JP7822263B2 - Cultivation facilities - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cultivation facility that can prevent and suppress plant diseases.

Traditionally, pesticides have been used in cultivation facilities such as fields, greenhouses, and plant factories when various diseases occur in cultivated plants or to prevent disease.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a composition containing a fungicide that kills plant pathogens. This composition can prevent and suppress various diseases, such as powdery mildew, which frequently occurs on cucumbers, and gray mold, which frequently occurs on tomatoes.

Special Publication No. 2003-501448

In this way, using pesticides, including fungicides, within cultivation facilities can prevent and suppress various diseases, but on the other hand, there is a risk that pesticide-resistant pathogens will emerge and that the use of pesticides may have a negative impact on the ecosystem surrounding the cultivation facility.

In light of this situation, the present invention aims to provide a cultivation facility that can prevent and suppress plant diseases even in pesticide-free or reduced-pesticide cultivation, which does not use pesticides to kill pathogens.

The object of the present invention is to
A cultivation facility having a plurality of cultivation sections for cultivating plants,
A medium for cultivating plants provided in each cultivation section;
An abnormality detection means for detecting abnormalities in the health state of a plant;
a resource supply source that supplies various resources useful for plant cultivation;
a supply pipe for supplying the resource into the medium of each cultivation section;
an on-off valve disposed in the supply pipe for connecting and disconnecting the supply of the resources to each cultivation section;
a valve control means for controlling the opening and closing of the on-off valve,
The resource supply source includes a useful bacterial source containing useful bacteria that suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria on plants,
This is achieved by a cultivation facility characterized in that when the abnormality detection means detects an abnormality in the health of a plant in any of the cultivation sections, the valve control means controls the opening/closing valve and supplies the beneficial bacteria to the culture medium of the cultivation section in which the abnormality is detected among the multiple cultivation sections.

According to the present invention, beneficial bacteria that suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria are supplied to a cultivation section in which an abnormality in the health of a plant is detected by the abnormality detection means, thereby suppressing the growth of pathogenic bacteria within that cultivation section. As a result, plant diseases can be prevented and suppressed even in pesticide-free or reduced-pesticide cultivation.

Generally, cultivating fungi is very expensive, and there is a risk that the cost of continuously supplying useful bacteria to the cultivation sections will be high. However, in the present invention, useful bacteria are supplied to a cultivation section when an abnormality in the health of plants in that cultivation section is detected. This allows for a smaller supply of useful bacteria compared to when useful bacteria are frequently supplied to all cultivation sections, thereby reducing the cost of cultivating or purchasing useful bacteria.

In addition, according to the present invention, by supplying beneficial bacteria to the medium within the cultivation area, the beneficial bacteria can be cultivated (i.e., propagated) in the medium, and even supplying small amounts infrequently can be effective in preventing and suppressing disease.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, beneficial bacteria can be automatically supplied to the culture medium in cultivation areas where abnormalities in the plant's health are detected, thereby preventing and suppressing disease, thereby reducing the burden on workers in terms of monitoring and treatment work.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention,
The resource supply source includes a source of useful gas that promotes the growth of the useful bacteria and a water source that supplies water,
A portion of the supply pipe is disposed in the culture medium of each cultivation section, and a porous pipe having a large number of holes communicating the inside and outside of the pipe is used in the portion of the supply pipe located in the culture medium;
The beneficial bacteria, the beneficial gas, or the water supplied from the resource supply source can be supplied into the culture medium of each cultivation section through the hole of the supply pipe,
The valve control means is configured to control the on-off valve to supply the water into the culture medium in the cultivation area after supplying the beneficial bacteria to the cultivation area where an abnormality in the health of the plant has been detected, and then to supply the useful gas.

In this preferred embodiment of the present invention, a beneficial gas that promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria is supplied to the culture medium in the cultivation section to which beneficial bacteria have been supplied, thereby accelerating the growth of beneficial bacteria in the culture medium and enhancing the effectiveness of disease prevention and suppression.

Furthermore, according to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, water is supplied to the culture medium in the cultivation section to which the useful bacteria have been supplied, and then useful gas is supplied. Therefore, the slime of useful bacteria that has clogged the numerous holes in the porous pipe is washed away with water, and useful gas that promotes the growth of the useful bacteria can be supplied into the culture medium through the numerous holes. Therefore, even in a configuration in which the useful bacteria supply pipe, useful gas supply pipe, and water supply pipe are shared (i.e., combined into one), the useful gas can be smoothly supplied into the culture medium, reducing capital investment.

Furthermore, according to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, a porous pipe is used in the portion of the supply pipe that supplies resources such as useful bacteria and that is located in the culture medium. This allows useful gas that contributes to the cultivation of useful bacteria to be supplied evenly throughout the culture medium, allowing for early disease prevention and suppression effects to be achieved.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, useful gas is supplied only to the cultivation section to which useful bacteria have been supplied, thereby reducing running costs.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention,
the abnormality detection means comprises an imaging device that images plants in the cultivation section, an image processing unit that generates a leaf extraction image in which leaves of the plants are extracted from the image of the plants captured by the imaging device, and an abnormality determination means that determines an abnormality in the health condition of the plants based on the leaf extraction image;
The abnormality determination means calculates the ratio of the area showing discolored parts of the leaves to the area showing the leaves of the plant in the leaf extraction image, and determines that the health condition of the plant is abnormal if the ratio is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and the valve control means is configured to control the on-off valve to supply the useful bacteria into the culture medium of the cultivation area in which the health condition of the plant is determined to be abnormal.

This preferred embodiment of the present invention is configured to detect abnormalities in the health of plants based on images captured by an imaging device, eliminating the need to install various sensors in each cultivation area to detect plant diseases, thereby significantly reducing equipment costs.

Furthermore, according to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, if an image of an extracted leaf shows many discolored areas of the leaves, the plant's health is determined to be abnormal and beneficial bacteria are supplied to the culture medium in the cultivation area where the plant is located. Therefore, diseases that cause leaf discoloration, such as wilt and black spot, can be automatically detected and the beneficial bacteria can be supplied to suppress the disease.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention,
the abnormality detection means comprises an imaging device that images plants in the cultivation section at a predetermined frequency, an image processing unit that generates a leaf extraction image in which leaves of the plants are extracted from the image of the plants captured by the imaging device, and an abnormality determination means that determines an abnormality in the health condition of the plants based on the leaf extraction image;
The abnormality determination means calculates the ratio of the area showing the leaves in the leaf extraction image generated from the latest image of the plant to the area showing the leaves in the leaf extraction image generated from the previously captured image of the plant, and determines that the health condition of the plant is abnormal if the ratio is less than a predetermined value, and the valve control means is configured to control the on/off valve to supply the useful bacteria into the culture medium of the cultivation area in which the health condition of the plant is determined to be abnormal.

