JP5020892B2 - Plant cultivation device and fruit cooling sheet - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a plant cultivation apparatus for cultivating plants such as strawberries, asparagus, and eustoma (hereinafter referred to as “horticultural plants”), and more particularly, to a plant cultivation apparatus capable of local temperature control of a stock.

  In house cultivation such as strawberries, asparagus, eustoma and the like, conventionally, techniques such as house heating and cooling with a cooling water pipe have been adopted for temperature management in the house. However, in recent years, as energy prices have soared, the cost of heating and cooling costs in production farmers has become a problem (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 7).

  Therefore, the present inventors, as a cultivation technique for reducing the cost burden of the heating and cooling costs, the local of the shortened stem in a garden plant (hereinafter referred to as “shortened stem plant”) that forms a shortened shape on the ground such as strawberries. The cultivation method by temperature management is developed and proposed (refer patent document 1, nonpatent literature 1-5). In the cultivation technique by local temperature management of this shortened stem, a heating wire or a water cooling tube is brought into contact with or in close proximity to the crown portion of the strawberry, and the crown portion is directly heated or cooled. Therefore, the heat dissipation loss is extremely small as compared with the case of heating in the house, and the cost burden of the heating and cooling costs can be greatly reduced.

  The present inventor has proposed a plant cultivation apparatus described in Patent Document 1 as an apparatus for cultivating a horticultural plant by local temperature management of such a shortened stem. The plant cultivation apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is arranged such that a heating wire is placed in contact with or substantially in contact with a shortened stem of a plant body, and the shortening stem is directly heated by this heating wire.

Moreover, the strawberry cultivation cooling apparatus of patent document 2 is devised as a cultivation apparatus which cools the strawberry stock | root part locally. In the strawberry cultivation cooling device of Patent Document 2, a cooling water pipe is laid along a row of strawberry strains on the culture ground surface of the cultivation bed filled with the culture medium, and further covered with a shielding sheet from above, and the strawberry strain stockholder By forming a cooling space, the shortened stem portion of the strawberry is locally cooled.
JP 2005-237371 A JP 2002-272262 A Kazuzumi Sone, Makoto Okimura, Emi Kitani (Agricultural Research Organization Kyuoki Agricultural Research (Kurume)), Satoshi Fushihara, "Effects of Local Cooling of Crown on Seasonal Growth, Flowering, and Fruit Quality of Seasonal Strawberries", The Horticultural Society magazine Vol.74, No.1, Page306 (2005.04.03) Kazuhiro Tanan, Yoichi Yamato, Kazuzumi Sone, Makoto Okimura, Masanori Matsuo (National Institute for Agricultural Sciences, Kyuoki Agricultural Research Institute), "Effects of local temperature control of strawberry crown on continuous fragility", vol. 74, No.2, Page170 (2005.10.01) Kazuzumi Sone, Kazuhiro Tan, Makoto Okimura, Emi Kitatani (National Institute for Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Kyuoki National Agricultural Research Center) , Horticultural studies Vol.6, separate volume 1, Page423 (2007.03.24) Kazuhiro Dan, Kazuzumi Sone, Makoto Okimura (National Institute for Agricultural Sciences), “Effects of local temperature control of crown on continuous strawberry yield”, Horticulture Research, Vol.6, Annex 1, Page428 (2007.03.24) Kazuzumi Sone, Makoto Okimura, Kazuhiro Tandan, Megumi Kitani (Agricultural Technology Research Organization, Kyushu Okinawa Agricultural Res. Center), "Improvement of continuous strawberry fertility and fruit enlargement by crown cooling", Kyushu Okinawa Agricultural Research Result information, No.22, Page275-276 (2007.08.24) H. de Kroon, EJWVisser, edited by Shigeki Morita and Ryosuke Tajima, “Ecology of Roots”, Springer Japan, February 2008, pp.39-42. Jinko Tsuji, Mitsuru Otsuki, Pepper, “Study on the comparison of cultivation methods for strawberries using break-even point analysis”, Bulletin of Faculty of Agriculture, Ehime University, 51, pp.1-8, 2006

  By combining the techniques of Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is possible to perform local heating / cooling management of the plant part of the horticultural plant, and it is possible to greatly reduce the cost burden of the heating and cooling costs. .

