JP6434855B2 - Plant growth state diagnosis apparatus and growth state diagnosis method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for diagnosing the growth state of a plant, in particular, an underground part of the plant.

  In general, as a raw material for herbal medicine, for example, plant roots such as ginseng, tochibanjin (fushininjin), or auren are used. In order to harvest the roots of these plants, a long cultivation period of, for example, 4 or 5 years is required, and it is important to determine an appropriate harvesting time. In order to judge the proper harvest time, it is necessary to diagnose the growth state of the roots existing in the soil.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a method for performing an appropriate diagnosis of a cultivation environment or the like for a plant by measuring the growth state of the plant. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a technique for monitoring a root pressure of a plant to be diagnosed for a certain period and performing a proper diagnosis of a cultivation environment or the like based on the monitored root pressure data.

Japanese Patent No. 4876257

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to connect a measuring device for measuring the root pressure of a plant to be diagnosed to a location where a part of the plant is excised. For this reason, there is a problem that the plant to be diagnosed becomes damaged and loses its commercial value.

  Moreover, since the soil which is a cultivation medium blocks visible light, it is difficult to diagnose the growth state of the root which is an underground part existing in the soil. If a root is once taken out from the soil and the growth state of the root is diagnosed, the removal may cause damage to the root and eventually the root may die. Thus, it is difficult to diagnose the growth state of the underground part without damaging the underground part without removing the underground part from the soil.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a growth state diagnosis apparatus and a growth state diagnosis method capable of diagnosing the growth state of an underground part of a plant without damaging the underground part without removing the underground part from the culture medium. The purpose is to do.

  A growth state diagnosis apparatus according to the present invention is a growth state diagnosis apparatus for diagnosing the growth state of an underground part in a cultivation medium of a plant, and transmits a microwave transmitted from a transmission unit and a microwave transmitted from the transmission unit. The signal intensity of the microwave transmitted from the transmission means and received by the reception means in a state in which the culture medium in which the underground portion exists is arranged between the reception means for receiving and the transmission means and the reception means is set as the target signal intensity. A signal that is acquired and acquired as a reference signal strength, the signal intensity of the microwave that is transmitted from the transmission unit and received by the reception unit in a state in which a culture medium without an underground portion is arranged between the transmission unit and the reception unit Intensity acquisition means, and calculation means for calculating the difference between the target signal intensity and the reference signal intensity and acquiring the extent of the underground area based on the difference.

  The growth state diagnosing method according to the present invention is a growth state diagnosing method for diagnosing the growth state of an underground part in a cultivation medium of a plant, and is transmitted in a transmission step and a transmission step of transmitting a microwave by a transmission means. A reception step of receiving microwaves by the reception means, and a microwave signal transmitted from the transmission means and received by the reception means in a state in which a culture medium in which an underground portion exists is disposed between the transmission means and the reception means The target signal intensity acquisition step for acquiring the intensity as the target signal intensity, and the micro that is transmitted from the transmission unit and received by the reception unit in a state in which the culture medium without the underground portion is disposed between the transmission unit and the reception unit The reference signal strength acquisition step for acquiring the signal strength of the wave as the reference signal strength, and the target signal acquired in the target signal strength acquisition step. Including a strength, calculates a difference between the obtained reference signal strength at the reference signal intensity acquisition step, a calculation step of acquiring a spread area of the underground part based on the difference, the.

  In the growth state diagnosis apparatus and the growth state diagnosis method according to the present invention, the target signal strength and the reference signal strength are acquired as the signal strength of the microwave transmitted from the transmission unit and received by the reception unit. The target signal intensity is a signal intensity in a state where a culture medium in which an underground portion exists is disposed between the transmission unit and the reception unit. The reference signal intensity is a signal intensity in a state where a culture medium without an underground portion is disposed between the transmission unit and the reception unit. The dielectric constant differs between the region where the underground part exists in the culture medium and the region where the underground part and the underground part do not exist due to the influence of moisture contained in the underground part. Therefore, a difference occurs between the target signal strength and the reference signal strength based on the difference in the dielectric constant. Therefore, the difference between the target signal intensity and the reference signal intensity has a correlation with the underground region occupied in the cultivation medium. In the growth state diagnostic device and the growth state diagnostic method according to the present invention, in order to obtain the extent of the underground area based on the difference between the target signal intensity and the reference signal intensity, depending on the degree of the extent of the obtained underground area, The growth state of the underground part can be diagnosed without removing the underground part from the culture medium. From the above, the growth state of the underground part of the plant can be diagnosed without taking out the underground part from the culture medium and damaging the underground part.

