JP7664615B2 - Seedling raising pot, plant seedling product using the same, and method for transplanting plant seedlings - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a seedling pot, a plant seedling product using the same, and a method for transplanting a plant seedling.

In the agricultural and horticultural fields, seedling pots are widely used for the production of flowers, fruit trees, garden trees, or trees. Specifically, for example, seeds are sown and germinated in the seedling pot, and the seeds are allowed to grow in the pot until they reach a specified size as a seedling (plant seedling), after which the seedling is transplanted into the specified soil. However, during this process, damage from pests such as slugs, snails, and aphids is serious, and damage caused by stylommatophora mollusks such as slugs and snails is particularly serious when the seedlings are in the bud to seedling stage.

Several techniques have been proposed to prevent these. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses that a net, woven fabric, nonwoven fabric, sheet, or other material containing a pest repellent is placed around the base of a plant or wrapped around the trunk or stem of the plant to prevent damage to the plant from being eaten.

However, the placement of such repellent-containing materials does not adequately prevent damage to the plants, and wrapping the materials around the trunks or stems may be unfavorable to the growth of the plant itself.

On the other hand, Patent Document 2 discloses wrapping a synthetic resin tape, with an adhesive or the like attached to the back side and saponin, a slug repellent, attached to the front side, around the base or stem of a plant. Patent Document 3 discloses a mollusc repellent made of a biodegradable plastic film containing saponin. Patent Document 4 discloses the use of a resin composition containing an ethylene-ethyl acrylate copolymer resin (EEA resin) containing alkyl parahydroxybenzoate to repel mollusks. Patent Document 5 discloses laminating a biodegradable resin onto a paper substrate and using this in a seedling pot.

However, even if the plant seedlings grown using the above method are transplanted into soil, it is difficult to repel mollusks such as slugs after transplantation. Furthermore, to solve this problem, it is necessary to use additional repellents or repellents.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-298915 JP 2002-171892 A JP 2017-137261 A JP 2020-055950 A

The present invention aims to solve the above problems, and its purpose is to provide a seedling pot that can effectively prevent damage to plant seedlings from mollusks such as slugs and snails both during seedling raising and after transplanting into soil, as well as a plant seedling product and a method for transplanting plant seedlings using the same.

The present invention provides a cup base having a bottom and sidewalls, and a repellent strip disposed over the cup base to define an open end and containing an animal repellent;
The cup base and the repellent body are each independently made of a biodegradable material,
In the seedling pot, the thickness of the repellent belt is greater than the thickness of the side wall of the cup base.

In one embodiment, the biodegradation rate of the repellent strip is slower than the biodegradation rate of the cup base.

In one embodiment, the repellent belt is configured by placing a repellent sheet containing the animal repellent around the upper side wall of the cup base.

In one embodiment, the repellent belt portion is configured by placing an annular repellent sheet containing the animal repellent above the side wall portion of the cup base.

In one embodiment, the repellent belt portion is formed by a thick portion on the upper side wall of the cup base that contains the animal repellent.

In one embodiment, the biodegradable material is at least one material selected from the group consisting of paper and biodegradable polymers.

In one embodiment, the animal repellent is at least one compound selected from the group consisting of saponin, butyl hydroxybenzoate, and hexyl hydroxybenzoate.

The present invention is also a plant seedling product in which a plant seedling and culture soil are contained in the seedling pot.

The present invention also provides a method for transplanting a plant seedling, the method including a step of placing the plant seedling product in a hole provided in soil such that the repellent band portion of the plant seedling product is exposed above the surface of the soil.

According to the present invention, it is possible to effectively protect growing plant seedlings from damage caused by mollusks such as slugs and snails. The seedling pot of the present invention is entirely biodegradable, so it can be transplanted directly into soil together with the plant seedlings, eliminating the concern that the used pot will remain as waste. Furthermore, after transplantation into soil, the animal repellent contained in the seedling pot of the present invention can continue to prevent damage caused by the mollusks.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a seedling pot of the present invention, in which (a) is a perspective view of the seedling pot, and (b) is a longitudinal sectional view of the seedling pot. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the seedling pot shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing another example of the seedling pot of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing still another example of the seedling pot of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining an example of a plant seedling product using the seedling pot shown in FIG. 1 . 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining an example of transplanting the plant seedling product shown in FIG. 5 into soil, where (a) is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the plant seedling product immediately after being transplanted into soil, (b) is a cross-sectional view showing the state of the plant seedling product after transplantation into soil in which biodegradation of the seedling pot has partially progressed, and (c) is a cross-sectional view showing the state in which biodegradation of the seedling pot has been completely completed after transplantation into soil.