This preferred embodiment of the present invention is configured to detect abnormalities in the health of plants based on images captured by an imaging device, eliminating the need to install various sensors in each cultivation area to detect plant diseases, thereby significantly reducing equipment costs.

Furthermore, according to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, an imaging device captures images of plants in a cultivation area at a predetermined frequency, and if the ratio of the area showing the leaves in the current (= latest) leaf extraction image to the area showing the leaves in the previous leaf extraction image is less than a predetermined value, the health of the plant is determined to be abnormal and beneficial bacteria are supplied to the culture medium in the cultivation area where the plant is located. Therefore, by automatically detecting leaf wilt or leaf fall due to wilt disease or the like and supplying beneficial bacteria, the disease can be suppressed.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention,
The medium in each cultivation section is covered with a mulching sheet.

In this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the culture medium in each cultivation section is covered with a mulching sheet, allowing beneficial gases to be retained in the culture medium for a long period of time, thereby sustaining the effect of promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria.

In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention,
The resource supply source further includes a liquid fertilizer supply source;
The water or the liquid fertilizer contains glutamic acid.

This preferred embodiment of the present invention is configured so that water or liquid fertilizer containing glutamic acid can be supplied to the culture medium of each cultivation section, allowing the glutamic acid to increase the germination rate of beneficial bacteria and promote their proliferation.

The present invention makes it possible to provide a cultivation facility that can prevent and suppress plant diseases even in pesticide-free or reduced-pesticide cultivation, which does not use pesticides to kill pathogens.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a cultivation facility according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of resource supply within the cultivation facility shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the cultivation facility shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the cultivation bed shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the overall control by the control device. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the various controls performed by the control device during the day. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the bacteria supply control by the control device. FIG. 8( a ) is a schematic diagram showing a color image of a plant captured by an imaging device, and FIG. 8( b ) is a schematic diagram showing an image of a leaf portion extracted by an image processing unit. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the various controls performed by the control device at night. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the irrigation control in another preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a cultivation facility 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

The cultivation facility 1 is configured as a greenhouse H in which a vinyl film H1 is supported by a frame H2, and is equipped with a number of cultivation beds A (A1-A4) each having a roughly rectangular area inside the facility. Between the cultivation beds A, an automatic harvesting device for the plants G to be cultivated and a passageway R for workers to pass through are formed. Each cultivation bed is an example of a "cultivation section" in the present invention.

The cultivation facility 1 in this embodiment is configured as a cultivation facility for cultivating tomatoes as plants G, but the types of plants cultivated in the cultivation facility of the present invention are not limited to this.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of resource supply within the cultivation facility 1, and Figure 3 is a control block diagram of the cultivation facility 1 shown in Figure 1. Also, Figure 4 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the vicinity of cultivation bed A shown in Figure 1.

In addition to the cultivation beds A, the cultivation facility 1 includes a supply source for various resources T (T1 to T9) to each cultivation bed A, a supply device 5 that supplies the resources T to each cultivation bed A, a control device C (see Figures 1 and 3) that controls the supply of resources T by the supply device 5, a sensor unit 6 (see Figure 3) arranged in each cultivation bed A, and imaging devices 8 (8a to 8d, see Figures 1 and 3) that capture images of plants G in each cultivation bed A.

As shown in Figure 4, each cultivation bed A is constructed by placing and fixing a cultivation container a3 containing a culture medium a2 on an elevated bench a1. Various culture media can be used for the culture medium a2, including soil and fibrous materials such as rock wool.

The upper surface of the culture medium a2 is covered with a mulching sheet a5 except for the roots of the plants G. In the following, a case where four rows of cultivation beds A are provided will be described, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this.
In this embodiment, as the supply sources of the resources T, supply sources of resources T1 to T4 containing liquid and supply sources of resources T5 to T9 made of gas are provided.

The supply device 5 includes supply pipes P (P1-P7) that supply resource T to the cultivation bed A, solenoid valves B (B1-B26) that open and close supply pipes P, and mixers K (k1-k3) that mix liquid-containing resources T2-T4 into water, which is one of the resources T. Mixers K can be products such as "Dosatron" (registered trademark), a product of DOSATRON, which does not require a power source and can mix only a set ratio.

The supply pipes P are composed of a main supply pipe P1 that transports water T1 supplied from a water source constituted by a tank; liquid supply pipes P2 (P2a-P2c) that transport liquid-containing resources T2-T4 to the main supply pipe P1; gas supply pipes P3 (P3a-P3e) that transport gaseous resources T5-T9 to the main supply pipe P1; underground supply pipes P4 (P4a-P4d) that extend through the culture medium a2 of each cultivation bed A; aboveground supply pipes P5 (P5a-P5d) that extend above the culture medium a2 of each cultivation bed A; and first and second supply pipes P6 and P7 that can transport the resources T1-T9 transported within the main supply pipe P1 to the underground supply pipe P4 and aboveground supply pipe P5.

The above-ground supply pipe P5 is used to supply carbon dioxide T6, one of the resources T, to the vicinity of the cultivation bed A, and the underground supply pipe P4 is used to supply another resource T into the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A.

As solenoid valves B, the supply device 5 is equipped with solenoid valves B1 and B2 that open and close the main supply pipe P1, solenoid valves B3-B5 that open and close the liquid supply pipe P2, solenoid valves B6-B10 that open and close the gas supply pipe P3, solenoid valves B11-B18 that open and close the underground supply pipe P4, and solenoid valves B19-B26 that open and close the aboveground supply pipe P5. The opening and closing of each solenoid valve is controlled by a control device C. The control device C and each solenoid valve may be capable of communication via a wired connection or wireless communication.

One end of each of the central supply pipes P4a-P4d is connected to the first supply pipe P6, and the other end is connected to the second supply pipe P7. Each of the above-ground supply pipes P5 has one end connected to the first supply pipe P6 and the other end connected to the second supply pipe P7. As a result, various resources T are sent from both ends of the roughly horizontally extending central supply pipes P4 and above-ground supply pipes P5 toward the center, allowing various resources T to be supplied evenly throughout each cultivation bed A.

The portion of the above-ground supply pipe P5 that extends above the culture medium a2 is made of porous pipe (=porous pipe), and its outer surface has numerous holes that connect the outside of the above-ground supply pipe P5 to the internal space. The rest of the above-ground supply pipe P5 other than the portion located above the culture medium a2 is made of PVC pipe.

The portion of the underground supply pipe P4 that extends through the culture medium a2 (shown by the dashed line in Figure 2) is made of porous pipe, and its outer surface has a number of holes that connect the outside of the underground supply pipe P4 to the internal space. The portions of the underground supply pipe P4 other than the portion that extends through the culture medium a2, i.e., both ends of the underground supply pipe P4, are made of PVC pipe. Note that the material of both ends of the underground supply pipe P4 is not limited to PVC pipe, and could also be made of, for example, a water hose.

