RU119108U1 - DEVICE FOR TAKING AND FIXING SOIL SAMPLES AND ROOT PLANT SYSTEM - Google Patents

Abstract

A device for taking and fixing soil samples and the root system of a plant, including fixing knitting needles with a sharp end, characterized in that it is equipped with a box and a persistent cover with through holes, and the knitting needles are round with a cap at one end and are placed on the persistent cover along a square nesting scheme.

Description

The device relates to agriculture and can be used in the complex conduct of agricultural, botanical, morphological studies of root systems, both agricultural crops and wild plant communities, and agrochemical studies of soils.

When solving a number of agro-technical issues, it is necessary to know exactly the nature of the location of the roots in the soil, as an objective indicator of growing conditions. Obtaining this knowledge is of great scientific and practical interest. With the apparent simplicity of the task, in practice, there are great difficulties. Therefore, the known devices are designed mainly for one purpose: the selection of soil samples or the root system.

An analysis of the results of studies obtained using various devices of a similar purpose shows that the largest errors in the study of soils and the root system of a plant are made at the first stage: when taking a soil monolith, which should contain the roots of the plant under study, preserving their natural structure and spatial location. Armor B.A. and other authors note that in agricultural studies, errors associated with the selection of soil and plant samples often reach 90% with respect to the total determination error, taken as 100%. (Armor B.A., Vasiliev I.P., Tulikov A.M. Workshop on agriculture. - M.: Agropromizdat, 1987. - P. 4.).

Patent studies have shown that the task of developing new devices designed to take samples in order to obtain objective data in the study of soils and the root system of a plant is relevant and in demand.

In a well-known classical source, a method (method and device) for studying root systems in the field without extracting a plant from the soil is described, including the creation of a trench with a vertical wall and the gradual, along the roots, release from the soil with a knife, tweezers or washing them with a stream of water. After exposing the roots to the wall of the trench with nails, attach a frame with a stretched grid with marked cells in the shape of squares, and, in accordance with the location of the roots on the squares of the grid, they are drawn on paper, divided into squares. (Armor B.A., Vasiliev I.P., Tulikov A.M. Workshop on agriculture. - M.: Agropromizdat, 1987. - P.242-243.).

The disadvantage of this method is subjectivity, since when sketching it is difficult for a researcher to convey the spatial location of the root system in the soil profile, the method is very time-consuming and requires special skills.

A device for determining the coordinates of the elements of the root system of a plant, comprising two support posts fastened by a horizontal bar, connected to the latter by means of a slider, a horizontal rail and a vertical rod conjugated with it with the possibility of its movement along the rail and vertically. On the crossbar, rail and rod marked with divisions to obtain the three coordinates of the elements of the root system. (NK Stankov. The root system of field crops. - M.: Kolos Publishing House, 1964. - P.234-235.)

A disadvantage of the known device is the inability to determine the coordinates of the elements of the root system of the plant in laboratory conditions, due to the lack of fixation of the elements of the root system relative to the device.

A device is known for fixing elements of the root system of a plant, comprising two support posts connected to each other by a horizontal crossbar, the device is additionally equipped with a third support stand, fastened to the other posts by horizontal crossbars, forming a frame in the form of a rectangular triangle and flat forks made in the form of spokes located parallel to each other with equal spacing, while on the stand in the area of the right angle of the frame are fixed along its height with equal inte rips parallel to the horizontal rungs-legs, through which the outermost needles are passed on one side of the forks, and in each rack in the zone of a strict corner of the frame holes are made located on one side with the bushings, while the bar is articulated to the horizontal runner-hypotenuse (RF Patent No. 2081554, IPC A01G 1/00, A01G 31/02, publ. 06/20/1997.) - prototype.

The disadvantage of this invention is the structural complexity of the device and at the same time instability due to the creation of the base frame in the form of a triangular shape. Flat forks, formed in the form of spokes located parallel to each other, can firmly hold only the root systems of small plants, since they fix them in only two directions. The authors of the device themselves note that when the spokes penetrate the plant system, the latter "slightly deviate" from their position. In addition, this design does not allow the selection of soil samples.

The objective of the utility model is the development of a device that provides increased reliability during operation, expansion of technological capabilities due to the selection and preservation of the natural structure of a soil monolith sample containing an integral plant root system, and simplification of the design.

This object is achieved in that the device is equipped with a box and a stop cover with through holes, and the spokes are round in shape with a hat at one end and placed on the stop cover in a square-nested pattern.

When using the device, the technical result is achieved:

- improving the reliability of sampling and fixation of samples in the field due to rigid fixation with a box around the perimeter, a thrust cover and round locking spokes located along a square-nested pattern on the thrust cover, which allows to fix the entire volume of soil monolith and root system in it;

- expansion of technological capabilities due to the comprehensive simultaneous selection of soil monolith and elements of the root system at the place of growth while maintaining the natural structure of living roots and their spatial location in the soil profile;

- simplification of the design due to the development of the device from removable parts, which ensures its quick assembly, disassembly.