  By the way, the plant cultivation apparatus described in Patent Document 2 pays attention to the space near the plant stock of the cultivated plant and cools the space. In this case, the cold air in the cooling water pipe cools the space in the vicinity of the plant stock of the cultivated plant and simultaneously cools the medium in the cultivation bed. Therefore, if the heat capacity of the culture medium is large, extra cooling is required, and energy that is dissipated and consumed unnecessarily increases.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to reduce the heat capacity of the culture medium as much as possible by reducing the volume of the cultivation bed as much as possible. However, when the volume of the medium is reduced, the medium is easily dried, and the variation in the amount of water retained in the medium during non-irrigation increases. Thereby, the water stress which a cultivated plant strain receives increases, and the bad influence that the plant vigor of a cultivated plant falls becomes remarkable. That is, in order to increase the yield while maintaining a high plant cultivation, the cultivation bed needs to have a certain size, and it is difficult to reduce the loss of energy dissipated and consumed to some extent. there were.

  Therefore, the object of the present invention is to enable local temperature management of the plant part of the horticultural plant, to reduce energy loss due to heat dissipation in temperature management, and to reduce moisture stress given to the cultivated plant. It is to provide a plant cultivation apparatus that can be used.

  The first configuration of the plant cultivation apparatus according to the present invention is a bottom wall in which a plurality of roots through which roots of the cultivated plant can pass is formed, and a side wall that stands upward from an edge of the bottom wall. An upper opening, a soil culturing tank in which the soil is stored in an internal space surrounded by the side wall and the bottom wall, and a ground tank that is laid on the bottom surface of the internal space of the soil culturing tank and accommodated in the culture soil tank The cultivated soil is prevented from falling off from the root, and includes a permeable sheet through which roots of the cultivated plant planted in the cultivated soil can pass, and a bottom wall and a side wall formed of a heat insulating material. The irrigation water is stored in the lower part of the internal space surrounded by the bottom wall, and is formed of a heat insulating irrigation tank in which the culture tub is inserted into the upper part of the internal space, and a heat insulating material, and the upper opening of the culture tub is closed. Covers and allows the stem of the planted part of the cultivated plant to be planted in the culture tank to pass A closure member which Ueana such diameter is formed through the provided through the soil in the tank, the temperature control fluid, characterized by comprising and an a temperature adjustment pipe can flow.

  According to this configuration, the cultivated plant planted in the culture soil in the culture basin extends the roots in the culture soil as it grows, and extends from the root to the lower part of the culture basin through the transparent root sheet. It reaches the irrigation water stored in the lower part of the insulated irrigation tank through the air layer and spreads its roots in the irrigation water. Here, among the roots of cultivated plants, the roots stretched in the soil are mainly responsible for nutrient absorption, the roots in the air layer absorb oxygen, and the roots stretched in irrigation water are mainly responsible for moisture absorption. It is thought that the function is differentiated. In actual cultivation experiments, it was observed that the roots in the cultivated soil developed fine roots for nutrient absorption, whereas the roots in irrigation water were relatively sparse. . When the roots are functionally differentiated and developed in this way, the cultivated plant is always irrigated with the irrigation water in the lower part of the adiabatic irrigation tank, so that water stress applied to the cultivated plant is reduced. Therefore, even if the culture medium volume is reduced and the water retention capacity is decreased, the water stress exerted on the cultivated plant does not increase so much, so that the amount of the culture medium can be adjusted separately from the water retention capacity of the culture medium. Can be made. This means that it is possible to reduce the energy loss dissipated and consumed during the heating and cooling of the culture medium without reducing the plant vigor of the cultivated plant. And in the present invention, since only a small amount of medium in the culture tank and the stock space above it are locally controlled by the temperature control tube, the energy required for heating and cooling is reduced, and in temperature management Energy loss due to heat dissipation can be minimized.

  Moreover, since the culture tank is inserted in the upper part of a heat insulation irrigation tank, it is possible to carry and move only a culture tank separately from a heat insulation irrigation tank. Therefore, after raising seedlings in other places using a cultivating tank at the time of childhood, it is also possible to plant seedlings of grown cultivated plants together with the cultivating tank in an insulated irrigation tank for plant cultivation. The labor of the operator can be reduced.