In this embodiment, the resources T mixed into the water T1 are first and second liquid fertilizers T2 and T3, and a bacterial culture solution T4 containing beneficial bacteria that suppress the growth of plant pathogens. The bacterial culture solution T4 containing beneficial bacteria and the first and second liquid fertilizers T2 and T3 are each stored in a tank that serves as a supply source.

The two types of liquid fertilizers, T2 and T3, have different ratios of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, with the nitrogen concentration of the second liquid fertilizer being set higher than the nitrogen concentration of the first liquid fertilizer. The first liquid fertilizer, T2, contains iron.

Examples of useful fungi that suppress the growth of plant pathogens include Verticillium lecanii, which suppresses the growth of Verticillium dahliae Klebahn, which causes radish black spot disease; a non-pathogenic mutant strain of Ralstonia solanacearum, which suppresses the growth of the pathogenic fungus that causes bacterial wilt; and a non-pathogenic strain of Fusarium oxysporum, which suppresses the growth of Fusarium oxysporum, which causes tomato wilt disease. In this embodiment, the non-pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum is used as an example of a useful fungus. By supplying a non-pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum to medium a2, the growth of pathogenic strains is suppressed through a cross-protection reaction caused by competition with normal pathogenic strains, thereby preventing and suppressing diseases such as wilt disease in plants.

While water T1 is being transported through the main supply pipe P1, opening solenoid valve B3 mixes first liquid fertilizer T2 into the water T1; opening solenoid valve B4 mixes second liquid fertilizer T3 into the water T1; and opening solenoid valve B5 mixes bacterial culture solution T4 containing beneficial bacteria into the water T1. Water T1, or water T1 containing at least one of the liquid resources T1-T3, is transported through the main supply pipe P1 in the direction of the gray arrow shown in Figure 2, and is transported through the first supply pipe P6 and second supply pipe P7 into at least one underground supply pipe P4. It is then supplied into the culture medium a2 through the numerous holes in the underground supply pipe P4.

For example, when bacterial culture solution T4 containing beneficial bacteria is supplied to the medium a2 of cultivation bed A4, control device C opens solenoid valves B1 and B2 located on main supply pipe P1 and solenoid valve B5 located on liquid supply pipe P2c, and also opens solenoid valves B17 and B18 located at both ends of underground supply pipe P4d.

As a result, bacterial culture solution T4 containing beneficial bacteria is mixed into water T1, and the water T1 mixed with beneficial bacteria is transported through main supply pipe P1 and first and second supply pipes P6 and P7 into underground supply pipe P4d, and then supplied to the culture medium a2 of cultivation bed A4 through the multiple holes in underground supply pipe P4d. At this time, all solenoid valves other than solenoid valves B1, B2, B5, B17, and B18 are closed.

In this embodiment, the gaseous resources T are air T5 supplied by an air compressor 7, and carbon dioxide gas T6, oxygen gas T7, nitrogen gas T8, and hydrogen gas T9 supplied from a supply source such as a cylinder. While air T5 is configured to be supplied from the air compressor 7, which is the air supply source, it may also be configured to be supplied from a cylinder or the like without using the air compressor 7. On each gas supply pipe P3b-P3e that transfers resources T6-T9 to the main supply pipe P1, a pressure reducing valve, a flow meter 3, and a solenoid valve B are provided, in order from the cylinder side to the main supply pipe P1 side. Furthermore, on the main supply pipe P1, upstream of the position of the solenoid valve B1, a flow meter 3 is provided to detect the amount of water T1 being supplied.

For example, when carbon dioxide gas T6 is supplied to cultivation bed A1, control device C opens solenoid valve B7 located on gas supply pipe P3b and solenoid valves B19 and B20 located on aboveground supply pipe P5a, while closing the other solenoid valves. As a result, carbon dioxide gas T6 supplied into main supply pipe P1 through gas supply pipe P3b is transported through first and second supply pipes P6 and P7. Carbon dioxide gas T6 is then transported through aboveground supply pipe P5a and supplied to the vicinity of plants G being cultivated in cultivation bed A1 through numerous holes formed on the outer surface of aboveground supply pipe P5a.

Furthermore, for example, when oxygen gas T7 is supplied to cultivation bed A2, control device C opens solenoid valve B8 located on gas supply pipe P3c and solenoid valves B13 and B14 located on underground supply pipe P4b, and closes the other solenoid valves.

As a result, oxygen gas T7 supplied into the main supply pipe P1 through the solenoid valve B8 located on the gas supply pipe P3c is transported through the first and second supply pipes P6 and P7, and then through the underground supply pipe P4b. The oxygen gas T7 is then supplied into the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A2 through numerous holes formed on the outer surface of the underground supply pipe P4b.

Furthermore, for example, when air T5 is supplied to the cultivation bed A3, the control device C controls the air compressor 7 to transfer compressed air T5 through the gas supply pipe P3a into the main supply pipe P1 and opens the solenoid valves B15 and B16 located on the underground supply pipe P4c. As a result, the compressed air T5 is transferred from the main supply pipe P1 to the first and second supply pipes P6 and P7, and then supplied into the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A3 through numerous holes formed on the outer surface of the underground supply pipe P4c.

The control device C is an information processing device composed of a well-known microcomputer including a CPU and its peripheral circuits. The control device C includes an image processing unit c1 that extracts (i.e., extracts) leaves from images of plants G in each cultivation bed A acquired by the imaging device 8; first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3 that determine whether or not the health of the plants G is abnormal based on the leaf images extracted by the image processing unit c1; a recording unit c6 that records various numerical values, flags, images, and other data processed by the image processing unit c1 and the first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3; a valve control unit c4 that controls the opening and closing of each solenoid valve B; and a compressor control unit c5 that controls the operation of the air compressor 7. The valve control unit c4 corresponds to the "valve control means" of the present invention. The input side of the control device C is connected to a timer 9, a flowmeter 3, imaging devices 8 (8a-8d, see Figure 1), a sensor unit 6, and an input device 4.

The recording unit c6 pre-stores a section database c6a, a sensor database c6b, an imaging device database c6c, an equipment database c6d, and a control condition database c6e.

The section database 33 stores an ID that identifies each cultivation bed A in the cultivation facility 1 and an ID for each plant G cultivated in each cultivation bed, linked together. In this embodiment, each cultivation bed A is assigned an ID of one of A1 to A4. The ID for each plant is assigned based on the symbol of the cultivation bed in which the plant is located and the plant's position in order from the front of the page in Figure 1. For example, the plant located second from the front of the page in cultivation bed A1 is assigned the ID "A1-2," and the plant located first from the front of the page in cultivation bed A3 is assigned the ID "A3-1." In other words, the ID for each plant of plant G includes the ID of the cultivation bed A in which the plant is located.

