WO2016075620A1

WO2016075620A1 - Sanitizing method for greenhouses and for improving the sanitary and growth conditions of the plants cultivated therein, and apparatus for carrying out said method

Info

Publication number: WO2016075620A1
Application number: PCT/IB2015/058675
Authority: WO
Inventors: Stefano Poppi; Federico PONTI
Original assignee: Met S.R.L.
Priority date: 2014-11-10
Filing date: 2015-11-10
Publication date: 2016-05-19
Also published as: EP3218018A1

Abstract

The method according to the invention relates to the treatment of greenhouses and plants cultivated therein, for their sanitization and improving the growth conditions of the same plants. The method comprises the following steps: mixing ozone with water in predetermined proportions, so as to obtain ozonated water; introducing said ozonated water into a pipe situated inside a greenhouse, in an elevated position with respect to the plants cultivated therein, and supplying said ozonated water to at least one atomizer nozzle, in order to obtain a fine atomization of said ozonated water inside said greenhouse; spraying said ozonated water on the exposed surfaces of said greenhouse, included the growth medium of the plants and of the plants themselves. The invention comprises also an apparatus (1000) for the treatment of closed environments and the organic masses contained therein, and in particular of greenhouses and plants cultivated therein, for the sanitization thereof and improvement of the growth conditions of said plants. The apparatus (1000) comprises in particular a generator of ozone (500) for generating ozone and mix it with water in predetermined quantities, and a pump (300) for pumping water toward the distribution means (700). The latter, in their turn, include pipes and nozzles aimed at obtaining a fine atomization of the ozonated water directly in the greenhouse and on the plants cultivated therein.

Description

"SANITIZING METHOD FOR GREENHOUSES AND FOR IMPROVING THE SANITARY AND GROWTH CONDITIONS OF THE PLANTS CULTIVATED THEREIN, AND APPARATUS FOR

CARRYING OUT SAID METHOD"

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to the technical field concerning treatments necessary for the optimal development of intensive cultivations in closed environments. In particular, the present invention relates to a method for periodic treatment of greenhouses and other closed environments destined to receive germinating and growing plants, aimed at obtaining a sanitization of the environments, as well as obtaining particular advantages for the growth, health and conservation of the plants present therein. The invention relates also to apparatuses aimed at carrying out this method.

BACKGROUND ART

As it is known, the greenhouses are environments which are closed, or substantially closed for long periods of time, air-conditioned and destined for germinating and growing a great variety of plants, as well as possibly for ripening their fruits, which are used mainly for human consumption.

Due to the installation and maintenance costs, the greenhouses are environments, in which the cultivation is intensive, seeking to get the most from the available closed and air-conditioned surface. The used cultivation techniques allow to obtain good results in terms of the product yield, but they present greater drawbacks with respect to the open field cultivations with regard to the phytosanitary treatments, use of fertilizers and possible supply of preservatives, all of which are operations necessary to maintain the plants in the correct growing and pservation conditions. The conventional coping with the above described drawbacks affects also considerably the final costs of production.

TECHNICAL PROBLEM

In particular, it is known that microorganisms harmful to the health of plants, such as bacteria, mildews and various parasites, proliferate more and better in a greenhouse, due to perfect development conditions in the air-conditioned environment. In order to fight them and obtain a healthy product, which is also aesthetically presentable on the market, it is necessary to use synthetic chemical preparations, such as pesticides, fungicides, etc., which notoriously can leave traces in the product harvested and then put on sale. In any case, permanence times of these preparations in the product to be consumed (time of deficiency) and in the growth medium (time of persistence) can reach even some weeks. Therefore, their administration must be interrupted well before the harvesting, so as to meet the limits provided by law.

Control of the healthiness of the products cultivated in greenhouses is complicated and can only be carried out at random. Therefore, there is a considerable risk that what is consumed is still contaminated by substances which are highly harmful to the consumers' health.