  Here, as the “culture tank”, a plastic tray or the like in which a large number of roots are provided at the bottom can be used. Specifically, a thing like a nursery box in which a large number of holes are formed on the bottom surface can be used. The “permeable sheet” refers to a sheet through which the roots of the cultivated plant can permeate. For example, a walliff can be used. As the “temperature control fluid”, water (such as tap water or well water) is usually used, but a fluid other than water may be used. As the “temperature control tube”, it is possible to use a normal resin hose, a metal tube, a double tube in which two hoses are connected in parallel, and the like.

  According to a second configuration of the plant cultivation apparatus according to the present invention, in the first configuration, the heat-insulated irrigation tank has an irrigation water surface stored in a lower portion of the internal space, and an upper surface of the internal space. It is characterized in that a drain outlet for adjusting the water level is provided so that the height does not come into contact with the back surface of the inserted culture tank.

  This configuration prevents irrigation water stored in the lower part of the insulated irrigation tank from directly inundating the soil cultivation tank, so that the amount of soil retaining water is prevented from becoming excessively large, and growth failures of cultivated plants due to root rot Can be prevented. In this case, the moisture in the culture tank can be appropriately adjusted by watering, drip irrigation tube or the like.

  The 3rd structure of the plant cultivation apparatus which concerns on this invention is the irrigation which penetrates the inside of the said soil basin in the said 1st or 2 structure, and supplies irrigation to the culture soil accommodated in this culture tank A tube is provided.

  With this configuration, it is possible to adjust the moisture of the soil in the culture tank by the irrigation tube, so that it is possible to save labor compared to water supply such as watering, and it is possible to uniformly supply an appropriate amount of water to each cultivated plant. Become. In particular, when there is a small amount of soil, excessive water supply to the soil causes the nutrients in the soil to run away. Therefore, cultivation with a small amount of soil is facilitated by finely performing an appropriate amount of irrigation to the extent that no nutrients are lost using the watering pipe.

  Here, a drip irrigation tube can also be used as the “irrigation tube”. If drip irrigation tubes are used, it is easy to always give a constant amount of water to the soil and minimize the loss of nutrients.

  According to a fourth configuration of the plant cultivation apparatus according to the present invention, in any one of the first to third configurations, the temperature control tube is a double-unit that connects and integrates a forward tube and a backward tube. It is a tube.

  According to this configuration, the temperature adjusting fluid is fed from the outward tube on one end of the duplex tube, and the outbound tube and the return tube are connected on the other end of the duplex tube to prepare the return tube. The warm fluid is sent and discharged from the return tube on one end of the double tube. This simplifies the irrigation piping and facilitates assembly and maintenance of the plant cultivation apparatus. Moreover, the temperature of heating or cooling can be made substantially uniform throughout the double tube, and temperature management is also facilitated.

  A fifth configuration of the plant cultivation apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that in any one of the first to fourth configurations, a heating wire provided in parallel with the temperature control pipe is provided. .

  With this configuration, when the amount of heat required for heating is insufficient only by drinking a temperature-controlled tube, it is possible to heat by heating the heating wire. For example, when well water is used as a temperature control liquid, the heat amount of the medium heating may be insufficient with only well water in winter. In such a case, heat can be supplemented by heating with a heating wire. .

  The 6th structure of the plant cultivation apparatus which concerns on this invention is a water-permeable permeation | transmission which is arrange | positioned over the full length of the right-and-left both sides of the said soil layer in any one of said 1st thru | or 5, and consists of a water-permeable nonwoven fabric. And a fruit cooling sheet that is spread on the surface of the water permeable layer and has a water-impervious layer made of an impermeable flexible thin plate, the fruit cooling sheet having a central portion at the side wall of the irrigation tank It is sandwiched between the inner side and the outer side of the side wall of the culture layer, its lower end is submerged in irrigation water stored in the lower part of the irrigation tank, and its upper end extends outward from the upper edge of the side wall of the culture layer It is characterized by that.

  According to this configuration, in the water permeable layer on the back surface of the fruit cooling sheet, water is sucked up from the lower end submerged in the irrigation water by the capillary phenomenon, and the entire water permeable layer is moistened. And water evaporates from the wet water-permeable layer, and the fruit cooling sheet is cooled by the heat of vaporization. An impervious flexible thin plate is spread on the surface of the fruit cooling sheet, and the surface does not get wet with water. Therefore, natural cooling of the fruit can be performed by placing and growing the fruit of the cultivated plant on the surface of the fruit cooling sheet.