  You may provide the change means which changes the polarization plane of the microwave transmitted from a transmission means and received by a reception means. The polarization plane of the microwave transmitted from the transmission unit and received by the reception unit may be variable. In this case, since the polarization plane of the microwave transmitted from the transmission means and received by the reception means can be changed and rotated, the spread of the underground area can be scanned, and the spread of the underground area can be scanned. Can be visualized three-dimensionally.

  The soil condition of the cultivation medium without the underground part and the soil condition of the cultivation medium with the underground part may be equivalent. In this case, since the soil conditions of the culture medium used are the same when acquiring the target signal intensity and when acquiring the reference signal intensity, the target signal intensity is not affected by the difference in the soil conditions of the culture medium. And the reference signal strength can be calculated. Therefore, it is possible to acquire the spread of the underground area based on the difference more accurately.

  The cultivation medium may be formed by raised soil. In this case, the transmitting means and the receiving means can be arranged close to each other so as to sandwich the raised soil. Thereby, the spreading | diffusion of the microwave transmitted from a transmission means and received by a receiving means can be suppressed, As a result, the measurement error of the signal strength of a microwave can be suppressed.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the growth state diagnostic apparatus and growth state diagnostic method which can diagnose the growth state of the underground part of a plant, without taking out a underground part from a culture medium, and without damaging a underground part are provided. can do.

It is a schematic structure figure of the growth state diagnostic device concerning a 1st embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the plant growth box shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing along the II-II line of the plant growth box shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows arrangement | positioning of the transmitting antenna and receiving antenna in the case of acquiring the signal strength in a reference | standard area | region. It is a top view which shows arrangement | positioning of the transmitting antenna and receiving antenna in the case of acquiring the signal strength in a target area | region. It is a graph which shows the frequency characteristic of difference signal strength. It is a graph which shows the integration result in the predetermined frequency range of the difference signal strength shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the growth state diagnostic method in the growth state diagnostic apparatus shown in FIG. It is the schematic top view and schematic side view which show the transmitting antenna and receiving antenna in the growth condition diagnostic apparatus which concern on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the movement pattern of the transmitting antenna and receiving antenna by the drive mechanism shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description, the same reference numerals are used for the same elements or elements having the same function, and redundant description is omitted.

(First embodiment)
The growth state diagnosis apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention is an apparatus for diagnosing the growth state of plant roots in a culture medium such as soil and evaluating the degree of root growth. The growth state diagnosing device of this embodiment is used for diagnosing the growth state of roots such as ginseng, tochibaninjin (fushininjin), or auren, which are raw materials for crude drugs. First, with reference to FIGS. 1-5, the growth condition diagnostic apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a growth state diagnosis apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the plant growth box shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of the plant growth box shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a top view showing the arrangement of the transmitting antenna and the receiving antenna when acquiring the signal strength in the reference region. FIG. 5 is a top view showing the arrangement of transmission antennas and reception antennas when acquiring signal strength in the target region.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the growth state diagnosis apparatus 1 includes a transmission antenna 22, a reception antenna 24, a plant growth box 50, a network analyzer 10, and a calculation unit 11.

  The transmission antenna 22 is a transmission unit that transmits the microwave 20. The reception antenna 24 is a reception unit that receives the microwave 20 from the transmission antenna 22. The microwave 20 transmitted from the transmitting antenna 22 and received by the receiving antenna 24 is a radio wave that vibrates in a specific direction and has a plane of polarization. The plane of polarization is the electric field of radio waves. When the plane of polarization is horizontal, the radio waves are horizontally polarized waves that propagate with the electric field component being amplified in the horizontal direction. When the plane of polarization is perpendicular to the ground, the radio waves are vertically polarized waves that propagate with the electric field component being amplified in the direction perpendicular to the ground. The polarization plane of the microwave 20 is changed depending on the directions of the transmission antenna 22 and the reception antenna 24. In this embodiment, the directions of the transmitting antenna 22 and the receiving antenna 24 are fixed in a predetermined direction, and the polarization plane of the microwave 20 is also fixed thereby.

  The plant growth box 50 is disposed between the transmission antenna 22 and the reception antenna 24. More specifically, the plant growth box 50 is arranged at a position where the axis 5 is blocked when a line segment connecting the transmitting antenna 22 and the receiving antenna 24 with the shortest distance is defined as the axis 5. In the plant growth box 50, soil 40 is accommodated. The soil 40 is raised with respect to the ground by being housed in the plant growth box 50, and forms a cultivation medium for the plant root 30. The plant root 30 is, for example, a root of ginseng, tochibannin, or auren, which is used as a raw material for herbal medicines. Panax ginseng and Tochibaninjin are plants belonging to the genus Tochibaninjin, and Aureen is a plant belonging to the genus Aurelia.

