WO2001070006A1

WO2001070006A1 - Plant seed packaging and sowing

Info

Publication number: WO2001070006A1
Application number: PCT/AU2001/000305
Authority: WO
Inventors: Walter Raymond Taylor
Original assignee: Walter Raymond Taylor
Priority date: 2000-03-20
Filing date: 2001-03-20
Publication date: 2001-09-27
Also published as: AUPQ629300A0

Abstract

A method of packaging seeds for sowing which includes: (a) treating the surface of a web (10), preferably with spots of adhesive delivered by an adhesive applicator head (12) such that each spot is approximately the size of each seed to be packaged, thus enabling only one seed to be attached to one spot at a particular position; (b) passing the web (10) through a source of supply of seeds (17/18) so that the seeds get located at the respective positions; (c) treating the web (10) to retain the seeds thereon (d) packing the web (10) by rolling onto a take-up reel (23). An apparatus to carry out the method is also disclosed.

Description

PLANT SEED PACKAGING AND SOWING

This invention relates to a method of packaging plant seeds and a system of sowing using the seeds.

The invention particularly relates to very small seeds such as ovule seeds which are less than 1mm in diameter. When planting seeds it is desirable that they be located at a preferred spacing for the particular plant concerned but, particularly with small seeds it is difficult to achieve this.

At the present time, the seeds tend to be more or less randomly located either by being scattered randomly over or within the growing area, or located along grooves or trenches located in the growing area or, particularly where machine sowing is used, seeds are randomly suspended in an organic rich liquid which is spread over the area, they can be mixed with an organic rich compound which is distributed over the area, they can be located in a mat of fibrous material and grown in the material, with the material, on occasions, being relocated to a final position or, by depositing the seeds via a machine.

In effectively all cases where small seeds are used, once the growth has commenced it is necessary to thin the growth by removing some of the plants and this is not only wasteful of the seed but also the thinning operation has to be done physically by hand.

The extent of this can readily be ascertained when one calculates that, say, when planting carrots at a spacing of one every 30mm with the rows set further apart there could be some 2.7 million plants in the area.

The object of the invention is to provide a method of plant seed packaging which will permit accurate placement of the seeds and the optimisation of the usage of seeds.

It is a further object to use such packaged seeds to plant areas efficiently and effectively. The invention, in its broadest sense, includes a method of packaging seeds comprising the steps of providing a web of material on which seeds are to be located, accurately locating on this material seeds at required spacing equal to the required spacing of the seeds and affixing the seeds thereto.

In a preferred form, the invention includes a method of packaging seeds which provides the steps of providing a web of material on which seeds are to be located, accurately locating on this material an adhesive substance having a size of the order of the size of the seeds to be packaged and spacing equal to the required spacing of the seeds and bringing the material into contact with seeds so that the seeds can contact the adhesive and be located thereon.

In a particular aspect, the invention provides wherein the surface of the web is treated to accurately locate the seeds, the surface including either holes of a size to receive seeds and onto which seeds may be drawn or including recesses which receive, generally only one seed.

In one preferred form of the invention I provide a web being a strip of material, and preferably a biodegradable material which may itself contain some nutrient. The adhesive used may be applied by an ink jet type process whereby the size of the adhesive placed on the web can be selected, and is selected to be of a size no greater than the size of a single seed.

The adhesive may itself be a nutrient if this is required.

The location of the seeds could be by a means of a hopper through which the web is caused to pass, the hopper being maintained with sufficient seeds to ensure correct deliver, could be some form of tumble applicator or could be in the form of a fluidised bed. If required, the completed web may be coated to ensure that the seeds are correctly maintained thereon and if so there may be a dryer.

In order that the invention may be more readily understood I will describe particular forms of the invention in relation to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a first form of the invention;

The base 10 to which the seeds are to be connected is a flat paper tape, Preferably the tape is one which is readily biodegradable. As alternatives, I could use a string, cord, thread, twine or a cloth strip as a supporting element.

If required, the base can be impregnated with nutrients which are appropriate to the seeds to be packed and seed starters, weed suppressants and insect deterrents could also be impregnated onto or placed onto the surface of the tape.

In a preferred embodiment the tape may be 8mm wide and may be any substantial length, say up to 1km long and is wound on a delivery spool 11..

I cause this tape to pass an adhesive application head 12 which may use ink jet type technology so that spots of an adhesive material is placed on the base at accurate positions and is of a size effectively no greater than the size of the seed to be located.

As will be described, the spots of adhesive material may be placed on either the top or the bottom of the base.