  For example, when strawberry is cultivated as a cultivated plant, the fruit pattern of the strawberry is extended on both sides of the culture tank so that the fruit is placed on the surface of the fruit cooling sheet. In general, the number of days from when a strawberry blooms until it is harvested depends on the temperature. When the temperature is high, the crop is harvested in a very short time, and the fruit quality (small size, strong acidity and low sugar content) decreases. In addition, the coloring proceeds too much, so that the so-called blackish finish is obtained and the commercial value is remarkably deteriorated. Thus, by cooling the fruit with the fruit cooling sheet, it is possible to prevent a decrease in fruit quality and a decrease in commercial value. In addition, the fruit temperature at the time of harvesting greatly affects the quality deterioration at the distribution stage, but since the fruit can be harvested at a low fruit temperature, quality degradation after harvesting can be suppressed. That is, since the fruit cooling sheet can control the temperature of the fruit in contact with the fruit cooling sheet, the fruit quality can be improved and the distribution loss can be reduced.

  In a seventh configuration of the plant cultivation apparatus according to the present invention, in the sixth configuration, the fruit cooling sheet is formed of a high-density ethylene non-woven fabric on the surface of the water-impervious layer, from 0.5 to A water vapor permeable nonwoven fabric, which is bonded and prepared by applying high heat to continuous microfibers of polyethylene having a diameter of 10 microns, is spread.

  According to this configuration, the fruit that is placed on the fruit cooling sheet and cooled is directly in contact with the high-density ethylene-based nonwoven fabric on the surface of the fruit cooling sheet. Since this high-density ethylene-based non-woven fabric permeates water vapor, it effectively diffuses water vapor evaporating from the fruit contact surface into the atmosphere, thereby enhancing the fruit cooling effect.

  Here, “a water vapor permeable non-woven fabric in which a high-density ethylene non-woven fabric is bonded and prepared by applying high heat to a continuous ultrafine fiber of polyethylene having a diameter of 0.5 to 10 microns” includes, for example, Tyvex (Registered trademark) can be used.

  The 1st structure of the sheet | seat for fruit cooling which concerns on this invention is a sheet | seat for fruit cooling used for the plant cultivation apparatus of the said 6th structure, Comprising: The water-permeable layer which consists of a water-permeable nonwoven fabric, and the said water-permeable layer And a water shielding layer made of an impermeable flexible thin plate that is spread on the surface.

  The second configuration of the fruit cooling sheet according to the present invention is the fruit cooling sheet used in the plant cultivation device of the seventh configuration, wherein the first configuration of the fruit cooling sheet according to the present invention is A water-permeable layer made of a water-permeable non-woven fabric, a water-permeable layer made of a water-impermeable flexible thin plate spread on the surface of the water-permeable layer, and a high-density ethylene spread on the surface of the water-permeable layer A water-permeable nonwoven fabric prepared by applying high heat to continuous ultrafine fibers of polyethylene having a diameter of 0.5 to 10 microns is prepared.

  As described above, according to the plant cultivation apparatus according to the present invention, the irrigation water is stored in the lower part of the culture tank, the roots of the cultivated plants are extended from the culture tank to the lower irrigation water, and the culture tank is locally used. By adopting a structure that adjusts the temperature to a low level, the moisture stress of the cultivated plant can be reduced even with a small amount of soil. Therefore, since the temperature near the shortened stem of the cultivated plant can be locally controlled by adjusting the temperature of a small amount of soil, energy loss due to heat dissipation in temperature management is small, and the temperature of the cultivated plant can be controlled with low energy costs. Become.

  Moreover, since the culture tank is only inserted in the upper part of the heat insulation irrigation tank, only the culture tank can be removed and moved. Therefore, the culture tank can be easily moved. Moreover, the collection | recovery operation | work of the cultivation soil after cultivation becomes easy.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a plant cultivation apparatus 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. The plant cultivation apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has a cultivation tank 3 provided on a stand 2 installed on the ground G so as to be separated from the ground G.

  In FIG. 2, the principal part sectional drawing of the cultivation tank 3 is shown. The cultivation tank 3 includes a heat-insulating irrigation tank 4, a culture tank 5, a permeable sheet 6, a lid member 7, a temperature adjustment pipe 8, an irrigation tube 9, a heating wire 10, fruit cooling sheets 11 and 11, and a drain pipe 12. ing.