The proposed device is illustrated in the drawing, where figure 1 shows the box 1, figure 2 - thrust cover 2 with through holes 3 and linear divisions (view from the inside), figure 3 - locking pin 4, figure 4 - stop cover 2 with locking knitting needles 4 inserted into holes 3 (side view), FIG. 5 - stop cover 2 with locking knitting needles 4 inserted into holes 3 and handles 5 (view from the outside).

The proposed device, like the prototype, contains locking spokes, pointed at one end. Unlike the prototype, the inventive device further comprises a box limiting the space around the perimeter, and a thrust cover with through holes, and the spokes are made round with hats at one end and placed on the thrust cover in a square-nesting pattern that provides fixation of the entire volume of soil monolith and root system.

Description of the device: consists of three detachable parts: box 1, stop cover 2 with through holes 3 and fixing spokes 4. On stop cover 2, through holes 3 are made to insert fixing spokes 4, on stop cover 2 from the outside (explorer side) are fixed handles 5. Fixing knitting needles 4 are made of a round shape, on the one hand have a hat for stable fastening in the thrust cover 2, and on the other hand have sharp ends, for easy penetration into the soil monolith without destroying it and fixing the root system without loneniya from natural location. Knitting needles 4 are installed on the thrust cover 2 in the holes 3 according to the square-nested pattern. In addition to the through holes, the following devices are located on the stop cover 2: on the outside (researcher side), handles 5 are installed for ease of use: one in the upper part, the second in the lower part; linear divisions are plotted on the inside (the side leaning against the box) vertically and horizontally.

The use of the device is carried out as follows: first, in the field, choose a place so that from the front wall of the soil section there are plants of the studied culture (at a distance of 5-7 cm). All aboveground parts of plants are removed from the soil surface. A trench is dug at this place, and the depth of the soil section should be 10-15 cm deeper than the length of the box 1, and 15-20 cm wider than its width. After that, box 1 is applied to the vertical wall of the soil section so that its upper part is at the same level with the soil surface. Then, with the help of a sharp knife, the perimeter of box 1 is drawn on the soil cut. According to the obtained contour, indentations are made on the front wall of the soil section (perpendicular to the front wall of the soil section) 2-5 cm deeper than the box depth 1. On the marked soil monolith by manual indentations or blockages put on the box 1. To the edges of the box, with the soil monolith fixed inside, put a stop cover 2 on the inside, while the edges of the stop cover 2 must always fit snugly and with fall from the edges of the box 1, the through hole 3 located on the abutment cover 2, the sharp ends are alternately inserted fixing spokes 4 and monolith soil reinforcement elements of the root system in a natural position. The location of the spokes in a square-nesting pattern provides rigid fixation of the soil monolith and root system throughout the volume.

After checking the reliability of fixation of the soil monolith and the roots of the plant, it is necessary to remove the soil monolith with the root system of the plant, fixed by the box 1, a stop cover 2 and fixing spokes 4. To carry out this technique, the following is carried out: from the front of the box 1, dig up the soil flush with the sharp ends of the fixing spokes 4 and neatly separate the soil monolith, fixed by the device.

Then the device is transported to its destination. During transportation, the soil monolith is not deformed.

Under stationary conditions, the soil is first examined according to specified parameters, then the device with the soil monolith is placed entirely in water to gradually soak it, which allows you to preserve the natural structure of all elements of the root system, small roots do not come off with this washing method. After the soil settles to the bottom of the water tank, the device is removed from the water and the box 1 is separated from the stop cover 2. On the stop cover 2, a spatial sample of the root system is obtained, in the natural position, rigidly fixed with knitting needles 4. Using handles 5, fixed on the stop cap 2, the resulting sample can be easily moved without damage. Then, depending on the objectives of the research, the root system can be photographed, weighed, evaluated by indicators adopted for a particular culture or used as a bench sample in its entirety.

For research, a prototype was made. Description of the prototype. All parts of the device are made of durable stainless metal. The device is manufactured with the following dimensions: box 1 - height 600 mm, width 300 mm, depth 150 mm, thrust cover 2 - height 600 mm, width 300 mm, removable retaining pin 4 - length 150 mm, diameter 5 mm. The through holes 3 with a diameter of 5.2 mm on the stop cover 2 are arranged according to a square-nested pattern with a pitch of 50 mm. The device was made to take the soil monolith and study the root system of continuous crops.

The device can be manufactured in any proportions, depending on the volume and horizon height of the root layer of the studied plant, including for row crops.

The technical effect is that the device provides a fixation of the soil monolith and elements of the root system in positions close to natural conditions. The device can be used for field research. The application of the proposed device will determine the vertical and horizontal coordinates of the elements of the root system and objectively evaluate its plasticity depending on the growing conditions of the studied plants. The proposed device is easy to manufacture, reliable in operation. During testing, the device showed a higher reproducibility of the results compared with the same characteristics obtained using other known devices of similar purpose.

Claims (1)

A device for sampling and fixing soil samples and the root system of a plant, including fixing spokes with a sharp end, characterized in that it is equipped with a box and a stop cover with through holes, and the needles are made round with a hat on one end and placed on a stop cover on a square nesting pattern.