The adhesive material may be some form of biodegradable adhesive or could be an adhesive which has a nutrient mixed therein or could be of a product such as honey which has the properties of being adhesive but, at the same time, is in itself a nutrient. After this adhesive has been applied, forward movement of the tape takes it through a seed applicator.

This may take several forms and in Fig 1 we show, for convenience two different forms although usually only one would be used.

In a first form 13 we have a seed hopper 14 which delivers seeds to provide a bed 15 of seeds. In this application, the base passes through the bed 15 with the adhesive side down.

Because the size of each spot of adhesive is about the size of the seed to be used, once a seed has adhered to the adhesive further seeds are effectively prevented from such adherence.

The tape then passes through this with one seed being applied to each spot of adhesive but no other seeds being attached to the tape.

If required, as the tape leaves the seed bed 15 an air blast or the like can be used to ensure that the adhesive has or is dried and also to remove any spurious seeds which have come into contact and stayed in contact with the base 10.

In an alternative, the seed bed could be a fluidised bed where the seeds are effectively floating in air being delivered from the base. In this case, as there is positive movement of the seeds these will come into contact with the spots of adhesive more readily than in the first embodiment and the residence tome in contact with the seeds can be lessened. Also as the seeds are moving, the adhesive spots can be on either the top or the bottom of the tape.

In a second application 16 there is a hopper 17 which feeds seeds to a tumble applicator 18. The seeds are applied by passing the base 10 through a tumbler 18, with the base having its adhesive spots up, the arrangement being such that the tumbler lifts and drops seeds and these fall onto the surface of the base and will adhere thereto only when there is an adhesive spot on the base. Again because of the size of the spots, only one seed will adhere to each spot.

Any excess seeds lying on the surface of the tape can be removed before it passes to further treatment.

If required, the tape may then pass to a coating tank 20 in which a coating which ensures the maintenance of the seeds thereon is applied to the base. This coating can be a nutrient material which will be of assistance to the seed during propagation.

Subsequently, the coated base is passed to a dryer 21 to dry the coating material.

There is also provided a scanner and counter 22 to ensure that there are the required number of seeds on the tape.

The tape may then be passed to a take up reel 23 where the tape is rolled. Alternatively, the dried tape may be cut into lengths, the number of seeds on each of which being decided by the counter and these lengths can be folded, rolled or otherwise handled and may be packed into a wholesale or retail delivery pack.

It is also possible, when the base is being made to cause the seeds to be located thereon whilst it is semi liquid.

It will be seen that the seeds of the invention are thus located at precise, predetermined distances along the tape and, because of the size of the adhesive spot, there is generally only one seed associated with each spot.

As indicated, the web of paper could be in lengths of 1km and this could be rolled into a roll of about 500mm in diameter and a weight of about 450gms. Thus, it is possible to package and handle very substantial quantities of seeds with no great difficulty. Referring to the example previously given, if carrot seeds for baby carrots to be planted every 30mm were to be used the total number of seeds for a one hectare planting would be able to be provided on approximately 85 of the rolls and this would incorporate over 2.7 million seeds.

There are several alternatives available in the machine of the invention.

Firstly, I can have a machine which uses a base material in the form of a wide web.

In association with this, I use multiple adhesive application device and an equivalent number of seed applicators. These, of course can be set up in single units. In this way, I can place a large number of seeds onto a single web. After the seeds have been placed, dried and scanned, I can pass the web through slitters to provide seeds in the form of the earlier embodiments or can either split the web to have a number of seeds in a side by side relationship or even provide the seeds in a large web which can be located onto a surface thus planting the total seed of the web at one time. If this is being done, the seeds need not necessarily be in side-by-side relationships but can be a pattern suitable for the seeds concerned.

If a substantial part of the web it to be provided in one piece, this can be rolled and packed in tube containers.

It is possible to present the product of the invention in a form which can be used with known agricultural planting machines.

In a second variation, the base can be perforated with holes at predetermined spacing similar to those of the adhesive spots, the holes being slightly smaller than the normal sizes of the seeds being used so that the seeds will not pass through the holes.

The perforated base is then passed through a fluidised bed with the tape being in a channel with the pressure of the upper surface less than the surface directed to the bed. This pressure differential will cause seeds from the bed to be drawn into the holes and, because of the size differential, the seeds will be held in the holes.

As the web leaves the bed it is passed to a coating tank and described in relation to Fig 1 and the coating will cause the seeds to be retained in position.