In order to obtain a given yield per unit of cultivated surface area, it is also necessary to use periodically chemical fertilizers, usually supplied to the growth medium or with fertigation techniques. Moreover, the collected product is often treated with cleansing and disinfectant substances, in order to make it visually more pleasant for the consumer and to extend its conservation in a saleable state.

Finally, the use of the above described treatments, as already mentioned before, has a considerable impact on the total costs of the product, which inevitably affect the final purchase price.

Furthermore, in the field of intensive cultivations in greenhouses, there is a constant search for solutions that allow improvements of the growth conditions of the plants, and consequently an increase of the production per unit of surface area. A particular attention is paid to solutions which are sustainable from the environmental and sanitary point of view, that is to solutions which allow a reduction of chemical fertilizers and substances, which are toxic to the environment and humans. The Patent documents WO2006/061705A1 and US 2014/299165 disclose sanitization systems which provide the use of ozone mixed in water to reduce the bacterial load of things and food stuff. However, the inventions described in these documents substantially do not deal with the above explained technical problems and drawbacks, which are typical of an intensive cultivation of plants in a closed environment.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to propose a method for the sanitization of closed environments and organic masses contained therein, and in particular greenhouses and plants cultivated therein.

Another object of the invention is to propose a method of treatment, which, in conjunction with the improvement of the sanitary conditions of the above mentioned plants, is beneficial to the growth conditions and thus, consequently, causes also increase in the production yield.

A further object of the invention is to propose an apparatus which carries out the the above mentioned method.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The above mentioned objects are wholly obtained, in accordance with claim 1 , by a method for treatment of greenhouses and plants cultivated therein, for their sanitization and improving growth conditions of the same plants, which method comprises the following steps: mixing ozone with water in predetermined proportions, so as to obtain ozonated water; introducing said ozonated water in a pipe situated inside a greenhouse, in an elevated position with respect to the plants cultivated therein, and supplying said ozonated water to groups of atomizer nozzles arranged according to a prefixed geometrical pattern, so as to obtain a fine spray of said ozonated water inside said greenhouse; spraying said ozonated water on the exposed surfaces of said greenhouse, included the growth medium of the plants and of the plants themselves.

The above mentioned objects are obtained also by an apparatus, made in accordance with claim 8, for the treatment of closed environments and organic masses contained therein, and in particular of greenhouses and plants cultivated therein, for their sanitization and improving of growth conditions of the same plants. The apparatus comprises the following devices:

- means for accumulating water; - pumping means for pumping water to the above mentioned accumulating means;

- means for generating power aimed at operating the pumping means;

- means for generating ozone, aimed at producing ozone[Mi][M2] and mixing it with water pumped by the pumping means, so as to produce ozonated water;

- means for generating electricity aimed at supplying the means for generating ozone; and

- distribuition means adapted to atomize the ozonated water in a closed environment, and in particular in a greenhouse.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The characteristics of the invention, as they will become evident from the claims, are pointed out in the following detailed description, with reference to the enclosed drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of the method which constitutes the main object of the present invention;

Figure 2 shows schematically an embodiment of the apparatus according to the invention, structured so as to be carried or hauled by a tractor, able to implement the method of Figure 1 .

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

In Figure 1 , the reference numeral 100 indicates a block diagram as a whole illustrating a preferred embodiment of the method for the treatment of greenhouses and plants cultivated therein, which constitutes the main object of the present invention.

As it is shown in Figure 1 , a certain amount of water is slightly acidified during an acidification step 10, until a pH preferably raging between 5 and 6 is reached, according to known procedures.

The same water is then filtered during a filtering step 20, and accumulated in an accumulation step 30.

In the meantime, during a step for generating ozone 40, ozone is produced by means of known methods, coming from pure oxygen or directly from the atmospheric air. During a subsequent mixing step 50, the ozone being produced is injected into the treated water, so as to mix it with the latter in a predetermined concentration.

The mixture water/ozone, called technically ozonated water, is then atomized in the application closed environment during an atomization step 60, by means of suitable atomizer nozzles, to which the ozonated water produced previously is conveyed.