The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

(Seedling pot)
1 is a perspective view of an example of the seedling pot of the present invention. As shown in (a) of FIG. 1, the seedling pot 100 of the present invention includes a cup base 110 and a repellent belt 120.

The cup base 110 has a bottom 102 and a side wall 104, which together form a cup shape. The bottom 102 has a circular, elliptical, or polygonal shape such as a rectangle or hexagon. As shown in FIG. 1B, the seedling pot 100 of the present invention may be provided with one or more drainage holes 105. The side wall 104 is preferably designed to expand in diameter from the bottom 102 upward.

The repellent strip 120 is positioned above the cup base 110, forms an open end 106, and contains an animal repellent.

Here, in the seedling pot 100 of the present invention, the thickness T _k of the repellent belt 120 is designed to be larger than the thickness T _c of the side wall 104. Here, the thickness T _k of the repellent belt 120 refers to the sum of the thickness of the repellent sheet 122 and the thickness of the upper side wall 108. Since the thickness T _k of the repellent belt 120 is larger than the thickness T _c of the side wall 104, when the seedling pot 100 of the present invention is transplanted into soil, the repellent belt 120 requires more time to be completely biodegraded than the side wall 104. In other words, when transplanted into soil, the side wall 104 is biodegraded and disappears faster than the repellent belt 120, while the repellent belt 120 can remain longer than the side wall 104. As a result, the seedling pot 100 of the present invention can be transplanted directly into soil by taking advantage of its biodegradable properties, while the repellent effect of the animal repellent contained in the repellent belt portion 120 can be maintained for a long period of time.

The thickness _Tk of the repellent belt 120 is not necessarily limited, but is, for example, 0.05 mm to 3 mm. The thickness _Tc of the side wall 104 is also not necessarily limited, but, for example, in the present invention, the ratio _Tk / _Tc of the thickness _Tk of the repellent belt 120 to the thickness _Tc of the side wall 104 is, for example, greater than 1 and equal to or less than 10, preferably 1.5 to 8. When the ratio _Tk / _Tc is within such a range, in the seedling pot of the present invention, the repellent belt 120 can take a longer time to biodegrade than the side wall 104, and the repellent effect of the animal repellent contained in the repellent belt 120 can be maintained for a longer period of time.

Alternatively, the seedling pot 100 of the present invention is designed so that the biodegradation rate of the repellent belt 120 is slower than the biodegradation rate of the cup base 110. This allows the cup base 110 to biodegrade and disappear before the repellent belt 120 after the seedling pot 100 of the present invention is transplanted into soil. In other words, the repellent belt 120 can remain longer than the cup base 110, so the repellent effect of the animal repellent contained in the repellent belt 120 can be maintained for a long time.

In the seedling pot 100 of the present invention, the cup base 110 and the repellent belt 120 are each made of an independent biodegradable material. That is, the cup base 110 in the seedling pot 100 of the present invention may be made of the same or different biodegradable material as the repellent belt 120.

The biodegradable material that may constitute the cup base 110 and/or the repellent belt 120 is one that has the property of gradually decomposing when transplanted into soil and left there as described below, and examples of such materials include paper and biodegradable polymers, as well as combinations thereof. The biodegradable material that may constitute the cup base 110 and/or the repellent belt 120 may be a laminate using two or more of the above-mentioned papers and biodegradable polymers.

The paper that may be used to make up the cup base 110 and/or the repellent belt 120 is not particularly limited, but considering that it will be used as a seedling pot, it is preferable that it has the above-mentioned biodegradability while also having a moderate water resistance that is not easily torn by rain or watering. Specific examples of such paper include fine paper, medium-quality paper, sawn paper, roll paper, kraft paper, and miscellaneous industrial paper, as well as combinations thereof.