  The heat insulating irrigation tank 4 is formed in a vertically long groove box shape having a bottom wall 4a and a side wall 4b formed of a heat insulating material, and an upper surface thereof is open. Irrigation water W is stored in the lower part of the internal space surrounded by the bottom wall 4a and the side wall 4b. Further, a drain pipe 12 for adjusting the water level of the irrigation water is provided at one place on the bottom wall 4a of the heat insulating irrigation tank 4. The drain pipe 12 can be moved up and down so that the height of the drain outlet at the top thereof can be adjusted.

  In the upper part of the internal space of the heat-insulating irrigation tank 4, a culture tank 5 is fitted. The culture tank 5 is formed in a vertically long flat box shape having a bottom wall 5a and a side wall 5b erected upward from the edge of the bottom wall 5a, and the upper side is open. The inside of the culture tank 5 is filled with culture soil S for planting cultivated plants. A number of roots 5 d are provided in the bottom wall 5 a of the culturing tank 5. Thereby, the flange 5c is formed in the upper edge part of the side wall 5b toward the outer side. By suspending the flange 5 c on the upper end of the side wall 4 b of the heat insulating irrigation tank 4, the soil culturing tank 5 is fixed to the upper part of the inner space of the heat insulating irrigation tank 4.

  Here, as the heat insulating irrigation tank 4, a commercially available seedling raising tray can be used. An example is shown in FIG.

  The height of the drain outlet at the top of the drain pipe 12 is adjusted so that the surface of the irrigation water W in the heat insulating irrigation tank 4 does not come into contact with the back surface of the soil culturing tank 5.

  A permeable sheet 6 is laid on the upper surface of the bottom wall 5 a of the culture tank 5. The permeable sheet 6 prevents the cultivating soil S accommodated in the cultivating soil tank 5 from falling off from the root opening 5d. At the same time, the permeable sheet 6 can pass when the roots of the cultivated plants planted in the soil S are elongated. As the permeable sheet 6, for example, a polyethylene wallet can be used. Warif is a continuous supply of vertical webs (stretched fine webs stretched and strengthened in the longitudinal direction) and horizontal webs (split webs stretched and strengthened in the horizontal direction), and heat-sealed while widening and laminating. This refers to the resulting nonwoven fabric of polyolefin resin. A large number of holes having a diameter of about 0.3 to 2.0 mm are formed on the surface of the walliff, and the root crown of the root of the plant can penetrate the holes. Warif is excellent in breathability, water permeability and weather resistance, and has high strength.

  The upper opening of the culture tank 5 is closed by a closing member 7. The closing member 7 is formed of a heat insulating material such as polystyrene foam. In addition, as the closing cover member 7, it is also possible to use a sheet-like member having heat insulation properties. The closing lid member 7 is provided with a plurality of through holes 7a having a diameter through which stems of the planted portion of the cultivated plant planted in the culturing tank 5 can pass at predetermined intervals.

  Further, a temperature control pipe 8 that allows the temperature control water to flow through the inside of the culture tank 5 and an irrigation tube 9 that supplies irrigation to the culture soil S are laid. The temperature control tube 8 and the irrigation tube 9 may be laid on the surface of the culture soil S, or may be laid so as to be embedded in the culture soil S. In FIGS. 1 and 2, an example in which the temperature control pipe 8 is embedded in the soil S and laid is shown.

  In this embodiment, as the temperature control tube 8, a double tube in which the forward tube 8a and the backward tube 8b are connected and integrated is used. FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the double tube. At the one end side of the double tube, temperature-controlled water is supplied to the forward tube 8a and the temperature-controlled water is drained from the return tube 8b. As shown in FIG. 4 (b), the other end of the double tube is connected to the terminal 8c and is terminated so that the temperature-controlled water circulates from the forward tube 8a to the backward tube 8b. If such a double tube is used, the heating or cooling temperature can be made substantially constant over the entire length of the temperature control tube 8, and the laying operation of the temperature control tube 8 is facilitated.

  As the irrigation tube 9, a drip irrigation tube is used in this embodiment.

In addition, an internal space 8d is formed between the forward tube 8a and the return tube 8b of the double tube, and the heating wire 10 is passed through the internal space 8d.
When the inside of the culture tank 5 is heated, if only the amount of heat supplied from the temperature-controlled water flowing through the temperature-control pipe 8 is insufficient, the heating wire 10 can be energized to supplement the heat.

