RU2516362C2 - Method of hydroponic cultivation of plants - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: agriculture.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to the field of hydroponic cultivation of plants. The method of hydroponic cultivation of plants comprises the placement of plants in the cultivating open container floating on the surface of a water body, which vegetation volume is filled with the substrate for plants, the bottom part of the container is submerged into the water body, and the bottom is made water-proof, at that in the container cavity the filter mesh is placed with the ability of its removal with the plants.

EFFECT: method enables to provide the continuous cultivation of plants with enhanced performance on the green weight and ease of delivery of grown plants to the processing site.

3 cl

Description

The invention relates to the field of crop production and can be used for hydroponic growing of plants in ponds on the so-called "floating bed".

A known method of hydroponic cultivation of plants, including placing plants on a substrate located on vegetation rafts mounted on the water of a stocked reservoir with a gap with respect to its surface. During the growing season of plants, in order to attract fish under the rafts, cyclical motivation of bottom sludge is carried out (RU 2206980 C1, 08.10.2001).

There is also known a method of hydroponic growing of plants on a bed floating in a pond, containing a mesh bottom container filled with a porous, granular, chemically neutral artificial substrate. The seeds of cultivated plants are sown on a substrate. The floating bed is installed in fish-breeding ponds, that is, joint cultivation of fish and plants in a pond is carried out (RU 2290784 C1, 26/05/2005).

Floats that keep the bed afloat have upper and lower holes. A hose is connected to the upper hole of the floats for supplying air to the tank from the pump or compressor and a valve blocking its outlet, and the lower hole serves to freely fill the tank with water in order to regulate the lifting force of the floats and saturate the substrate in the container with water of the reservoir. By regulating the lifting force mounted under the container of the floats, the bed is installed above the mirror of the reservoir so that the water through the capillaries of the granules of the substrate independently rises to its surface without filling the cavity between the granules.

Root plants sprout through the perforation of the bottom and sink into the water, from where nutrients are taken. Fish are lured into the area of the raft, as their waste products are fertilizer for growing plants. The increase in plant production is due to the use by plants of mineral substances as a result of the development of microorganisms in the substrate of a floating bed of minerals that mineralize metabolites and metabolic products of fish.

The disadvantage of both methods of hydroponic growing of plants in a container floating on the surface of the reservoir is the inconvenience of operating the container-plant-underwater fauna biosystem, which is associated with the need to simultaneously grow plants and fish in the reservoir. The disadvantage is a certain limited surface area of artificial reservoirs, as well as the dependence of the production of green mass on the biological state of the fish herd

The closest to the invention in terms of technical nature and the achieved result is a method of hydroponic growing plants, comprising placing the shoots of plants in a cultivating open container floating on the surface of the reservoir, the bottom of which is immersed in the reservoir, and the vegetative volume of the container is filled with a nutrient substrate (RU 98083 C1, 26.04. 2010).

This method is implemented as follows. In a flowing or standing reservoir place a frame container made of logs - floats and boards fastening them. The base of the container is made mesh, on which the cell-boxes are installed. Bunches of seedlings cuttings and a substrate of natural moss and sawdust are placed in the latter. After growing planting material in float hydroponics, cuttings-seedlings are transported in cell boxes for planting in the ground together with packing bundles. Due to the fulfillment of the bottom of the container and the mesh cells, the mesh roots, when growing, feed on the water of the reservoir on which the container floats.

The disadvantage of this method is the significant material costs when growing seedlings, the complexity of the process of delivery of the grown material to the place of sale. Also a disadvantage of all these methods is the impossibility of providing the cultivated plants with a specific nutrient medium necessary for intensive growth of green mass by plants, depending on their type and biological characteristics.

The objective of the invention is to provide a continuous method with increased productivity in terms of green mass and simpler technology for the delivery of grown plants to the processing site.

The problem is solved in that in the method of hydroponic cultivation of plants, including placing plants in a cultivating open container floating on the surface of the reservoir, the bottom of which is immersed in the reservoir, and the vegetative volume of the container is filled with a substrate for plants, according to the invention, the bottom of the container is waterproof, while the container’s growing volume places a filter net with the possibility of extracting it together with plants.

The mesh size of the filter mesh is from 0.001 mm to 40 mm, and several cultivation containers are linearly connected to each other in caravans, forming a vegetation field.

To obtain cost-effective plant yields, devices for growing them must occupy a significant area of the water surface - the sea, in order to significantly reduce the cost of production.

The developed method for growing various aquatic cultures in a cultivation open container floating on the surface of a reservoir, in particular in the marine environment, allows us to limit ourselves to minimal production areas for processing green mass delivered to land.

Floating containers can be made like pontoon containers having high sides and a flat bottom. The containers are partially filled with a medium for growing - a nutrient liquid, in the volume and on the surface of which plants are grown and their vital functions. A nutrient liquid is water with the nutrients dissolved in it, which are necessary for the intensive growth and development of the corresponding plants. To increase the productivity of growing plants in the nutrient fluid, fertilizers can be applied. The developed method, by isolating the container’s growing volume from the reservoir’s water, makes it possible to select the most optimal nutrient medium for the most intensive growth of green mass, depending on the biological characteristics of plants.

Seedlings capable of vegetative propagation are planted in the nutrient fluid. Before planting, a filter mesh is laid in the container’s growing volume. The mesh is larger than the bottom of the container, lined with the height of the container walls and fixed along its sides. The mesh size in the filter mesh can be 0.001 mm - 40 mm and depends on the type of plant. When growing microalgae, the biomaterial must be extracted with as much water as possible. In this case, the cell in the grid should be no more than 0.001 mm. When growing different types of algae, aquatic plants, the cell size should be larger than 0.001 mm and for each type of biomaterial it should be selected depending on the characteristics of the plant, but should not exceed 40 mm, since the weave of the mesh can lead to cutting of the grown plants.

To ensure the continuity of the process of growing plants and their processing, containers are linearly connected to each other in caravans, moved to grow products in the coastal zone of the sea, and set on anchors.

After a few days, when the green mass reaches its maximum growth, it is collected and processed. Container caravans are transported to the shore and served at the unloading point located on the overpass, which protrudes from the coast to the sea. Floating containers pass under a flyover with an unloading crane. To unload plants from the container, the filter mesh is freed from fastening on the sides of the container and, together with plants and water, is removed from the container. Part of the nutrient fluid is poured through the filter mesh, and the plants, along with the remaining nutrient fluid, are discharged into the receiving hopper. From the receiving hopper the green mass is fed for processing to the production departments located on land. Due to the fact that the mesh is removed along with the plants, and then returned to the container, there is no need for returnable containers, which also reduces the cost of the growing process. In this case, depending on the size of the cells in the grid, you can adjust the amount of liquid that is sent together with the green mass for processing.

Water is added to the unloaded container, nutrients and fertilizer are supplied. Separated from the green mass, the nutrient fluid is sent to the filtration station and then used to further prepare the nutrient fluid.

The cross section of the containers, their depth and the degree of filling of the container with nutrient liquid is selected in each case, depending on the type of plants grown, the characteristics of their root system, the rate of propagation and the maximum height of the green part of the plant.

Due to the planting of plants in various containers with a certain time interval, the green mass in the containers reaches its maximum growth at different times and, accordingly, the collection and processing of green mass should also be done at different times with the same frequency.

Containers with grown green mass in the form of marketable products are transported to the place of processing, while the remaining containers are growing plants to marketability.

In the developed method of hydroponic plant growing, plants are continuously grown in containers at sea, plants are collected from various containers as they reach the maximum green mass growth required by the technology, which ensures the continuity of the technological cycle and increases the productivity of the method as a whole. The method also allows, as previously mentioned, to occupy on land the minimum area by enterprises for the processing of grown plants in floating containers located in the sea

In addition, growing plants in containers located in natural water bodies significantly reduces costs compared to growing plants in specially constructed artificial reservoirs.

When placing containers in the waters of sea water, there is no need to use insecticides to protect plants from pests, while the marketable plant product is clean and does not require special washing.

Claims (3)

1. The method of hydroponic growing of plants, comprising placing plants in a cultivating open container floating on the surface of the reservoir, the bottom of which is immersed in the reservoir, and the vegetative volume of the container is filled with a substrate for plants, characterized in that the bottom of the container is waterproof, while in the vegetative volume of the container place a filter mesh with the possibility of extracting it together with plants. 2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that the mesh size of the filter mesh is from 0.001 mm to 40 mm. 3. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that several cultivation containers are linearly connected to each other in caravans, forming a vegetation field.