In the specific case of application in a greenhouse, the atomization is obtained by means of an apparatus, which can be stationary or moveable, an example of which will be described in the following. The so atomized ozonated water is then applied to the greenhouse inside, during an application step 70, until all the exposed surfaces of the greenhouse, including the growth medium, possible support structures of the cultivations and the surfaces of the cultivated plants are wholly "wetted". In a version of the above described method, it is advantageous to disperse directly in the closed environment of the greenhouse not only the ozone contained in the atomization of ozonated water, but also a further quantity of ozone in gaseous state, taken from the ozone produced before in the aforesaid generation step 40. It has been found that the combined action of the ozone mixed with the atomization of water and gaseous ozone surprisingly increases the total effects, according to what will be described in the following. The disinfecting and germicidal capacity of the ozone in itself, which is typically used in various applications, is known and widely exploited. For example, the ozone is used to reduce the bacterial load of water in facilities for making water potable or for distribution of potable water or hot sanitary water, or together with the ultraviolet radiation for maintaining conditions of low bacterial load in swimming pools or in ponds for farming mussels.

However, the application of direct atomization of ozone in a greenhouse, on the plants cultivated therein in germination and development step, is still not known and exploited. According to the present invention, the atomization of the ozonated water on the exposed surfaces of a greenhouse and directly on the plants produces surprising results, which unexpectedly resolve a series of technical problems.

First, the atomization of ozonated water allows a considerable reduction of the bacterial load, not only on the walls, ceilings and floors of the greenhouse, but also and especially in the growth medium and on the whole surface of the plants, either leaves or branches and possible fruits, and thus to sanitize the whole environment. The action of ozone mixed with tiny drops of atomized water is further enhanced by the fact that the drops of water tend to adhere to the surfaces and microorganisms present therein. Furthermore, the drops, being very small, present an elevated surface/volume ratio, which facilitates the exchange of ozone with the surfaces and corpuscles (bacteria, spores, viruses, fungi, etc.), with which they come into contact. A further action of the atomization of ozonated water on the plants is given by the a better conservation thereof (or of their fruits) after their harvesting. In fact, if atomized directly before the picking, the ozonated water persists on the surface of the harvested object for a certain period and can carry on its bactericidal action also during the transport to the places of sale and use. It is to be pointed out that the application of the atomization of the ozonated water according to the invention can advantageously take place in any moment, since the ozone contained therein does not remain until the moment of consumption, as it can happen with some preservatives, and it is not necessary to observe predetermined times of deficiency, as it happens with the use of chemical pesticides.

The so treated vegetables and fruits can therefore be considered completely free of toxic substances or other substances dangerous to the health.

A still further advantageous effect of the periodic application of the atomization of ozonated water in greenhouse derives from a considerable improvement of the growth capacity of the treated plants. Indeed, it has been found that the ozone contained in tiny drops of ozonated water, at the concentrations used in the applications provided for by the invention, produces a reaction effect of the plants to the slight oxidizing action thereof, and allows to increase the total biomass. This causes a net increase of the production per unit of cultivated surface area, which is particularly positive in intensive cultivations. The distribution of the ozonated water, in case of a closed environment, such as a greenhouse, can be carried out by means of a fixed plant, in which suitable pipes, situated inside the greenhouse, convey the ozonated water up to a plurality of atomizer nozzles, arranged in an elevated position with respect to the cultivated plants, so as to cover the substantially whole volume of the greenhouse. The distribution networks can be modular, i.e. they can be operated in sectors, so as to cover even big volumes of treatment.

Moreover, the system includes a continuous monitoring of the delivered volumes and of the concentration of the dissolved ozone, according to the type of the organic mass subjected to the treatment; for example, depending on the phenological step of the plants, their height, distribution of leaves, etc.

