends and small openings in their peripheral walls and are mounted within the culture vessels in a longitudinal direction of the culture vessels; and the nutrient solution supply tubes for supplying the nutrient solution to the liquid supply tubes, which have tips that face the inlets that receive the liquid from the liquid supply tubes without connecting to them; and a drainage discharge system that includes: drain discharge tubes mounted to the exterior projection of the culture vessels; and drain pipes that face the drain discharge tubes without connecting to them. The multi-stage plant cultivation apparatus according to any of claims 8, 9, 10 and 11, further characterized in that it comprises a unit that lifts the culture vessel, which includes means that maintain the culture vessel. which are able to move either to or from at least one of the hanging bar members and the culture vessels and to hold and move the culture vessels up and down, to move the culture vessels down from a support means superior to a lower support means. RESWPEN PE L INVENTION A multi-stage plant culture method and apparatus for carrying out the method is described. The culture beds constituted by means for the roots contained in culture vessels and which initially contain seedlings of the plant are moved, in order, from a higher level to a lower level after which the plants have grown at each level for a predetermined period. After harvesting, the culture bed at the lowest level is removed and a new culture bed is placed containing the seedlings at the higher-vacancy level. This sequence is repeated. The culture vessels have a predetermined length and are supported on a plurality of support means arranged vertically at different heights. A lifting unit of the culture vessel includes means that maintain the culture vessel, capable of moving towards or away from the culture vessels and also capable of holding the containers and moving them up or down to facilitate their movement between the different levels . From this form the invention allows the continuous harvesting which is achieved with increased yield and an increased amount of sunlight for the plants to reach, particularly at lower levels. The invention also leads to automation by itself, for the reduction of any requirement of manual operation and large-scale cultivation. MAL / cgt * P96 / 555F