The sensor database c6b stores the sensors 6a to 6e included in the sensor unit 6 and IDs that identify each sensor unit 6, linked to the ID of the cultivation bed A where they are installed.
The imaging device database c6c stores IDs for identifying the imaging devices 8a to 8d in association with the IDs of the cultivation beds A that are the imaging targets of the imaging devices.

The equipment database c6d stores the equipment ID of the air compressor 7 and the equipment IDs identifying each solenoid valve B. The equipment ID of the air compressor 7 is stored linked to the ID "T5" of compressed air T5, which is one of the resources T. The equipment IDs of the solenoid valves B arranged in the liquid supply pipe P2 and the gas supply pipe P3 are stored linked to IDs (T1 to T9) identifying the resource T, and the equipment IDs of the solenoid valves B arranged in the underground supply pipe P4 and the aboveground supply pipe P5 are stored linked to IDs (A1 to A4) of the cultivation beds A. When supplying each resource to any cultivation bed A, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C reads out the equipment ID of the solenoid valve B linked to the ID of the destination cultivation bed A and the equipment ID of the solenoid valve B linked to the ID of the resource T to be supplied, and controls to open the solenoid valves B. When compressed air T5 is supplied, the compressor control unit c5 controls the operation of the air compressor 7 based on the device ID of the air compressor 7 read out based on the ID "T5", which is one of the IDs of the resource T.
The control condition database c6e stores predetermined control conditions, that is, information on what kind of control is performed under what conditions.

The timing unit 9 is an electronic device that measures the elapsed time from a specific point in time and outputs the measurement results to the control device C. In addition, the timing unit 9 has a clock function that acquires current date and time information from GPS signals and a calendar function that identifies the day of the week, and outputs this information to the control device C as well.

Flow meter 3 detects the amount of resources T6-T9 transferred to main supply pipe P1 via gas supply pipes P3b-P3e, as well as the amount of water T1 supplied, and outputs a detection signal to control device C.

Each of the imaging devices 8a-8d is fixed to the frame H2 and is configured to be able to capture high-resolution color images based on a control signal (hereinafter referred to as an "imaging instruction signal") that instructs imaging output from the control device C. Imaging device 8a is positioned so that it can capture images of the plants G grown in cultivation bed A1, imaging device 8b of the plants G grown in cultivation bed A2, imaging device 8c of the plants G grown in cultivation bed A3, and imaging device 8d of the plants G grown in cultivation bed A4.

Each sensor unit 6 includes a pH sensor 6a that detects the pH of the culture medium a2, an EC sensor 6b that detects the EC (electrical conductivity) of the culture medium a2, an oxygen concentration sensor 6c that detects the oxygen concentration in the culture medium a2, a carbon dioxide concentration sensor 6d that detects the carbon dioxide concentration near the plant G, and a culture medium temperature sensor 6e that detects the temperature in the culture medium a2.

In this embodiment, the input device 4 is configured as a touch panel, and allows for input and setting of information such as the irrigation time, the day of the week for applying the first or second liquid fertilizer T2, T3, and the day and time for supplying the beneficial bacteria T4. The information set using the input device 4 is stored in the recording unit c6. In this embodiment, the system is configured to perform irrigation twice, and a total of two irrigation times, one in the morning and one in the evening, can be set. The input device can also be configured as a mechanical switch, etc.

In the cultivation facility 1 configured as described above, the control device C determines whether it is daytime, which is a predetermined time of the day, or nighttime, which is outside of the predetermined time, as shown in FIG. 5, and during the day, as shown in FIG. 6, performs irrigation control to supply water T1 to each cultivation bed A, fertilization control to supply first or second liquid fertilizer T2, T3 to each cultivation bed A by mixing it with water T1, and bacteria supply control (see FIG. 7) to detect abnormalities in the health of the plants G and supply bacterial culture solution T4 containing useful bacteria to the cultivation bed A.

On the other hand, at night, as shown in Figure 7, control device C performs cooling control, which cools medium a2 by supplying air T5 to medium a2, and gas supply control, which supplies resources T6 to T9, consisting of gases other than air T5, into the medium.

First, we will use Figure 6 to explain the various controls that are performed during the day.

Figure 6 is a flowchart showing the various controls performed by control device C during the day.

During the day, the control device C first determines whether the current time obtained from the clock unit 9 is the preset morning watering time (step d1).

If the result of the determination is that the current time is not morning irrigation time, the control device C repeats the determination until the current time becomes morning irrigation time.

On the other hand, if the current time is morning irrigation time, the control device C determines whether today's day is a day for fertilization control, as previously set using the input device 4, based on the day-of-the-week information obtained from the clock unit 9 (step d2). If the determination shows that today is a day for fertilization control, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C performs fertilization control (step d3).

During fertilization control, the valve control unit c4 supplies one of two types of liquid fertilizer T2 or T3 to each cultivation bed A depending on the detection results of each EC sensor 6b arranged in each cultivation bed A.

Specifically, if the EC value detected by the EC sensor 6b for any of the cultivation beds A is less than a predetermined value, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C supplies a second liquid fertilizer T3 with a high concentration of nitrogen components to the culture medium a2 of that cultivation bed A. For example, if the EC value detected by the EC sensor 6b for only the culture medium a2 of cultivation bed A1 is less than the predetermined value, the valve control unit c4 opens solenoid valves B1, B2, B4, B11, and B12 to supply the second liquid fertilizer T3 to cultivation bed A1, then closes these solenoid valves B, and opens solenoid valves B1, B2, B3, and B13-B18 to supply the first liquid fertilizer T2 to the other cultivation beds A2-A4.

In this way, by supplying second liquid fertilizer T3, which has a high concentration of nitrogen components, to cultivation bed A, where the EC value of the culture medium a2 is low, the EC value of that cultivation bed A can be increased.

On the other hand, if the result of the determination as to whether or not it is a day for fertilization control is that it is not a day for fertilization control, the valve control unit c4 performs irrigation control for all cultivation beds A (step d4).
In the irrigation control, the valve control unit c4 opens the electromagnetic valves B1, B2 and B11 to B18 to supply water T1 to all the cultivation beds A.

When fertilization control or irrigation control is performed in this manner, the control device C determines whether today's day is a day for performing bacterial supply control, as preset using the input device 4, based on the day-of-the-week information obtained from the clock unit 9 (step d5). If the determination shows that today is a day for performing bacterial supply control, the control device C determines whether it is the time for performing the preset bacterial supply control (step d6), and if it is the time for performing bacterial supply control, performs bacterial supply control, as described in detail below (step d7). It is preferable that bacterial supply control be performed about once a week.

If today is not a day of the week when fungus supply control is to be performed, or after fungus supply control has ended, the control device C determines whether the current time is evening irrigation time (step d8). If it is, irrigation control is performed on all cultivation beds A in the same manner as in step d4, as the final control of the day (step s9).