An apparatus for carrying out the treatment in particularly big volumes can be composed like the one schematically illustrated in Figure 2. In the aforesaid Figure, an apparatus 1000 can be carried or hauled by a tractor and it comprises the following devices:

- a tank for accumulating water 200;

- a piston pump 300 for pumping water; - a power take-off 400 of the tractor, which is used for driving the pistons of the piston pump 300;

- a generator of enriched oxygen (ozone) 500;

- a power unit 600 that supplies the generator of enriched oxygen (ozone) 500; - a plurality of distributing elements 700, adapted to atomize water for sanitization of the cultivations in greenhouse.

The main advantages of the method proposed by the invention, applied to a greenhouse and plants cultivated therein, can be summed up as follows: - preventing the decay of products, through the bactericidal and germicidal action of the ozone;

- improving the conservation of the harvested products over time, since it is possible to treat the products also directly before its transport toward the places of sale and consumption;

- making the action of the ozone more effective, mixing it with water and using a fine atomization of the ozonated water; - improving the growth conditions of the cultivations in greenhouse, increasing the yield of product per unit of surface area;

- fighting the production of ethylene gases and metabolic aromatic compounds released by the plants during the maturation step;

- enhancing the safety of operators, since their presence during the atomization steps is not required, and the short life of the free ozone makes the treated environments immediately accessible and safe for the health.

It is understood that what above has been described as a pure and not limiting example. Therefore, possible modifications and variants of the invention are considered within the protection scope granted to the present technical solution, as described above and claimed below.

Claims

A method for treatment of greenhouses and plants cultivated therein, for the sanitization thereof and improvement of the growth conditions of said plants, characterised by including the following steps:

(1 A) mixing ozone with water in predetermined proportions, so as to obtain ozonated water;

(I B) introducing said ozonated water in a pipe situated inside a greenhouse, in an elevated position with respect to the plants cultivated therein, and supplying said ozonated water to at least one atomizer nozzle, in order to obtain a fine atomization of said ozonated water inside said greenhouse;

(I C) spraying said ozonated water on the exposed surfaces of said greenhouse, included the growth medium of the plants and of the plants themselves.

A method according to claim 1 , characterised in that the mixed product provides a concentration of ozone in water that ranges between 0.2 ppm (parts per million) and 5 ppm.

A method as claimed in any preceding claim, characterised in that the drops of the atomized product are substantially spherical and have a diameter that ranges between 30 micron and 100 micron.

A method according to claim 1 , characterised in that before said mixing step (1 A) an acidification step of water is provided, until the pH of water reaches a value ranging between 5 and 6.

A method as claimed in any preceding claim, characterised in that it includes a further step, in which pure ozone is dispersed in the environment to be treated.

A method according to claim 5, characterised in that said pure ozone is dispersed together with the atomization of said ozonated water.

A method as claimed in any preceding claim, characterised by including a step of continuous monitoring of the delivered volumes and concentration of the dissolved ozone, according to the type of the organic mass subjected to the treatment.

An apparatus (1000) for the treatment of closed environments and the organic masses contained therein, and in particular of greenhouses and plants cultivated therein, for the sanitization thereof and improvement of the growth conditions of said plants, characterised by including the following devices: means for accumulating water (200);

pumping means (300) for pumping water from said accumulating means (200); means for generating power (400) aimed at operating said pumping means (300); means for generating ozone (500), aimed at producing ozone and mixing it with water pumped by the pumping means (300), so as to produce ozonated water; means for generating electricity (600), aimed at supplying the means for generating ozone (500); and distribuition means (700) adapted to atomize the ozonated water in a closed environment, and in particular in a greenhouse.

An apparatus (1000) according to claim 8, characterised in that said distribution means (700) include a plurality of nozzles, preferably arranged in groups according to predetermined geometrical patterns.

10. An apparatus (1000) according to claim 9, characterised in that each nozzle is set to work at a pressure ranging between 2 and 8 bar and with a flow rate variable from 5 to 12 l/h.

1 1 . An apparatus (1000) according to claim 8, characterised in that it includes also delivering means for ozone in gaseous form, not mixed with said ozonated water.