5 In a still further embodiment, I cause indentations to be formed on the base at the required spacing of the seeds and when the base passes through the seeds, either in a stationary bed, a fluidised bed or a tumbler, seeds enter the indentations and are held therein until a coating is placed thereon and they are then firmly held in position.

After the seeds have been attached to the base, I can cause the base to twist so that the l o base adopts a tubular, straw-like configuration with the diameter and twist being selected to be suitable to the particular seeds and their spacing, thereby locating the seeds within the interior of the straw. If required, the straw can be then passed through pinch rollers or the like to provide a flat tape with the seeds in the interior thereof.

In any of the previously described embodiments, other than the one in which the base is is twisted into a tubular configuration, it is possible to provide a second web of material, substantially corresponding in size to the web forming the base and adhering this over the surface of the base which has the seeds attached thereto. In this way the seeds are sandwiched between two layers of web.

Whilst it is anticipated that the machine would be effectively computer controlled so the 0 seeds are automatically located and in this way the adhesive spots or the surface formations can be controlled as required.

It is possible that the machine be manually set up and controlled.

It is also possible for small applications to provide a manual applicator for the adhesive which would include a wheel having outwardly extending spokes which are at an angular spacing and of a size for the required seeds, the spokes are adapted to either be run through a bath of adhesive material or to be hollow and fed with adhesive material. If the applicator is then run along a base, spots of adhesive will be located at positions relative to the spacing of the outer ends of the spokes and then seeds can be attached thereto 5 either by being sprinkled onto the base or by the use of a bed as described.

The invention also relates to a method of planting seeds using the product manufactured by the method of the invention.

It is only necessary that the paper backing be unwound and lain on the surface of the ground where it is desired that the plants are to grow.

l o This may, if required, be located in a shallow trench which can be covered to give a small covering to the surface of the seeds although if the seeds are amenable to surface planting it can simply be unrolled and left lying on the surface with, if necessary, occasional supports to prevent movement by a wind or the like. When the seeds germinate the roots will pass through the paper into the ground beneath.

15 It will be seen then that the crop planted will be located in accurate rows, the spacing of the seeds will be what is required for optimum growth and there is no necessity for any thinning thus greatly reducing the labour required. Also, it will be seen that seeds can readily be planted in what would otherwise be considered to be difficult conditions, particularly up or on the side of hills as it is only necessary to locate the roll of paper 0 carrying the seeds, hold one end of this in the required position and physically permit the roll to unroll about an axis as it is moved along the area.

This can be done manually or a machine can be developed to lay the material. Also, it is quite possible to set up a number of these rolls across the width of an axle or a shaft with the rolls being at the required transfer spacing and a number of rows of plants can 5 be planted at the one time. Also, there can be designed or modified machines which permit a substantial number of rolls to be delivered at any one time so that a large number of rows can be planted in one pass.

If required, where at least two rows are planted at the same time, the seeds in different rows could be seeds of different plants to provide companion planting.

It will be appreciated that because the seeds are fixed to the web this can enable correct and accurate planting even though at the time the weather conditions are not completely conducive to this. For example, where light seeds are being planted it is difficult to do this in the wind as they tend to be blown away and, where there is rain and water movement on the surface subsequent to planting, seeds can often be washed away from their required position and very often left in large numbers over a very small area. These difficulties are obviated by the invention. Also, it will be appreciated that for a home gardener or small grower, it is possible to purchase the carrier and seeds by the metre so that the exact number of seeds required for a particular area can be obtained simply by purchasing the requisite number of metres of the material and laying this in position.

It will, of course, be appreciated that the invention is equally applicable to small plantings as well as plantings which cover large areas. For example, the seeds of the invention may be used in trays, pots or the like.

Thus, a small gardener could obtain seeds for a number of different plants by purchasing in this way, they would not be left with partially used packets of seeds, which often go to waste, and further their plants will be automatically at the required spacing.

Also, if one wishes to make decorative beds, say, of annual flowers, it is possible to purchase the required quantities of a number of different coloured flowers, and the webs of material could be colour coded, printed or bar coded so that they are readily identifiable and these could then be placed in a required pattern and, in due course, there will be a growth which replicates the pattern required with the correct plants showing the correct flowers and colours being exactly where required.

Where aid is to be provided to third world countries, the seeds of the invention are most applicable as it is only necessary for the gardener or horticulturalist in the country to prepare the soil, and as mentioned earlier, this can be located in difficult positions, to locate the seeds of the invention thereover and given normal growing conditions the seeds will germinate and the plants will grow at precisely the required distances therebetween with no necessity for thinning and maximum usage of space.