On the other hand, Figure 7 is a flowchart showing the bacteria supply control by the control device C, Figure 8(a) is a schematic diagram showing an image of the plant G captured by the imaging device 8a, and Figure 8(b) is a schematic diagram showing an image of the leaf portion extracted by the image processing unit c1.

In this embodiment, by executing the bacterial supply control shown in Figure 7, a bacterial culture solution T4 containing useful bacteria is supplied to a cultivation bed A containing a plant G that is found to be in an abnormal health condition, thereby preventing and suppressing diseases in the plant G.
In the bacteria supply control, the control device C first outputs an image capture instruction signal to each of the image capture devices 8a to 8d (step s1).

Upon receiving the imaging instruction signal, imaging device 8a outputs to control device C an image of the plant G being grown in cultivation bed A1 (see Figure 8(a)), imaging device 8b outputs to control device C an image of the plant G being grown in cultivation bed A2, imaging device 8c outputs to control device C an image of the plant G being grown in cultivation bed A3, and imaging device 8d outputs to control device C an image of the plant G being grown in cultivation bed A4.

When color images of plants G in each cultivation bed A (see Figure 8(a)) are received from the imaging device 8, the image processing unit c1 of the control device C performs threshold processing on the saturation and hue of each captured color image to generate a color image in which only the leaves of the plants G are extracted (step s2, see Figure 8(b)). Note that in the leaf extraction image shown in Figure 8(b), the leaves are shown in white to clearly show them, but in an actual leaf extraction image, the leaves are a color close to the actual leaf color, such as green, and are the color captured and reproduced by the image sensor of the imaging device 8.

Once the leaf extraction image of the plants G for each cultivation bed A has been generated in this manner, the first abnormality determination unit c2 of the control device C calculates the area of the portion showing the leaves for each plant of the plants G in the leaf extraction image and records this in the recording unit c6 together with the ID of each plant of the plants G (step s3). Hereinafter, the area showing the leaves of each plant in the leaf extraction image will be referred to as the "leaf area." In this embodiment, the leaf area calculated for each plant of the plants G in the leaf extraction image is the number of pixels showing the leaves of each plant of the plants G in the leaf extraction image (hereinafter referred to as the "leaf pixel count").

The first abnormality determination unit c2 then calculates, for each plant, the ratio of the area showing the leaves (= the area occupied by the leaves) in the currently generated leaf extraction image to the area showing the leaves (= the area occupied by the leaves) in the previous leaf extraction image (= the leaf extraction image generated from color images captured within a week).The first abnormality determination unit c2 then determines whether this ratio is less than a predetermined value (step s4).

More specifically, for each plant included in the leaf extraction image generated in step s2, the first abnormality determination unit c2 compares the current leaf pixel count with the leaf pixel count recorded previously for the same plant, and determines whether the ratio of the current (i.e., latest) leaf pixel count to the previously recorded leaf pixel count is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The current leaf pixel count is the leaf pixel count recorded in step s3. Plants in the leaf extraction image can be distinguished, for example, by providing an identification label on each cultivation bed A between two plants included in the field of view of each cultivation bed A captured by the imaging device 8, and determining which plant's leaf belongs to which plant based on whether the leaf is located on the left or right side of the captured label. Note that, as described above, this embodiment is configured to calculate the ratio of the current leaf area to the previous leaf area for each plant G. However, the ratio of the current leaf area to the previous leaf area may also be calculated for each cultivation bed A, i.e., for each leaf extraction image.

If the result of the determination is that there is a plant where the ratio of the current leaf area to the previous leaf area is less than a predetermined value, an abnormality in the health of the plant G is recognized, such as wilting or leaf loss of the leaves. The first abnormality determination unit c2 determines that the health of the plant is abnormal and records data linking the plant's ID with a flag indicating abnormality in the recording unit c6 (step s5). At the same time, the first abnormality determination unit c2 determines that the health of the plant where the ratio of the current leaf area to the previous leaf area is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is abnormal, and records data linking the plant's ID with a flag indicating normal in the recording unit c6.

On the other hand, if the result of the judgment is that there are no plants where the ratio of the current leaf area to the previous leaf area is less than the predetermined value, and no abnormalities in the health of any of the plants, such as wilted or fallen leaves, are found, the first abnormality judgment unit c2 judges that the health of each plant is normal (step s6) and records data linking the plant's ID with a flag indicating normality in the recording unit c6.

Once the first abnormality determination unit c2 has finished detecting abnormalities such as leaf wilting and leaf drop, the process moves to the step of detecting abnormalities based on leaf discoloration by the second abnormality determination unit c3 of the control device C. Leaf discoloration refers to, for example, yellowing or browning of the leaves of the plant G, or the appearance of spots on the leaves.

Specifically, the second anomaly determination unit c3 first quantifies the color density for each pixel in the leaf extraction image (step s7). That is, for each pixel representing a leaf, the darker the color, the higher the gray value, and the lighter the color, the lower the gray value. The gray value is a value that indicates the gray value of each pixel.

Next, the second abnormality determination unit c3 calculates the ratio of the area showing discolored leaf parts (i.e., the area occupied by discolored leaf parts) to the leaf area for each plant G in the leaf extraction image generated this time. The second abnormality determination unit c3 then determines whether this ratio is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (step s8). Hereinafter, the area of discolored leaf parts for each plant in the leaf extraction image will be referred to as the "discolored area."

More specifically, the second abnormality determination unit c3 calculates the ratio of the number of pixels whose color density value is less than a threshold (hereinafter referred to as the "number of discolored pixels") to the total number of leaf pixels for each plant G in the leaf extraction image, and determines whether this ratio is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

The threshold value for color intensity can be set to a value that indicates leaf discoloration, such as yellowing, and the predetermined value for the percentage of discolored pixels can be set to a value that indicates the possibility of an early symptom of a disease such as wilt that causes leaf discoloration. While this embodiment is configured to calculate the percentage of discolored leaves for each plant G as described above, it is also possible to calculate the percentage of discolored leaves for each cultivation bed A, i.e., for each leaf extraction image.

If the result of the determination is that there are no plants G whose discoloration area ratio is equal to or greater than the threshold, then no plants G with abnormal health conditions have been found in any of the cultivation beds A, and the second abnormality determination unit c3 determines that the health conditions of all plants G are normal (step s9).

In contrast, if the result of the judgment is that there is a plant G whose discoloration area ratio is equal to or greater than the threshold, it is determined that the plant has an abnormal health condition, in that the leaves have discolored. Therefore, the second abnormality judgment unit c3 judges that the health condition of the plant whose discoloration area ratio is equal to or greater than the threshold is abnormal, and records data linking the plant's ID with a flag indicating abnormality in the recording unit c6 (step s10). At the same time, the second abnormality judgment unit c3 judges that the health condition of the plant G whose discoloration area ratio is less than the threshold is normal, and records data linking the plant's ID with a flag indicating normal in the recording unit c6.

Once the second abnormality determination unit c3 has finished detecting an abnormality based on leaf discoloration, bacterial culture solution T4 containing useful bacteria is selectively supplied only to the cultivation beds A containing plants whose health state has been determined to be abnormal by at least one of the first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3 (step s11). Hereinafter, the selective supply of bacterial culture solution T4 containing useful bacteria only to the cultivation beds A containing plants G whose health state has been detected to be abnormal will be referred to as "selective supply." Note that if the health state of all plants in all cultivation beds A is determined to be normal, the supply of bacterial culture solution T4 containing useful bacteria is not performed, and the processing shown in FIG. 7 is terminated.

In selective supply, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C reads the ID of the cultivation bed A in which the plant detected as abnormal is located from the ID of the plant G that has been flagged as abnormal by the first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3. The valve control unit c4 then controls the solenoid valve B to supply the bacterial culture solution T4 containing useful bacteria only to the cultivation bed A indicated by that ID.

For example, if an abnormality in the health status is determined only for the plants on the front side of cultivation bed A1 and the plants on the front side of cultivation bed A2 shown in Figure 1, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C reads the IDs of cultivation beds A1 and A2, "A1" and "A2," from the IDs "A1-1" and "A2-1" associated with the abnormality flag, and opens only solenoid valves B1, B2, B5, and B11-B14, which are solenoid valves B associated with these IDs and resource T4, for a first predetermined time. As a result, water containing beneficial bacteria is supplied to the culture medium a2 only in cultivation beds A1 and A2 where abnormal plants are found.

In this way, when water containing beneficial bacteria is supplied to cultivation bed A containing plants that have been found to be in an abnormal state of health, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C supplies only water to the cultivation bed A for a second predetermined period of time (step s12).

As in the example above, if abnormal plants are found only in cultivation beds A1 and A2, valve control unit c4 closes solenoid valve B5 and leaves solenoid valves B1, B2, and B11-B14 open for a second predetermined time. This allows only water T1 to be supplied to the culture medium a2 of that cultivation bed A. This washes away the slime caused by the highly viscous beneficial fungus culture solution T4 that has clogged the numerous holes in the supply pipe P leading to that cultivation bed A, particularly in the aboveground supply pipe P5 extending above the culture medium a2, allowing the subsequent supply of gas.

Finally, the valve control unit c4 closes solenoid valve B1 and opens solenoid valve B6, and the compressor control unit c5 operates the air compressor 7 to supply compressed air T5 for a third predetermined time only to the cultivation bed A containing plants found to be abnormal in health (step s13). At this time, if, as in the example above, the plants found to be abnormal are only found in cultivation beds A1 and A2, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C will keep only solenoid valves B6 and B11-B14 open.

In this way, by rinsing the inside of the supply pipe P with water and then supplying compressed air T5 to the cultivation bed A containing the plants found to be abnormal, oxygen-containing air can be sent to the non-pathogenic F. oxysporum, an example of a beneficial bacterium, supplied to the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A.
The culture medium a2 of each cultivation bed A is covered with a mulching sheet a5 (see Figure 4), so that air can be retained in the culture medium a2 for a long period of time.

Here, oxygen is required for the growth of filamentous fungi such as F. oxysporum. However, the oxygen concentration in culture media, such as soil, is generally lower than that in air. Therefore, as described above, supplying and maintaining oxygen-containing compressed air T5 into culture medium a2 to which non-pathogenic F. oxysporum has been supplied promotes the growth (i.e., cultivation) of non-pathogenic F. oxysporum in culture medium a2. This suppresses the growth of pathogenic bacteria in cultivation bed A or plant G, thereby preventing and suppressing disease in plant G. In addition, supplying compressed air T5 allows the culture medium a2, which has become overly wet due to the supply of water T1, to be adequately dried, thereby preventing root rot of plant G. The air supplied in step s13 is an example of a "useful gas" that promotes the growth of non-pathogenic F. oxysporum, an example of a beneficial bacterium. A useful gas is a gas that promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria that suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria.

Furthermore, after compressed air T5 is supplied to a cultivation bed A where an abnormality has been detected, oxygen gas T7 may be supplied to the culture medium a2 of that cultivation bed A (cultivation beds A1 and A2 in the above example), or oxygen gas T7 may be supplied to the culture medium a2 instead of compressed air T5. This increases the oxygen concentration in the culture medium a2, further promoting the growth of beneficial bacteria. Oxygen gas T7 is another example of a "useful gas" that promotes the growth of non-pathogenic F. oxysporum, an example of a beneficial bacterium of the present invention.

Finally, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C closes each solenoid valve B. This ends the bacteria supply control by the control device C.

In this way, in this embodiment, if there are plants G with wilted or fallen leaves, or plants with discolored leaves, the system is configured to automatically supply a non-pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum, an example of a beneficial bacterium that suppresses the growth of pathogenic bacteria, to the medium a2 of the cultivation bed A where the plants are located, and then supply air that promotes the growth of the non-pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum.This allows the non-pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum to grow in the medium a2, suppressing the growth of pathogenic F. oxysporum in the cultivation bed A.This makes it possible to prevent and suppress diseases such as wilt in tomatoes, an example of a plant.

On the other hand, FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the various controls performed by the control device C at night.
At night, the control device C first controls the cooling of the culture medium a2 (step n1).

During cooling control, the control device C determines whether the temperature of the culture medium a2 in each cultivation bed A, detected by the culture medium temperature sensor 6e of the sensor unit 6 arranged in each cultivation bed A, is above a predetermined value. If the temperature of the culture medium a2 in any cultivation bed A is above the predetermined value, the control device C supplies air T5 to the culture medium a2 in that cultivation bed A. To supply air T5, the valve control device c4 controls solenoid valve B6 and the solenoid valve B corresponding to that cultivation bed A (e.g., solenoid valves B15 and B16 in the case of cultivation bed A3) to open, and the compressor control device c5 starts operation of the air compressor 7. This allows the temperature of the heat-accumulating culture medium a2 to be lowered at night, for example, during hot periods such as summer. The supply of air T5 may be configured to be performed for a predetermined period of time, or may be configured to continue until the temperature of the culture medium a2 falls below the predetermined value.

After performing cooling control in this manner, control device C performs gas supply control (step n2).

In gas supply control, the control device C supplies appropriate resources T6 to T9 according to the detection results of the sensor units 6 installed in each cultivation bed A. For example, if the oxygen concentration in the culture medium a2 detected by the oxygen concentration sensor 6c installed in cultivation bed A1 is low, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C opens only solenoid valves B8, B11, and B12 to supply oxygen gas T7 into the culture medium a2 in cultivation bed A1 only. This promotes the growth of non-pathogenic F. oxysporum, an example of a beneficial bacterium, and reduces the cost of oxygen supply by supplying oxygen only to cultivation bed A, which has a low oxygen concentration.

Oxygen gas T7 may be supplied for a predetermined period of time, or until the oxygen concentration detected by oxygen concentration sensor 6c reaches a predetermined concentration or higher. If the plant is a moist-loving species and the culture medium contains a lot of water, a dissolved oxygen concentration sensor may be used instead of oxygen concentration sensor 6c.

As described above, the cooling control and gas supply control of this embodiment are configured to supply gaseous resources T5-T9 in accordance with the detection results of the sensor unit 6. However, air T5, oxygen gas T7, nitrogen gas T8, and/or hydrogen gas T9 may also be configured to be periodically supplied to the culture medium a2 of each cultivation bed A at night. This can activate the culture medium a2, such as soil, and the roots of the plants G. Furthermore, the timing and amount of supply of the gaseous resources T5-T9 may be determined using AI. Unlike the liquid resources T1-T4, the gaseous resources T5-T9 supplied to the culture medium a2 are diffused evenly throughout the culture medium a2.

<Technical significance of this embodiment>

In this embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 8, a non-pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum, an example of a beneficial fungus that suppresses the growth of pathogenic F. oxysporum, is supplied to a cultivation bed A in which an abnormality in the health of a plant G is detected by the imaging device 8, image processing unit c1, and first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3, which correspond to the abnormality detection means, thereby suppressing the growth of pathogenic fungi within the cultivation bed A. Therefore, diseases of plants G can be prevented and suppressed even in pesticide-free or reduced-pesticide cultivation.

Generally, cultivating fungi is very expensive, and there is a risk that the cost of continuously supplying useful bacteria to the cultivation beds A will be high. However, in this embodiment, when an abnormality in the health of a plant G in any of the cultivation beds A is detected, useful bacteria are selectively supplied to that cultivation bed A (in other words, only to that cultivation bed A). This makes it possible to reduce the amount of useful bacteria supplied compared to when useful bacteria are frequently supplied to all cultivation beds A, thereby reducing the costs associated with cultivating or purchasing useful bacteria.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, by supplying beneficial bacteria to the culture medium a2 in the cultivation bed A, the beneficial bacteria can be cultivated (i.e., propagated) in the culture medium a2, and even supplying small amounts infrequently can be effective in preventing and suppressing disease.

In addition, according to this embodiment, beneficial bacteria are automatically supplied to the culture medium a2 of cultivation bed A where abnormalities in the health of plants G are detected, thereby preventing and suppressing disease, thereby reducing the burden on workers in terms of monitoring and treatment work.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, by supplying air T5, an example of a useful gas that promotes the proliferation of useful bacteria, to the culture medium of cultivation bed A to which useful bacteria have been supplied, the proliferation of useful bacteria in culture medium a2 can be accelerated, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of disease prevention and suppression.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, water T1 is supplied to the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A to which useful bacteria have been supplied, and then air T5 is supplied. Therefore, the slime of useful bacteria that has clogged the numerous holes formed on the outer periphery of the underground supply pipe P4 is washed away with water, and air that promotes the growth of useful bacteria can be supplied into the culture medium through the numerous holes. Therefore, even if the supply pipe for useful bacteria, the supply pipe for useful gas, and the supply pipe for water are shared (in other words, combined into one), the useful gas can be smoothly supplied into the culture medium a2, reducing capital investment.

In addition, according to this embodiment, a porous pipe is used for the underground supply pipe P4 of the supply pipe P that supplies resources T such as useful bacteria T4, located in the culture medium a2.This allows air T5 and oxygen gas T7, which are useful gases that contribute to the cultivation of useful bacteria T4, to be evenly supplied throughout the culture medium a2, allowing for early disease prevention and suppression effects to be achieved.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, as shown in steps s12 and s13 of Figure 7, useful gas is supplied only to the cultivation bed A to which useful bacteria T4 has been supplied, thereby reducing running costs.

In addition, according to this embodiment, abnormalities in the health of plants G are detected based on color images captured by the imaging device 8, so there is no need to install various sensors such as moisture sensors in each cultivation bed A to detect diseases in plants G, significantly reducing equipment costs.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, if there are many discolored leaf areas in a leaf extraction image in which the foliage (= leaves) of plant G is extracted, i.e., if the ratio of the number of discolored pixels to the number of leaf pixels is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the health of plant G is determined to be abnormal, and beneficial bacteria are supplied to the culture medium a2 of cultivation bed A in which the health of the plant is determined to be abnormal. Therefore, diseases that cause leaf discoloration, such as wilt, can be automatically detected, and the disease can be suppressed by supplying beneficial bacteria.

In addition, according to this embodiment, the imaging device 8 captures images of the plants G in the cultivation bed A at a predetermined frequency (once a week in this embodiment), and if the ratio of the leaf area in the current leaf extraction image to the leaf area in the previous leaf extraction image (= the ratio of the current leaf pixel count to the previous leaf pixel count) is less than a predetermined value, the health of the plants G is determined to be abnormal, and useful bacteria are supplied into the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A where the health of the plants is determined to be abnormal. Therefore, by automatically detecting leaf wilt or leaf fall due to wilt disease or the like and supplying useful bacteria, it is possible to suppress the disease.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the culture medium a2 of each cultivation bed A is covered with a mulching sheet a5, so useful gases such as air T5 and oxygen gas T7 can be retained in the culture medium a2 for a long period of time, thereby maintaining the effect of promoting the proliferation of useful bacteria.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and it goes without saying that these modifications are also encompassed within the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 8, the cultivation facility 1 is composed of a greenhouse H, but it may also be another cultivation facility such as a field or a plant factory.

Furthermore, while the above embodiment has been described in detail as an example in which tomatoes are cultivated as plant G, the type of plant to which the present invention is applicable is not limited to tomatoes, as mentioned above. For example, if the present invention is used to cultivate cucumbers, it is possible to detect powdery mildew, downy mildew, etc. by calculating the proportion of pixels that indicate leaf spots as the number of discolored pixels.

In addition, while a tank is used as the water source in the above embodiment, the water source is not limited to this. For example, the water source could be composed of groundwater and a pump that supplies the water to the supply pipe P, with a control unit for controlling the operation of the pump being provided in the control device C. In this case, the solenoid valve B1 provided in the main supply pipe P1 is not necessarily required. It is also possible to use tap water as the water source.