  The transmitting antenna 22 and the receiving antenna 24 face each other with the plant growth box 50 interposed therebetween. A distance 60 between the transmitting antenna 22 and the root 30 in the soil 40 and a distance 70 between the receiving antenna 24 and the root 30 in the soil 40 are set as appropriate. For example, the distance 60 may be one wavelength or more of the lower limit value of the frequency range measured by the network analyzer 10. When the distance 60 is equal to or more than one wavelength of the lower limit value of the measurement frequency range, there is no substance having a different dielectric constant in a region less than the one wavelength. Can be suppressed. Similarly, the distance 70 may be one wavelength or more of the lower limit value of the measurement frequency range. When the distance 70 is one wavelength or more of the lower limit value of the measurement frequency, there is no substance having a different dielectric constant in a region less than the one wavelength, so that the radio wave quality can be prevented from deteriorating. For example, when the lower limit value of the measurement frequency range is 1.0 GHz, since one wavelength is 30 cm, the distance 60 and the distance 70 may be 45 cm, which is 1.5 times the one wavelength 30 cm.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the plant growth box 50 is made of, for example, a resin and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape with an upper surface side opened. The plant growth box 50 has side surfaces 50a and 50b facing each other in the direction indicated by line II-II, and a direction orthogonal to the direction indicated by line II-II (that is, the extending direction of the shaft 5 shown in FIG. 1). Opposite side surfaces 50c and 50d and a bottom surface 50e connecting the side surfaces 50a, 50b, 50c and 50d are provided. The distance between the plant growth box 50 and the transmission antenna 22 and the reception antenna 24 may be as close as possible. For example, the transmission antenna 22 is disposed so as to be in contact with the side surface 50c of the plant growth box 50, and the reception antenna 24 is arranged in the plant growth box. It may be arranged so as to be in contact with 50 side surfaces 50d. When arranged in this way, the microwave 20 transmitted from the transmitting antenna 22 is directly irradiated to the plant growth box 50 without being diffused under the influence of air or the like.

  The inside of the plant growth box 50 is filled with soil 40. A root 30 that is an underground part is located in the soil 40, and a ground part 35 such as a stem or leaf of a plant connected to the root 30 is exposed from the soil 40. In the plant growth box 50, the root 30 of the plant is located at a position shifted from the center line A-B located at the center between the side surface 50a and the side surface 50b (see FIG. 3). The distance 80 between the center line AB and the plant root 30 is set as appropriate. For example, the distance 80 is half of the distance between the center line AB and the side surface 50a. In the soil 40 in the plant growth box 50, a target area 40A (hereinafter also simply referred to as “target area 40A”) in which the roots 30 located on the side surface 50a side with respect to the center line AB are embedded, and the center line A There is a reference region 40B (hereinafter also simply referred to as “reference region 40B”) in which the root 30 located on the side surface 50b side from −B is not filled. The target area 40A is an area where the plant root 30 exists, and the reference area 40B is an area where the plant root 30 does not exist. The target area 40 </ b> A and the reference area 40 </ b> B are areas of the soil 40 in the same plant growth box 50. That is, the soil condition of the target area 40A and the soil condition of the reference area 40B are substantially equivalent.

  The soil condition is a condition indicating the state of the soil including soil moisture or soil components. The equivalent soil condition may be equivalent in a range including a slight difference in a preset range in addition to the equal soil condition. For example, when the difference in soil moisture is included within a range of ± 10% and the soil components are the same components within a range of ± 15%, the soil conditions are assumed to be equivalent.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when acquiring the signal strength in the reference region 40B, the transmitting antenna 22 and the receiving antenna 24 are arranged so as to sandwich the reference region 40B in the opposing direction of the side surface 50c and the side surface 50d. The microwave 20 is transmitted / received. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, when acquiring the signal strength in the target area, the transmitting antenna 22 and the receiving antenna 24 are arranged so as to sandwich the target area 40A in the opposing direction of the side surface 50c and the side surface 50d. Then, the microwave 20 is transmitted and received. For example, when the microwave 20 is irradiated between the transmission antenna 22 and the reception antenna 24, the reference region 40B is large enough that the microwave 20 does not hit the root 30 in the target region 40A and hits only the soil 40. Have

  Note that the plant growth box 50, the transmission antenna 22, and the reception antenna 24 are arranged such that, for example, the transmission antenna 22 and the reception antenna 24 are moved in the direction indicated by the II-II line with respect to the fixed plant growth box 50. It may be changed by. In addition, the arrangement position may be changed by moving the plant growth box 50 in the direction indicated by the line II-II with respect to the fixed transmission antenna 22 and reception antenna 24, for example. The movement of the arrangement positions of the plant growth box 50, the transmission antenna 22, and the reception antenna may be performed, for example, by a drive mechanism or the like, or may be manually performed by a user.