Whilst we have described the invention in respect of very small seeds it is also quite applicable to seeds of up to, say, 20mm in diameter and the size of the adhesive applied to the web will vary to suit the particular seeds. If say a 20mm diameter seed was to be applied but this is substantially spherical then the diameter of the adhesive could well be substantially less than 20mm. It is, of course, required that there be sufficient adhesive to make a firm connection with the seed but, at the same time, insufficient to enable two seeds to be connected to the same piece of adhesive. It may also be that where seeds are elongate the adhesive could be largely in the form of the seed and there would be a tendency for seeds which are oriented in the direction of the adhesive to adhere thereto as seeds at substantial angles to this may not provide a large enough area of contact for connection.

It will be appreciated that the location of the seeds and the formation of the seeded rolls of web are done inside so the weather conditions do not, in any way, restrict the formation of these and the planting can be done rapidly when the weather is satisfactory.

Claims

The claims defining the invention are as follows:

1. A method of packaging seeds comprising the steps of providing a web of material on which seeds are to be located, accurately locating on this material seeds at required spacing equal to the required spacing of the seeds and affixing the seeds thereto.

2. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in claim 1 comprising the steps of providing a web of material on which seeds are to be located, accurately locating on this material an adhesive substance having a size of the order of the size of the seeds to be packaged and spacing equal to the required spacing of the seeds and bringing the material into contact with seeds so that the seeds can contact the adhesive and be located thereon.

3. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2 wherein the web of material is selected from the group comprising paper string, cord, thread, twine or a cloth strip.

4. A method of packaging seeds aa claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein the web of material is coated or impregnated with one or more of nutrient materials, seed starters, weed suppressants and insect deterrents.

5. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the adhesive substance used is applied by an ink jet type process whereby the size of the adhesive spots placed on the web can be selected, and are selected to be of a size of the order of the size of a single seed so that once a seed is located thereon other seed can generally not be attached thereto.

6. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 wherein the adhesive substance used is applied by a transfer process from a member having adhesive thereon.

7. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the adhesive substance is a nutrient or includes a nutrient.

8. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in claim 1 wherein the surface of the web is treated to accurately locate the seeds.

9. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in claim 8 wherein the web is provided with holes therein which holes are smaller than the seeds to be packaged and into which the seeds can be drawn by differential pressure.

10. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in claim 8 wherein the surface of the web is formed to have recesses therein which recesses are of a size to receive a single seed of the type being packaged.

11. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the we is passed through a chamber containing seeds so that a seed is adapted to be received at each required position on the web and retained thereon.

12. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in claim 11 wherein the chamber containing seeds is a fluidised bed.

13. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in claim 12 wherein the chamber containing seeds is a tumbler.

14. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the web with the seeds thereon is coated to retain the seeds.

15. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in claim 14 wherein the coating is or contains a nutrient.

16. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in either claim 14 or claim 15 wherein, after coating, the coated web and seeds pass through a dryer.

17. A method as claimed in any preceding claim wherein the web, after the seeds have been located and retained is formed into a straw-like article with the seeds on the inner surface.

18. A method as claimed in claim 17 wherein after formation the straw-like article is passed through pinch rolls.

19. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in any preceding claim wherein after the seeds have been located and retained on the web, they are scanned and counted.

20. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in any preceding claim wherein after the seeds have been located and retained on the web they are packaged.

21. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in claim 20 wherein as part of the packaging step a web which has a number of rows of seeds is slit to provide webs which have at least one row of seeds.

22. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in claim 20 or claim 21 wherein the web is folded for packaging.

23. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in claim 20 or claim 21 wherein the web is rolled for packaging.

24. A method of packaging seeds as claimed in any preceding claim wherein a second web if located over the web containing the seeds after the seeds have been located.

25. An apparatus for packaging seeds by the method of any one of claims 1 to 24 including a source of web material, means to treat the surface of the web material to be adapted to receive individual seeds thereon only at desired positions means to supply seeds to the web and to have these located at the desired positions and means whereby the seeds can be caused to be retained at these positions.

26. An apparatus as claimed in claim 24 wherein the web is provided with spots of adhesive at the desired positions to effect location of the seeds.

27. An apparatus as claimed in claim 24vwherein the web is provided with apertures therethrough into which seeds can be drawn.

28. An apparatus as claimed in claim 26 or claim 27 wherein there is an area whereby seeds can be placed onto the web and means whereby the web and seeds can be coated to retain the seeds on the web.

29. A method of packaging seeds substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.

30. An apparatus for packaging seeds substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawing.