Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01G—HORTICULTURE; CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, RICE, FRUIT, VINES, HOPS OR SEAWEED; FORESTRY; WATERING
  • A01G24/00—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor
  • A01G24/40—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor characterised by their structure
  • A01G24/48—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor characterised by their structure containing foam or presenting a foam structure
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01G—HORTICULTURE; CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, RICE, FRUIT, VINES, HOPS OR SEAWEED; FORESTRY; WATERING
  • A01G24/00—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor
  • A01G24/20—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor based on or containing natural organic material
  • A01G24/22—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor based on or containing natural organic material containing plant material
  • A01G24/27—Pulp, e.g. bagasse
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01G—HORTICULTURE; CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, RICE, FRUIT, VINES, HOPS OR SEAWEED; FORESTRY; WATERING
  • A01G24/00—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor
  • A01G24/30—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor based on or containing synthetic organic compounds

Definitions

• the present invention deals with an inert growth medium based on resilient polyurethane foam.
• Soil as growth medium is encumbered with several draw ⁇ backs. It may for instance be difficult to perform a con ⁇ trolled supply of nutritives to plants growing in soil. Furthermore, it may be difficult to influence the bac- terial environment in the soil without -simultaneously detrimentally influencing the growing conditions of the plants .
• va- rious types of plastics e.g. polyurethane foam and polyacrylonitrile grafted upon pulpwood fibres in connection with in situ polymerisa ⁇ tion, ion exchangers saturated with fertilizers, species of clay, and ground peat.
• plastics e.g. polyurethane foam and polyacrylonitrile grafted upon pulpwood fibres in connection with in situ polymerisa ⁇ tion, ion exchangers saturated with fertilizers, species of clay, and ground peat.
• Such media are for instance described in S ⁇ -PS No. 349,225, the DE-AS No. 1,221,484 and No . 1, 227 , 724 , and FR-PS No . 2 , 065 , 215 .
• the growth medium is composed of the resulting polymer-grafted pulpwood fibres, and a predetermined weight ratio of the polymer portion to the cellulosic portion of the fibres is stated for thes pulpwood fibres, said weight ratio being determined by the amount of polymer used for the polymer-grafting of the pulpwood fibres .
• DE-OS No. 2,054,823 discloses a method of pre ⁇ paring plant substrates based on polyurethane foam sub- stances.
• compressed plant substrates are prepared in finally di ⁇ mensioned plastic film wrappings, said plant substrates being based on hydrophilic, resilient polyurethane foam substances.
• These polyurethane foam substances must be capable of swelling in order to absorb the water supply to such an extent that they fill out the plastic film wrappings completely.
• hydrophobic polyurethane foa since the use of the hydrophilic polyurethane foam in- volves considerable problems.
• rockwool ⁇ products are encumbered with the essential drawback that sufficient ventilation is difficult to obtain, whereby it is almost impossible to avoid root rot, said rockwool ⁇ products to a great extent being used as plant culture substrates and exactly characterised by being highly hydrophilic .
• hydrophobic polyurethane foam overcomes the above drawbacks concerning root rot arising when using the hydrophilic polyurethane foam. This is due to the fact that the material upon moistening contains the necessary amount of air. Moreover the material is pleas ⁇ ant to work with and does not irritate the skin. Fur ⁇ thermore it can be stored in compressed condition be- fore the use.
• the hydrophobic polyurethane foam presents the problem that as a consequence of its hydrophobic nature it is difficult to moisten and it does not provide the capillarity sufficient for obtain ⁇ ing the necessary water retentiveness.
• the object of the present is to provide an inert growth medium based on resilient polyurethane foam, which meets the above requirements concerning sufficient content of air, sufficient water retentiveness, and absence of sub- stances irritating the skin.
• the growth medium according to the in ⁇ vention is characterised in that the polyurethane foam is hydrophobic, and that it contains natural fibres, preferably in an amount of 10-70% by weight calculated on the end product, in order to obtain an optimal water retentiveness.
• granulated paper preferably in an amount of 40-60% by weight, or disintegrated pulp (fluff) , preferably in an amount of 25-35% by weight.
• a moistening agent preferably a non-ionic active moistening agent a the preparation of the growth medium.
• the growth medium dealt with may for instance advanta- geously be used as growth medium for plants on root, which are to be exported or imported, as growth medium for ornamental plants on root for use in hospitals, and as growth medium for plants for energy forests.
• the cellulosic fluff used contained disintegrated pulp of the same type that is used in nap ⁇ pies.
• the prepolymer was a binding agent comprising 100 parts of polyetherpolyol with an OH-value of 43 togethe with 20 parts of toluene diisocyanate. Prior to the use the mixture had been prereacted for 48 hours at room temperature.
• Berol 087 is a non-ionic active moistening agent from Berol Kemi AB.
• Granulated polyurethane and cellulosic fluff were mixed in a mixer.
• a solution of "Berol” 087 was supplied by means of a spray gun, and finally diluted prepolymer was supplied by means of a spray gun.
• the dilution was performed by Freon 11, which later on evaporated upon the spraying.
• the mixture was transferred into a 8 liter mould, and superheated steam was supplied for 2 minutes, whereupon the completed sample was removed after further 5 minutes

Landscapes

• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Environmental Sciences (AREA)
• Cultivation Of Plants (AREA)
• Processes Of Treating Macromolecular Substances (AREA)
• Hydroponics (AREA)
• Crystals, And After-Treatments Of Crystals (AREA)

Priority Applications (4)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=20340749

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (9)

Cited By (7)

Families Citing this family (1)

Citations (8)

• 1980
  • 1980-04-16 SE SE8002860A patent/SE8002860L/ not_active Application Discontinuation
• 1981
  • 1981-04-13 WO PCT/DK1981/000034 patent/WO1981002968A1/en not_active Ceased
  • 1981-04-13 JP JP56501351A patent/JPS57500451A/ja active Pending
  • 1981-04-13 EP EP81901150A patent/EP0050140A1/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1981-04-13 AU AU71527/81A patent/AU7152781A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1981-04-13 NL NL8120117A patent/NL8120117A/nl unknown
  • 1981-04-13 GB GB8135097A patent/GB2084981A/en not_active Withdrawn
  • 1981-04-15 ES ES502079A patent/ES8206143A1/es not_active Expired
  • 1981-12-15 NO NO814288A patent/NO814288L/no unknown

Patent Citations (8)

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