  The length of the plant growth box 50 in the facing direction of the side surface 50c and the side surface 50d (that is, the extending direction of the shaft 5 shown in FIG. 1) is, for example, substantially constant. For this reason, the frequency when the microwave 20 from the transmission antenna 22 transmits or reflects the soil 40 depends on the arrangement position of the transmission antenna 22 and the reception antenna 24 with respect to the plant growth box 50 in the direction indicated by the line II-II. It becomes almost constant.

  The network analyzer 10 (see FIG. 1) is connected to the transmission antenna 22 by the wiring 15 and is connected to the reception antenna 24 by the wiring 17. The network analyzer 10 is a signal strength acquisition unit that acquires the signal strength of the microwave 20 received by the reception antenna 24.

  Specifically, the network analyzer 10 is disposed so as to sandwich the target region 40A when the microwave 20 is transmitted and received in a state disposed so as to sandwich the reference region 40B (see FIG. 4). Then, the signal strength of the microwave 20 received by the receiving antenna 24 is measured for each of the cases where the microwave 20 is transmitted and received (see FIG. 5). The network analyzer 10 acquires the measurement result in the arrangement of FIG. 4 as the reference signal intensity, and acquires the measurement result in the arrangement of FIG. 5 as the target signal intensity. The network analyzer 10 is connected to the calculation unit 11 by a wiring 16 and outputs the acquired target signal strength and reference signal strength to the calculation unit 11.

  The target region 40A in which the root 30 exists and the reference region 40B in which the root 30 does not exist have different dielectric constants due to the influence of moisture contained in the root 30 and the like. For this reason, a difference occurs between the target signal strength and the reference signal strength based on the difference from the dielectric constant. Therefore, the difference between the target signal strength and the reference signal strength has a correlation with the spread of the region of the root 30 existing in the soil 40 that causes the difference in dielectric constant between the target region 40A and the reference region 40B. .

  The calculation unit 11 acquires the target signal strength and the reference signal strength output from the network analyzer 10. The calculation unit 11 is a calculation unit that calculates the difference between the acquired target signal intensity and the reference signal intensity, and acquires the spread of the region of the root 30 existing in the soil 40 based on the difference. In addition, the calculating part 11 may be implement | achieved as an electric circuit, and may be implement | achieved as software inside the computer which has a central processing unit or memory.

  The spread of the region of the root 30 is a degree or an index indicating how much space is occupied in the soil 40. In the present embodiment, the spread of the region of the root 30 is a size including the length and thickness of the root 30 (hereinafter also simply referred to as “size”). The area of the root 30 indicates the length of the root 30 in the vertical direction of the root 30 and the thickness of the root 30 in the radial direction of the root 30. The expansion of the region of the root 30 is, for example, the volume of the main root itself. In addition, when the volume of the side root branched and extended from the root 30 is large, not only the main root itself but also a region including the side root may be used as the expansion of the region of the root 30.

  Here, in order to describe a method for acquiring the size of the root 30 by the calculation unit 11, first, referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the correlation between the difference between the target signal strength and the reference signal strength and the size of the root 30. Will be described. FIG. 6 shows an example of the difference between the target signal strength and the reference signal strength. Hereinafter, the difference between the target signal strength and the reference signal strength is also referred to as “difference signal strength”. FIG. 6 is a graph showing the frequency characteristics of the differential signal intensity. The horizontal axis in FIG. 6 indicates the frequency [GHz], and the vertical axis in FIG. 6 indicates the difference signal strength [dBV]. The value of the difference signal strength shown in FIG. 6 is a value obtained by subtracting the reference signal strength from the target signal strength. A graph 100a in FIG. 6 shows a case where a burdock having a root 30 length of 10 cm and a diameter of 2 cm is used, and a graph 100b in FIG. 6 shows a root 30 having a length of 20 cm and a diameter of 2 cm. The case where burdock is used is shown.

  In the case shown by the graphs 100a and 100b, as the soil 40, red jade soil having a moisture content of about 36% is used. As the soil 40, for example, humus having a moisture content of about 69% may be used. The transmission antenna 22 and the reception antenna 24 are arranged so that the microwave 20 is vertically polarized. That is, in the case shown by the graphs 100a and 100b, the vertically polarized microwave 20 is used so that the length of the root 30 can be measured. As shown in FIG. 6, there is a difference in the difference signal strength between the graph 100a and the graph 100b in the frequency range of 4.0 GHz to 6.0 GHz.

  FIG. 7 is a graph showing an integration result of the differential signal intensity shown in FIG. 6 in a predetermined frequency range. The horizontal axis in FIG. 7 indicates the frequency [GHz], and the vertical axis in FIG. 7 indicates the integral value [dBV] of the difference signal intensity. FIG. 7 shows a result of integration in the frequency range of 4.0 GHz to 6.0 GHz where a difference in the difference signal intensity is recognized between the graph 100a and the graph 100b in FIG. A graph 101a in FIG. 7 corresponds to the graph 100a in FIG. 6, and a graph 101b in FIG. 7 corresponds to the graph 100b in FIG. 7 includes many ripples in the difference signal intensity in FIG. 6, and therefore, integration is performed using the lower limit of 4.0 GHz as the reference frequency in the frequency range in which the difference in the difference signal intensity is recognized in FIG. In FIG. 7, ripples are removed.

  As shown in FIG. 7, each of the graphs 101a and 101b draws a curve showing an attenuation tendency in a frequency range of 4.0 GHz to 6.0 GHz. Comparing the graph 101a and the graph 101b, the graph 101b when the length of the root 30 is 20 cm is attenuated more rapidly than the graph 101a when the length of the root 30 is 10 cm. The difference between the graph 101a and the graph 101b is the largest at the frequency of 5.2 GHz. As described above, the integral value of the difference signal intensity for each frequency changes according to the length of the root 30. That is, a correlation is recognized between the length of the root 30 and the difference signal intensity.

  6 and 7 show an example in which the vertically polarized microwave 20 is used so that the length of the root 30 can be measured. However, the thickness of the root 30 should be measured. Alternatively, a horizontally polarized microwave 20 may be used. When the horizontally polarized microwave 20 is used, the integrated value of the difference signal intensity for each frequency changes according to the thickness of the root 30. That is, a correlation is recognized between the thickness of the root 30 and the difference signal intensity.

  From the above, for example, the region of the root 30 becomes wider as the difference signal strength is stronger, that is, as the difference between the target signal strength and the reference signal strength is larger. Therefore, the calculation unit 11 acquires the size of the root 30 based on the calculated difference signal intensity. The length of the root 30 can be acquired when the microwave 20 is vertically polarized, and the thickness of the root 30 can be acquired when the microwave 20 is horizontally polarized. The computing unit 11 acquires the size of the root 30 as follows based on, for example, the difference signal intensity. For example, the calculation unit 11 stores in advance a correspondence relationship between the difference signal intensity at a predetermined frequency and the size of the root 30. Based on the correspondence, the calculation unit 11 acquires the size of the root 30 associated with the difference signal strength at a predetermined frequency among the calculated difference signal strengths. The predetermined frequency is, for example, a frequency used for evaluation, and specifically, for example, is a frequency at which the difference in the difference signal intensity for each size of the root 30 is the largest. For example, in the example shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, 5.2 GHz may be used as the predetermined frequency. The predetermined frequency may differ depending on the type of soil 40 or root 30.

  In addition, the calculation unit 11 stores in advance a correspondence relationship between the range of the difference signal intensity of a predetermined frequency used for evaluation and the size of the root 30, and acquires the size of the root 30 based on the correspondence relationship. Also good. That is, when the differential signal intensity range at a predetermined frequency used for evaluation is within the first range, the calculation unit 11 acquires the size of the root 30 associated with the first range, When the range of the differential signal intensity exceeds the first range and falls within the second range, the size of the root 30 associated with the second range may be acquired.

  Note that the difference signal strength at a predetermined frequency used for the above evaluation may be an average value or maximum signal strength of the difference signal strength in a predetermined frequency band. Further, the calculation unit 11 may acquire the size of the root 30 based on the correspondence relationship between the integral value of the difference signal strength and the size of the root 30 instead of the difference signal strength.

  Next, a method for measuring the size of the root 30 using the growth state diagnostic apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of the growth state diagnosis method in the growth state diagnosis apparatus 1 shown in FIG.

  First, the microwave 20 is transmitted by the transmission antenna 22 and the microwave 20 is received by the reception antenna 24 in a state where the plant growth box 50, the transmission antenna 22, and the reception antenna 24 are arranged at the positions shown in FIG. (S1: transmission step and reception step). Subsequently, the signal strength of the microwave 20 received by the receiving antenna 24 is measured by the network analyzer 10, and the measurement result is acquired as the reference signal strength (S2: reference signal strength acquisition step).

  Next, the microwave 20 is transmitted by the transmission antenna 22 in a state where the plant growth box 50, the transmission antenna 22, and the reception antenna 24 are arranged at positions as shown in FIG. 20 is received (S3: transmission step and reception step). Subsequently, the signal strength of the microwave 20 received by the receiving antenna 24 is measured by the network analyzer 10, and the measurement result is acquired as the target signal strength (S4: target signal strength acquisition step). Then, the difference between the target signal strength and the reference signal strength is calculated by the calculation unit 11 (S5: calculation step), and the size of the root 30 is acquired based on the difference (S6: calculation step). By acquiring the size of the root 30, the growth state of the root 30 can be diagnosed based on the size of the root 30. In this way, the diagnosis of the growth state of the root 30 by the growth state diagnosis device 1 is completed. In the above diagnostic method, S1 and S2, S3 and S4 may be performed in the reverse order. That is, the reference signal strength may be acquired after the target signal strength is acquired first.

  As described above, in the growth state diagnosis apparatus 1 and the growth state diagnosis method according to the present embodiment, the target signal strength and the reference signal strength are used as the signal strength of the microwave 20 transmitted from the transmission antenna 22 and received by the reception antenna 24. Is acquired. In the growth state diagnosis apparatus 1 and the growth state diagnosis method according to the present embodiment, the size of the root 30 is acquired based on the difference between the target signal strength and the reference signal strength. The growth state of the root 30 can be diagnosed without removing the root 30 from the soil 40. From the above, the growth state of the root 30 of the plant can be diagnosed without taking out the root 30 from the soil 40 and without damaging the root 30.

  In this embodiment, the soil condition of the soil 40 where the root 30 does not exist and the soil condition of the soil 40 where the root 30 exists are equivalent. Thereby, since the soil conditions of the used soil 40 become the same when acquiring the target signal strength and when acquiring the reference signal strength, the target signal strength is not affected by the difference in the soil conditions of the soil 40. And the reference signal strength can be calculated. Therefore, the size of the root 30 based on the difference can be acquired more accurately.

  In this embodiment, the cultivation medium is formed by the raised soil 40. Therefore, the transmitting antenna 22 and the receiving antenna 24 can be arranged close to each other so as to sandwich the raised soil 40. Thereby, the spreading | diffusion of the microwave 20 transmitted from the transmission antenna 22 and received by the receiving antenna 24 can be suppressed, As a result, the measurement error of the signal strength of the microwave 20 can be suppressed.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, the growth state diagnostic apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described. The growth state diagnosing device according to the present embodiment is similar to the growth state diagnosing device 1 according to the first embodiment. The transmitting antenna 22, the receiving antenna 24, the plant growing box 50, the network analyzer 10, and the calculating unit 11 Is provided. The growth state diagnosing device according to the present embodiment is different from the growth state diagnosing device 1 according to the first embodiment in that driving for changing the polarization plane of the microwave 20 transmitted by the transmitting antenna 22 and received by the receiving antenna 24 is performed. It is a point provided with a mechanism 23. Hereinafter, this will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 9 is a schematic top view and a schematic side view showing the transmitting antenna 22 and the receiving antenna 24 in the growth state diagnosing apparatus according to the second embodiment. 9A shows a schematic top view of the transmission antenna 22 and the reception antenna 24, and FIG. 9B shows a schematic side view of the transmission antenna 22 and the reception antenna 24. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 9, in the present embodiment, a drive mechanism 23 is connected to the transmission antenna 22 and the reception antenna 24. The drive mechanism 23 is a changing unit that changes the polarization plane of the microwave 20 that is transmitted from the transmitting antenna 22 and received by the receiving antenna 24. The transmission antenna 22 and the reception antenna 24 can be rotated in the rotation direction R1 and the rotation direction R2 by the drive mechanism 23, respectively. Thereby, the polarization plane of the microwave 20 becomes variable. That is, as the transmission antenna 22 and the reception antenna 24 rotate, the polarization plane of the microwave 20 transmitted from the transmission antenna 22 and received by the reception antenna 24 rotates. In other words, the polarization plane of the microwave rotates. In other words, the amplitude direction of the microwave 20 is not fixed in one direction, and the horizontal direction, the vertical direction, an oblique direction between the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, and the like. It can be switched continuously.

  Further, the transmission antenna 22 and the reception antenna 24 can be horizontally moved in the H1 direction and the H2 direction by the drive mechanism 23, and can be vertically moved in the V1 direction and the V2 direction. The transmission antenna 22 and the reception antenna 24 rotate in the same direction (that is, the rotation direction R1 or the rotation direction R2) in conjunction with each other by the drive mechanism 23, and perform horizontal movement and vertical movement while rotating.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of movement patterns of the transmission antenna 22 and the reception antenna 24 by the drive mechanism 23 illustrated in FIG. As shown in FIG. 10, when the transmitting antenna 22 and the receiving antenna 24 rotate in the same direction in conjunction with each other, and the position of the illustrated receiving antenna 24 is set as the movement start position, after moving in the H1 direction, The movement proceeds in the order of the V2, H2, and V1 directions, and returns to the movement start position.

  Also in the present embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the target signal strength and the reference signal strength are acquired as the signal strength of the microwave 20 transmitted from the transmission antenna 22 and received by the reception antenna 24. Then, the size of the root 30 is acquired based on the difference between the target signal strength and the reference signal strength. Therefore, the growth state of the root 30 can be diagnosed without taking out the root 30 from the soil 40 according to the degree of the size of the acquired root 30. From the above, the growth state of the root 30 of the plant can be diagnosed without taking out the root 30 from the soil 40 and without damaging the root 30.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, the drive mechanism 23 which changes the polarization plane of the microwave 20 transmitted from the transmission antenna 22 and received by the reception antenna 24 is provided. Therefore, since the polarization plane of the microwave 20 transmitted from the transmitting antenna 22 and received by the receiving antenna 24 can be changed and rotated, the spread of the region of the root 30 can be scanned, and the region of the root 30 can be scanned. It is possible to visualize the spread of the three-dimensionally.

  As mentioned above, although various embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, You may change in the range which does not change the summary described in each claim, or may apply to others.

  For example, in the said embodiment, although the culture medium is the soil 40 accommodated in the plant growth box 50, it is not restricted to this. The cultivation medium may be, for example, straw formed by raising soil in a straight line.

  In the said embodiment, although the growth condition diagnostic apparatus 1 is provided with the network analyzer 10 and the calculating part 11, it is not restricted to this. For example, the growth state diagnosis apparatus 1 may not include the calculation unit 11 and the network analyzer 10 may also function as a calculation unit.

[Example]
Hereinafter, examples carried out by the present inventors will be described in order to explain the effects of the above embodiment. In addition, this invention is not limited to a following example.

  In the following examples, the growth state diagnostic apparatus 1 of the first embodiment was used. In addition, as transmission antenna 22, BBHA9021D of SCHWARZBECH MESS-ELEKTRONIK was used as an example. The transmission antenna 22 can be used in a frequency range of 1 GHz to 18 GHz. As an example of the receiving antenna 24, 3115 manufactured by ETS Lindgren was used. The receiving antenna 24 can be used in a frequency range of 750 MHz to 18 GHz.

  As an object to be evaluated (that is, a root 30 to be measured), a burdock root having a length of 10 cm or 20 cm and a thickness of 1 cm or 2 cm in diameter was used. As the soil 40, red jade soil or mulch was used. The moisture content of red crust was about 36%, and the moisture content of humus was about 69%. In the growth state diagnosing device 1, the transmitting antenna 22 and the receiving antenna 24 are arranged so that the microwave 20 is vertically polarized.

  For comparison, first, the microwave 20 was transmitted and received by the transmitting antenna 22 and the receiving antenna 24 in a state where the burdock root 30 was not placed in the plant growth box 50, and the signal intensity was measured by the network analyzer 10. . The signal intensity was measured for each of a region corresponding to the target region 40A in the first embodiment of the soil 40 and a region corresponding to the reference region 40B in the first embodiment. As the soil 40, red crust was used.

  Next, with the plant burdock root 30 placed in the plant growth box 50 as shown in the first embodiment, the microwave 20 is transmitted and received by the transmitting antenna 22 and the receiving antenna 24, and the network analyzer 10 The signal intensity was measured. The signal intensity was measured for each of the target area 40A and the reference area 40B. At this time, Examples 1 to 5 were performed by changing the type of the soil 40 and the size of the root 30 of the burdock.

  In Example 1, a red bean was used as the soil 40, and a burdock root 30 having a length of 10 cm and a thickness of 1 cm in diameter was used. In Example 2, red soil was used as the soil 40, and a root having a length of 10 cm and a thickness of 2 cm was used. In Example 3, red soil was used as the soil 40, and a root having a length of 20 cm and a thickness of 2 cm was used. In Example 4, humus was used as the soil 40, and a burdock root 30 having a length of 10 cm and a thickness of 2 cm in diameter was used. In Example 5, humus was used as the soil 40, and a burdock root 30 having a length of 20 cm and a thickness of 2 cm in diameter was used.