Biodegradable polymers that may constitute the cup base 110 and/or the repellent band 120 include biochemical materials that exhibit biodegradability (e.g., cellulose, cellulose acetate, chitosan, starch, and modified starch) and biodegradable resins, or combinations thereof. Examples of biodegradable resins include poly-3-hydroxyalkanoate (PHA)-based resins, polybutylene succinate (PBS)-based resins, polybutylene adipate terephthalate (PBAT)-based resins, poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyhexanoate) (PHBH)-based resins, and polyglycolic acid (PGA)-based resins, as well as combinations thereof. Alternatively, the biodegradable resin may be a biodegradable thermoplastic resin such as polyhydroxybutyrate, polylactic acid, polycaprolactone, polybutylene succinate, polybutylene succinate adipate, polybutylene succinate carbonate, polyethylene succinate, and polyvinyl alcohol, and combinations thereof. Because of ease of handling and rapid decomposition in soil, the cup base 110 and/or the repellent strip 120 are preferably made of cellulose, polyhydroxyalkanoic acid (PHA), polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene succinate (PBS), or combinations thereof.

In addition to the biodegradable material, the cup base 110 and/or the repellent belt 120 may contain other additives to the extent that they do not impair the biodegradability or moldability of the biodegradable material.

Examples of other additives that may be contained in the cup base 110 and/or the repellent belt 120 include, but are not limited to, agents having medicinal properties other than the animal repellents described below (e.g., anti-mite agents, insect repellents); antioxidants (e.g., phenol-based antioxidants, sulfur-based antioxidants, and/or phosphorus-based antioxidants); ultraviolet absorbing agents (e.g., benzophenone-based ultraviolet absorbing agents and/or benzotriazole-based ultraviolet absorbing agents); antistatic agents (e.g., anionic surfactants, cationic surfactants, nonionic surfactants, and and/or amphoteric activators); clarifying agents (e.g., metal salts of carboxylates, sorbitols, and/or metal salts of phosphate esters); lubricants (e.g., hydrocarbon-based lubricants, fatty acid-based lubricants, higher alcohol-based lubricants, fatty acid amide-based lubricants, metal soap-based lubricants, and/or ester-based lubricants); flame retardants (e.g., organic flame retardants and/or inorganic flame retardants); and plasticizers (e.g., epoxidized vegetable oils, phthalates, and/or polyester-based plasticizers); and combinations thereof. The content of the other additives that may be contained in the cup base 110 and/or the repellent band 120 is not particularly limited, and any amount may be selected by a person skilled in the art.

The cup base 110 can be produced by first forming the biodegradable material into a sheet or film by extrusion using a T-die, for example, and then vacuum molding it into a bowl shape, and then providing drainage holes 105 in the bottom 102 as necessary. Alternatively, it can be produced by cutting a sheet or film of the biodegradable material into the shape of the bottom and the shape of the developed view of the side parts, and then bonding them together using heat sealing or a specified adhesive, etc. The temperature at which heat sealing is performed as described above is not necessarily limited as it varies depending on the type of biodegradable material (biodegradable resin) used, but is, for example, 140°C to 350°C.

In the seedling pot 100 of FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 2, a repellent sheet 122 containing an animal repellent 130 is arranged around the upper sidewall 108 that extends integrally from the sidewall 104 of the cup base 110. The position of the repellent sheet 122 on the upper sidewall 108 is not necessarily limited, but it is preferable that the repellent sheet 122 is provided near the opening end 106. Here, "the repellent sheet is provided near the upper end" includes a state in which the end of the repellent sheet 122 and the opening end 106 of the upper sidewall 108 overlap, and a state in which the end of the repellent sheet 122 and the opening end 106 of the upper sidewall 108 are separated by a distance of less than 15 mm.

The animal repellent that may be contained in the repellent sheet 122 is an agent that is useful for repelling mollusks, particularly stylomorpha mollusks such as slugs and snails, and examples of such agents include saponin, alkyl parahydroxybenzoate, and combinations thereof.

Alkyl parahydroxybenzoate is the esterification reaction product of parahydroxybenzoic acid and alkyl alcohol.

The alkyl parahydroxybenzoate preferably contains an alkyl group having 1 to 8 carbon atoms, more preferably 4 to 7 carbon atoms, in its molecular structure. The alkyl group may be either linear or branched. Examples of the alkyl group constituting the alkyl parahydroxybenzoate include methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, n-butyl, n-pentyl, n-hexyl, n-heptyl, n-octyl, isopropyl, isobutyl, s-butyl, t-butyl, isopentyl, s-pentyl, 3-pentyl, and t-pentyl.

Specific examples of alkyl parahydroxybenzoates in the present invention include butyl parahydroxybenzoate (e.g., n-butyl parahydroxybenzoate) and hexyl parahydroxybenzoate (e.g., n-hexyl parahydroxybenzoate), as well as combinations thereof.

In the present invention, saponin, butyl hydroxybenzoate, hexyl hydroxybenzoate, and combinations thereof are preferred examples of the animal repellent 130, because they are readily available commercially and have an excellent repellent effect against mollusks such as slugs and snails.

The content of the animal repellent 130 in the repellent sheet 122 is 0.5% to 60% by mass, preferably 1% to 50% by mass, and more preferably 1% to 45% by mass, relative to the total mass of the repellent sheet 122. If the content of the animal repellent 130 is less than 0.5% by mass, the resulting repellent sheet may not be able to provide a sufficient mollusc repellent effect. If the content of the animal repellent 130 exceeds 60% by mass, the content of the biodegradable material in the repellent sheet 122 decreases relatively, and the surface of the resulting repellent sheet may become very sticky.

When the repellent sheet 122 is placed around the upper side wall 108, the repellent sheet 122 and the upper side wall 1008 are attached to each other, for example, by heat sealing or adhesives known in the art. In this case, the animal repellent 130 may be added to the repellent sheet 122 (for example, by kneading the biodegradable material constituting the repellent sheet 122 with the animal repellent 130) before this attachment, or the repellent sheet 122 may be formed into the shape of the repellent sheet 122 using the biodegradable material and other additives as necessary, and then the animal repellent 130 may be applied to the outer surface and/or interior by any means such as spraying or impregnation.

Alternatively, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 3, a ring-shaped repellent sheet 222 formed to be approximately the same size as the open end 206 of the cup base 210 may become the repellent belt 220, and may be attached to the open end 206 of the cup base 210 via an adhesive or the like to form the seedling pot 200. In this case, the animal repellent 130 may be added to the repellent sheet 222 (for example, by kneading the biodegradable material constituting the repellent sheet 222 with the animal repellent 130) before this attachment, or the repellent sheet 222 may be formed using the biodegradable material and other additives as necessary, and then the animal repellent 130 may be applied to the outer surface and/or interior thereof by any means such as spraying or impregnation.

Alternatively, in the present invention, as shown in FIG. 4, the seedling pot 300 may be constructed by using the vicinity of the open end 306 located above the cup base 310 as the repellent belt 320 as it is. For this reason, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the cup base 310 and the repellent belt 320 are integrated. In this case, the animal repellent 130 may be applied to the outer surface and/or interior of the part corresponding to the repellent belt 320 by any means such as spraying or impregnation after the cup base 310 and the repellent belt 320 are integrally formed using a biodegradable material and, if necessary, other additives.

As described above, the seedling pot of the present invention has a cup base and a repellent strip both made of biodegradable materials, and is itself biodegradable. This means that it can be placed directly in the soil, and once placed, its biodegradability will encourage natural decomposition. As a result, compared to conventional seedling pots made of polyethylene, etc., the possibility of them becoming waste and causing environmental pollution problems can be significantly reduced.

(Plant seedling product and method for transplanting plant seedling)
As described above, the seedling pot itself is biodegradable, and the plant seedlings grown in the pot and the seeds sown therein (collectively referred to as plant seedlings) can be distributed in the market as a single plant seedling product as is. In this regard, as shown in Fig. 5, the plant seedling product 500 of the present invention has a plant seedling 510 and culture soil 520 housed in the seedling pot 100.

The type of plant seedling 510 is not particularly limited, and examples include seedlings and seeds of plants that can be grown in conventional seedling pots. Specific examples include seedlings and seeds of agricultural plants such as tomatoes, cucumbers, okra, and peas, and horticultural plants such as morning glories, pansies, tulips, and hydrangeas.

According to the above-mentioned plant seedling product, the plant seedling in the seedling pot can be transplanted into soil as follows. Specifically, for example, as shown in FIG. 6(a), the plant seedling product 500 is placed in a hole 620 provided in soil 610 so that the repellent belt portion 120 of the plant seedling product 500 is exposed from the surface of the soil 610.

In this way, in the present invention, when the plant seedling 510 is transplanted into the soil 610, the plant seedling 510 and the soil 520 are not removed from the cup base 110, but are placed in a state where they are contained in the cup base 110. Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the repellent belt 120 is exposed from the surface of the soil 610 by an amount equivalent to the height t of the repellent belt 120. This keeps the cup base 110 buried in the soil 610 and the repellent belt 120 exposed from the surface of the soil 610.

By arranging in this manner, the animal repellent contained in the repellent zone 120 is arranged around the plant seedling 510 transplanted in the soil 610 at a distance equivalent to the inner radius of the cup body 110, preventing damage to the plant seedling 510 from mollusks such as slugs and snails. Furthermore, by exposing the repellent zone 120 by a height t from the surface of the soil 610, mollusks must climb over the repellent zone 120 to reach the plant seedling 510, further reducing the possibility of damage.

As time passes, the seedling cup 100 gradually becomes brittle due to the biodegradability of both the cup base 110 and the repellent band 120 (FIG. 6B). However, as described above, in the seedling cup 100, the thickness of the repellent band 120 is greater than the thickness of the cup base 110, so in the state shown in FIG. 6B, the cup base 110 becomes brittle before the repellent band 120. On the other hand, the animal repellent contained in the repellent band 120 still remains around the plant seedling 510 transplanted into the soil 610, so that the plant seedling 510 can be protected from damage by mollusks such as slugs and snails.

As time passes, the biodegradation of both the cup base and the repellent belt of the seedling cup 100 progresses further, and both the cup base and the repellent belt completely collapse or disappear. In this state, the animal repellent 130 remains between the soil 610 and the culture soil 520 (FIG. 6(c)). This animal repellent 130 remains in a ring shape around the plant seedling 510, further preventing damage to the plant seedling 510 from mollusks such as slugs and snails.

In this way, when the seedling pot of the present invention is used, both the cup base and the repellent belt are biodegradable, so even if it is left in the soil, it will naturally decompose without polluting the environment as waste. On the other hand, the animal repellent contained in the repellent belt is maintained at a certain distance around the plant seedling, so even if both the cup base and the repellent belt are completely decomposed, the plant seedling 510 can be protected for a long period of time from mollusks such as slugs and snails.

The present invention is useful, for example, in the horticulture and agriculture fields.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100, 200, 300 Seedling pot 102 Bottom 104 Side wall 105 Drainage holes 106, 206, 306 Open end 108 Upper side wall 110, 210, 310 Cup base 120, 220, 320 Repellent strip 122, 222 Repellent sheet 130 Animal repellent 500 Plant seedling product 510 Plant seedling 520 Culture soil 610 Soil

Claims (8)

a cup base having a bottom and a sidewall, and a repellent strip disposed above the cup base to define an open end and containing an animal repellent;
The cup base and the repellent body are each independently made of a biodegradable material,
The thickness of the evasive belt portion is greater than the thickness of the side wall portion of the cup base,
The seedling pot has a slower biodegradation rate of the repellent strip than that of the cup base . 2. The seedling pot according to claim 1 , wherein the repellent belt is configured by disposing a repellent sheet containing the animal repellent around the periphery of an upper side wall of the cup base. 2. The seedling pot according to claim 1 , wherein the repellent belt portion is configured by disposing an annular repellent sheet containing the animal repellent above the side wall portion of the cup base. 2. The seedling pot according to claim 1 , wherein the repellent belt portion is constituted by a thick portion containing the animal repellent on an upper side wall portion of the cup base. 5. The seedling pot according to claim 1 , wherein the biodegradable material is at least one material selected from the group consisting of paper and biodegradable polymers. 6. The seedling pot according to claim 1 , wherein the animal repellent is at least one compound selected from the group consisting of saponin, butyl hydroxybenzoate, and hexyl hydroxybenzoate. A plant seedling product comprising a plant seedling and culture soil housed in the seedling pot according to any one of claims 1 to 6 . 10. A method for transplanting a plant seedling, comprising the step of placing the plant seedling product according to claim 7 in a hole formed in soil such that the repellent strip of the plant seedling product is exposed above the surface of the soil.

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