  On both the left and right sides of the upper edge of the culture tank 5, fruit cooling sheets 11 are arranged over the entire length. As shown in FIG. 5, the fruit cooling sheet 11 has a three-layer structure including a water-permeable layer 11a, a water-impervious layer 11b, and an air-permeable layer 11c. The water permeable layer 11a is made of a water permeable nonwoven fabric. The water-impervious layer 11b spread on the surface of the water-permeable layer 11a is made of a water-impermeable flexible thin plate such as a plastic film. The air-permeable layer 11c spread on the surface of the water-impervious layer 11b was prepared by bonding a high-density ethylene nonwoven fabric by applying high heat to continuous ultrafine fibers of polyethylene having a diameter of 0.5 to 10 microns. It is composed of a water vapor permeable nonwoven fabric. As a material of the air permeable layer 11c, Tyvex (registered trademark) can be used.

  The fruit cooling sheet 11 is fixed in a state where the central portion is sandwiched between the inside of the side wall 4 b of the heat insulating irrigation tank 4 and the outside of the side wall 5 b of the soil culturing tank 5. The lower end of the fruit cooling sheet 11 is submerged in the irrigation water W stored in the lower part of the heat insulating irrigation tank 4. Moreover, let the upper end of the sheet | seat 11 for fruit cooling be the state extended about 10-20 cm toward the outer side from the upper edge of the side wall 5b of the culture tank 5. FIG.

  About the plant cultivation apparatus 1 which concerns on the present Example comprised as mentioned above, the cultivation method by it is demonstrated below. Hereinafter, a strawberry will be described as an example of a cultivated plant.

  When cultivating strawberries so that fruit harvesting can be started from early October to early November, strawberry seedlings harvested from mid-May to late June are generally grown in pots for about 2 months. Thereafter, these seedlings are subjected to flower bud differentiation promotion treatment under low temperature short day conditions from mid-July to early August. Thereby, the flower bud differentiation of the top flower cluster occurs. Then, from the beginning of August to the beginning of September, it is planted on the farm field or the elevated cultivation shelf in the house, and house cultivation is performed. As a result, the top flower bunches bloom and bear fruit, and fruit can be harvested from early October to early November.

  However, since the temperature is high from the beginning of August to the beginning of September when the plants are planted on a farm or an elevated cultivation shelf, the flower bud differentiation after the second inflorescence does not occur while the temperature after planting is high. Therefore, after harvesting of the first fruit from the beginning of October to the beginning of November, there occurs a period in which it cannot be harvested for more than one month before the next fruit is harvested. On the other hand, from the end of November to February, the temperature in the house is lowered, and the strawberry strain is reduced.

  Therefore, in the house cultivation period after planting, the temperature management of the shortened stem portion (hereinafter referred to as “crown”) of the strawberry strain is performed by the plant cultivation apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the strawberry strains P1 and P2 are cultivated by the plant cultivation apparatus 1. Strawberry strains P1 and P2 are planted in the culture soil S filled in the culture tank 5. At this time, the culture tank 5 is filled with the soil so that the shortened stem portions (crowns C 1 and C 2) of the strawberry strains P 1 and P 2 fit in the culture tank 5. The portions above the crowns C1 and C2 of the strawberry strains P1 and P2 are exposed to the outside air through the hole 7a of the lid member 7.

  The temperature of the internal space surrounded by the bottom wall 5 a and the side wall 5 b of the culture tank 5 and the closing member 7 is adjusted by the temperature control tube 8 or the heating wire 10. Therefore, the strawberry strains P1 and P2 are locally temperature-controlled at the crown C1 and C2 portions and the root portion in the soil S.

  Since the nutrient solution is drip-irrigated by the irrigation tube 9, the culture soil S is always kept at an appropriate amount of water.

  The root systems R1 and R2 of the strawberry strains P1 and P2 are well developed in the soil S having a large amount of fertilizer, and a large number of fine side roots are generated. On the other hand, the root systems R1 and R2 pass through the permeable sheet 6 and the root opening 5d, extend in the lower air layer downward, and are stored in the irrigation water W stored in the lower part of the heat insulating irrigation tank 4. Root systems R1 and R2 develop in the irrigation water W.

  Thus, in a system with non-uniform nutrient concentrations, root growth is promoted in the soil S rich in nutrients than in the irrigated water W (see Non-Patent Document 6). The amount of soil is overwhelmingly larger in the soil S than in the irrigated water W. Therefore, the root systems R1 and R2 developed in the soil S mainly play a role of absorbing the fertilizer content in the soil S. On the other hand, the root systems R1 and R2 developed in the irrigation water W mainly play a role of absorbing necessary water.

  When the strawberry strains P1 and P2 grow and a large number of leaves develop, the amount of transpiration from the leaves increases, and the strawberry strains P1 and P2 require a large amount of water. In the plant cultivation apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, this necessary moisture is supplied in abundance by the irrigation water W in the lower part of the heat insulating irrigation tank 4. Therefore, moisture stress applied to the strawberry strains P1 and P2 is reduced.

  Moreover, since water is supplied to the strawberry strains P1 and P2 by the irrigation water W, the amount of water retained in the soil S may be small. Therefore, the volume of the soil S can be reduced. That is, the internal volume of the culture tank 5 can be reduced. The smaller the internal volume of the soil S, the smaller the energy loss due to heat dissipation, and the energy required for heating or cooling by the temperature control tube 8 or the heating wire 10 can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to perform temperature management necessary for cultivation with a small energy consumption as a whole.

  As described above, the plant cultivation apparatus 1 of the present embodiment reduces the water stress of the strawberry strain, and enables temperature management of the crown portion with less energy consumption. By controlling the temperature in a low moisture stress environment, the crown can be cooled by the temperature control tube 8 in the high temperature period from early August to early September, and the flower bud differentiation rate can be improved. The yield of fruits can be increased by eliminating the low harvest period from the harvesting of (fruits derived from the top flower cluster) to the harvesting of the next fruit.

  In addition, in the low temperature period from late November to February, the crown portion is heated by the heat of the temperature control tube 8 or the heating wire 10 to maintain the strawberry strain and increase the fruit yield. it can.

  On the other hand, after the flower bud differentiation of the strawberry strains P1 and P2, the floral pattern (fruit pattern) is elongated and flowered and fruited at the tip. When the fruit is enlarged after pollination of the flowers of the strawberry strains P1 and P2, the fruit pattern hangs down and is placed on the surface of the fruit cooling sheet 11. The fruit that has come into contact with the fruit cooling sheet 11 is cooled by the heat of vaporization of water evaporating from the water-permeable layer 11 a on the back surface of the fruit cooling sheet 11. Since the moisture on the back surface of the fruit cooling sheet 11 does not penetrate through the water-impervious layer 11b, the fruit is not directly wetted by water, and corrosion due to water wetting is prevented.

  Here, it is generally known that the number of days from strawberry flowering to fruit harvesting depends on temperature. Accordingly, harvesting takes place in a very short time at high temperatures, and fruit quality decreases such as small balls, increased sourness, and decreased sugar content. Further, when the temperature is high, the coloring of the fruit proceeds too much to become dark red, and the commercial value of the fruit is significantly reduced. Furthermore, when the fruit temperature is high at the time of fruit harvest, the freshness reduction of the fruit at the distribution stage is also promoted.

  Therefore, by cooling the fruit throughout the cultivation period by the fruit cooling sheet 11 as described above, it is possible to produce a fruit of good quality by delaying the maturation period of the fruit.

FIG. 7: is principal part sectional drawing of the plant cultivation apparatus 1 which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. In FIG. 7, the same parts as those in FIG. In the present embodiment, the bent portion 11 d of the fruit cooling sheet 11 outside the irrigation tank 4 is wound downward toward the irrigation tank 4. The bent portion 11d is installed such that its lowest point 11e is located below the surface of the irrigation water W in the irrigation tank 4, and its tip 11f is located above the surface of the irrigation water W. The fruit cooling sheet 11 is the same as that shown in FIG. 5 and is installed so that the water-permeable layer 11a faces downward (inner side).
Further, in this embodiment, a heat insulating sheet having an aluminum reflective agent spread on the surface is used as the closing member 7.
Due to the capillary phenomenon, the irrigation water W stored in the lower part of the heat-insulating irrigation tank 4 is sucked into the permeable layer 11a and is wetted with the irrigation water up to the permeable layer 11a of the bent portion 11d. Here, excess water is stored in the water permeable layer 11a of the bending portion 11d located lower than the surface of the irrigation water W. Accordingly, the water stored in the bent portion 11d also functions as cooling water for cooling the fruit, so that the fruit temperature can be lowered efficiently.