  Then, an integral value of the difference signal intensity was calculated based on each signal intensity, and the calculation result was evaluated. The reference frequency used to calculate the integral value of the difference signal intensity and the frequency used to evaluate the calculation result were set according to the type of soil 40. Specifically, when the soil 40 is red crust, the reference frequency is set to 4.0 GHz, and the frequency used for the evaluation is set to 5.2 GH. When the soil 40 was humus, the reference frequency was set to 3.0 GHz, and the frequency used for evaluation was set to 4.0 GHz. Table 1 shows the evaluation results.

  Sample No. 1 in Table 1 is an evaluation result when the signal intensity is acquired in a state where the burdock root 30 is not disposed in the plant growth box 50 for comparison. Since the burdock root 30 is not arranged in the plant growth box 50, the signal intensity is substantially the same in both the region corresponding to the target region 40A and the region corresponding to the reference region 40B in the first embodiment. It was. Therefore, the difference signal intensity was 0 dBV.

  Sample numbers 2 to 6 in Table 1 show the evaluation results of Examples 1 to 5, respectively. When Example 1 and Example 2 are compared, the thickness of the burdock root 30 is different, but the integrated value of the difference signal intensity is substantially the same. This indicates that, in the present embodiment, the transmitting antenna 22 and the receiving antenna 24 are arranged so that the microwave 20 is vertically polarized, and thus the influence of thickness does not occur. On the other hand, when Example 2 and Example 3 were compared, the integrated value of the difference signal intensity changed according to the length of the root 30 of burdock. Similarly, when Example 4 and Example 5 were compared, the integrated value of the difference signal intensity changed according to the length of the root 30 of burdock. For example, in the example of Table 1, when the length of the burdock root 30 is doubled, the integral value of the difference signal intensity is also doubled. Therefore, the growth state diagnosis apparatus 1 calculates the integral value of the difference signal intensity based on the correlation between the length of the root 30 and the difference signal intensity, and acquires the length of the burdock root 30 corresponding to the calculated value. be able to.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the size (in this embodiment, the length) of the root 30 in the soil 40 can be acquired without removing the root 30 from the soil 40. It was confirmed from the degree that the growth state of the root 30 of the plant can be diagnosed.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Growth condition diagnostic apparatus, 10 ... Network analyzer, 11 ... Operation part, 20 ... Microwave, 22 ... Transmission antenna, 23 ... Drive mechanism, 24 ... Reception antenna, 30 ... Root, 40 ... Soil.

Claims (6)

It is a growth state diagnostic device for diagnosing the growth state of an underground part in a plant culture medium,
Transmission means for transmitting microwaves;
Receiving means for receiving the microwave transmitted from the transmitting means;
The signal intensity of the microwave transmitted from the transmission unit and received by the reception unit in a state where the culture medium in which the underground portion exists is arranged between the transmission unit and the reception unit is acquired as the target signal strength. Then, the signal intensity of the microwave transmitted from the transmission unit and received by the reception unit in a state where the culture medium without the underground portion is disposed between the transmission unit and the reception unit is a reference signal intensity. Signal intensity acquisition means for acquiring as:
A growth state diagnosing apparatus, comprising: an arithmetic unit that calculates a difference between the target signal intensity and the reference signal intensity, and acquires a spread of the underground region based on the difference.   The growth state diagnosis apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a changing unit that changes a polarization plane of a microwave transmitted from the transmitting unit and received by the receiving unit. It is a growth state diagnostic method for diagnosing the growth state of an underground part in a cultivation medium of a plant,
A transmission step of transmitting microwaves by transmission means;
A receiving step of receiving the microwave transmitted in the transmitting step by a receiving means;
The signal intensity of the microwave transmitted from the transmission unit and received by the reception unit in a state where the culture medium in which the underground portion exists is arranged between the transmission unit and the reception unit is acquired as the target signal strength. A target signal strength acquisition step to be performed;
The signal intensity of the microwave transmitted from the transmission unit and received by the reception unit in a state where the culture medium without the underground portion is disposed between the transmission unit and the reception unit is obtained as a reference signal strength. A reference signal strength acquisition step,
The difference between the target signal strength acquired in the target signal strength acquisition step and the reference signal strength acquired in the reference signal strength acquisition step is calculated, and the spread of the area of the underground portion is acquired based on the difference A growing state diagnostic method comprising:   The growth state diagnosis method according to claim 3, wherein a polarization plane of the microwave transmitted from the transmission unit and received by the reception unit is variable.   The growth condition diagnosis method according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the soil condition of the cultivation medium in which the underground part does not exist is equivalent to the soil condition of the cultivation medium in which the underground part exists.   The method for diagnosing a growth state according to any one of claims 3 to 5, wherein the cultivation medium is formed of raised soil.