It is a whole perspective view of the plant cultivation apparatus 1 which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is principal part sectional drawing of the cultivation tank 3 of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the cultivation tank 3. FIG. It is a perspective view of a double tube. It is a figure showing the structure of the sheet | seat 11 for fruit cooling. It is a figure showing the state which is cultivating the strawberry strain by the plant cultivation apparatus. It is principal part sectional drawing of the plant cultivation apparatus which concerns on Example 2 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Plant cultivation apparatus 2 Base 3 Cultivation tank 4 Heat insulation irrigation tank 4a Bottom wall 4b Side wall 5 Soil tank 5a Bottom wall 5b Side wall 5c Flange 5d Root opening 6 Permeable sheet 7 Closing member 7a Tufting hole 8 Temperature control pipe 8a For forward path Tube 8b Return tube 8c Terminal 8d Internal space 9 Irrigation tube 10 Heating wire 11 Fruit cooling sheet 11a Water permeable layer 11b Water permeable layer 11c Air permeable layer 11d Bending portion 11e Bottom point 11f Tip 12 Drain pipe G Ground W Irrigation water S Culture soil P1, P2 Strawberry strain R1, R2 Root system C1, C2 Crown B1, B2 Fruit pattern F1, F2 Fruit

Claims (8)

A bottom wall having a plurality of roots through which roots of the cultivated plant can be rooted, a side wall standing upward from an edge of the bottom wall, the upper side being open, and the side wall and the bottom A culture tank that stores the soil in an internal space surrounded by walls,
It is laid on the bottom surface of the internal space of the soil basin and prevents the soil contained in the soil basin from falling off the root opening, and allows the roots of the cultivated plants planted in the soil to pass through. Guts sheet,
A heat insulating irrigation tank having a bottom wall and a side wall formed of a heat insulating material, storing irrigation water in a lower portion of the internal space surrounded by the side wall and the bottom wall, and in which the culture tub is fitted in the upper portion of the internal space; ,
A lid that is formed of a heat insulating material, closes the upper opening of the soil culturing tank, and has a hole that has a diameter through which a stem of a planted portion of a cultivated plant planted in the soil basin can pass. Members,
A temperature control pipe provided through the inside of the culture tank and capable of circulating a temperature control fluid;
Fruit cooling provided with a water-permeable layer made of a water-permeable non-woven fabric and a water-permeable layer made of a water-impermeable flexible thin plate and disposed on the surface of the water-permeable layer. includes a use sheet, the,
The fruit cooling sheet has a central portion sandwiched between an inner side wall of the irrigation tank and an outer side wall of the soil layer, and a lower end thereof is submerged in irrigation water stored in the lower part of the irrigation tank, and an upper end thereof. Extends from the upper edge of the side wall of the cultivation soil layer toward the outside .   The insulated irrigation tank is provided with a drain outlet for adjusting the water level so that the surface of the irrigation water stored in the lower part of the internal space is not in contact with the rear surface of the soil tub inserted in the upper part of the internal space. The plant cultivation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein   The plant cultivation apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising an irrigation tube that is provided so as to penetrate through the cultivation tank and that supplies irrigation to the cultivation soil accommodated in the cultivation tank.   The plant cultivation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the temperature control pipe is a double tube in which an outward tube and a return tube are connected and integrated. The plant cultivation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a heating wire provided in parallel with the temperature control pipe.
The fruit cooling sheet is prepared by bonding a high density ethylene non-woven fabric to the surface of the water-impervious layer and bonding and preparing a continuous ultrafine fiber of polyethylene having a diameter of 0.5 to 10 microns by applying high heat. A plant cultivation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a non-woven fabric is spread. A fruit cooling sheet used in the plant cultivation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
A water permeable layer made of a permeable, water permeable nonwoven fabric,
A fruit cooling sheet, comprising: a water shielding layer formed on a surface of the water permeable layer and made of an impermeable flexible thin plate. A fruit cooling sheet used in the plant cultivation apparatus of claim 6 ,
A water permeable layer made of a permeable, water permeable nonwoven fabric,
A water shielding layer that is spread on the surface of the water permeable layer and is made of an impermeable flexible thin plate; and
A water vapor permeable nonwoven fabric spread on the surface of the water shielding layer, and a high density ethylene nonwoven fabric is bonded to the continuous ultrafine fiber of polyethylene having a diameter of 0.5 to 10 microns by applying high heat. , A fruit cooling sheet.

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