In addition, useful bacteria T4 may be resistant to the fungicide contained in the pesticide. This allows useful bacteria to be cultivated in medium a2 even while spraying low amounts of pesticide, including fungicides.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the cultivation facility 1 includes multiple cultivation beds as an example of the "multiple cultivation sections" of the present invention, and is configured to supply resources T1-T9, including beneficial bacteria T4, on a bed-by-bed basis. However, the cultivation facility may also include multiple ridges, multiple areas, or multiple seedling rows as the multiple cultivation sections. As is currently done, tomato seedlings, for example, may be individually placed (planted) in separate bags containing soil or other medium, with each of these bags serving as a cultivation section. By configuring the facility to supply beneficial bacteria and other resources to a specific ridge, specific area, specific seedling row, or specific bag where abnormalities in plant health have occurred, plant diseases can be prevented and suppressed even in pesticide-free or reduced-pesticide cultivation. When plant seedlings are cultivated individually in separate bags, irrigation drip tubes may be used as supply pipes for supplying the resources T1-T9. In this case, by inserting the drip tubes into the medium contained in the bags, the various resources T1-T9 can be automatically supplied to the medium through the drip tubes.

In addition, in the above embodiment, as shown in Figure 7, a two-stage abnormality determination (=detection) process is provided using the first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3. However, the configuration may also be such that abnormality determination is performed only by the first abnormality determination unit c2, or such that abnormality determination is performed only by the second abnormality determination unit c3.

In the above embodiment, the cultivation facility 1 includes an imaging device 8 and first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3 as abnormality detection means for detecting abnormalities in the health of plants. However, the cultivation facility 1 may also be configured so that the water irrigated to the medium a2 that is not absorbed by the plants G drips downward from the cultivation bed A, and the amount of dripping is detected by a sensor. For example, a hole for draining excess water may be formed below the cultivation container a3, and a set amount of water may be irrigated daily. A container for collecting excess water that drips through the hole may be placed below the hole, and the water level in the container may be detected by a sensor. In this case, if the amount of water dripping into the container is greater than a predetermined amount, it is determined that the roots of the plants G are weakened. Therefore, by configuring the cultivation bed A to supply water T4 containing beneficial bacteria, it is possible to prevent and suppress plant disease. The "predetermined amount" may be set, for example, to the daily irrigation amount minus the minimum amount of water absorbed by healthy plants. As mentioned above, when cultivating tomato seedlings or other plants individually in bags (as cultivation plots), it is also preferable to form drainage holes in the bottom of the bags and configure the system to automatically supply water containing beneficial bacteria if the amount of water dripping from the holes exceeds a predetermined amount. In this case, by providing one sensor to detect excess water for every 10 bags, for example, the cost of installing sensors can be reduced.

In addition, instead of using a sensor to detect the amount of dripping water, the sensor may be configured to detect the amount of moisture (moisture content) in the culture medium. In this case, if the detected amount of moisture is greater than a predetermined amount, it is determined that the roots of the plant G are weakened, and by configuring the cultivation area to be able to supply water containing beneficial bacteria, plant diseases can be prevented and suppressed.

In addition, the cultivation facility 1 according to the above embodiment is equipped with an imaging device 8, an image processing unit c1, and first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3 as examples of "abnormality detection means." It is configured so that color images of all cultivation beds A are acquired by the imaging device 8, the images are processed by the image processing unit c1, and the presence or absence of abnormalities is determined by the first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3. However, it is not necessarily necessary to configure all cultivation beds A to detect abnormalities in the health condition using these abnormality detection means. For example, it is also possible to configure some cultivation beds A to detect abnormalities in the health condition by measuring the amount of excess water, as described above. In other words, there may be a mixture of cultivation beds A in which abnormalities in the health condition are detected based on images acquired by the imaging device 8 and cultivation beds A in which abnormalities in the health condition are detected by measuring the amount of excess water.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the image processing unit c1 and the first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3 of the abnormality detection means are provided in a control device C separate from the imaging device 8, but these may also be provided in the imaging device, and the valve control unit c4 of the control device C may supply resources such as useful bacteria T4 to the cultivation bed A based on the abnormality determination signal output from the imaging device 8.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the proliferation of beneficial bacteria is promoted by supplying oxygen gas T7. However, it is also possible to configure the system so that glutamic acid, for example, is contained in water T1, the first liquid fertilizer T2, or the second liquid fertilizer T3 and supplied to the culture medium a2. This increases the germination rate of non-pathogenic F. oxysporum, an example of beneficial bacteria, and effectively promotes proliferation. It is also possible to configure the system so that other amino acids, enzymes, etc. are supplied to the culture medium a2 instead of or together with glutamic acid.

Furthermore, while the above-described embodiment is configured to supply non-pathogenic F. oxysporum to medium a2, the above-described non-pathogenic mutant strain of R. solanacearum may be supplied to the medium instead of or together with non-pathogenic F. oxysporum. This will suppress the growth of pathogenic R. solanacearum, the causative agent of bacterial wilt disease, in medium a2, thereby preventing the occurrence of continuous crop damage to tomatoes and other plants. In this case, it is more preferable to supply a bacterial culture solution containing a non-pathogenic mutant strain of R. solanacearum mixed with water to the medium periodically, in addition to when abnormalities in the health of the plants G are observed.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3 of the control device C are configured to determine (detect) abnormalities in the health of plants G based on images of each cultivation bed A acquired by the imaging device 8, and to supply water containing useful bacteria T4 to cultivation beds A where abnormalities are detected. However, in addition to this configuration, when an operator visually checks each cultivation bed A and finds a plant G with an abnormal health condition, the operator may input or select the ID of that cultivation bed A using an input device such as a touch panel or mouse, and resources T1 to T9, such as bacterial culture solution T4 containing useful bacteria, may be supplied to the cultivation bed A selected by the control device.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, each imaging device 8 is fixed to the frame H2, but it may also be configured, for example, to be attached to a drone or a mobile work vehicle, and to capture images of each cultivation bed A while the drone or work vehicle is flying or traveling. This allows the number of imaging devices to be reduced, thereby suppressing equipment costs. In this case, the images are transmitted to the control device C via wireless communication, etc., and, as in the above embodiment, abnormalities in the health condition can be detected by the first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3 of the control device C.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the color shading of the leaves in the leaf extraction image is quantified, and discoloration of the leaves of the plant G is detected based on the proportion of discolored pixels in the light areas where this shading value is less than a predetermined value. However, the system may also be configured to calculate the proportion of pixels within a predetermined color range to the number of leaf images in the leaf extraction image, and if this proportion is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, to determine that there is something wrong with the plant's health, and to supply beneficial bacteria, water, or beneficial gas to the cultivation area containing the plant determined to be abnormal. The predetermined color range may be set to, for example, a yellowish range, a brown range, or a white range, making it possible to detect yellowing, leaf withering, spots, etc.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, nitrogen gas is supplied to the culture medium a2 as resource T8, but ammonia may be supplied instead of nitrogen gas, or argon gas may be separately applied.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a configuration in which air or oxygen is supplied after useful bacteria and water are supplied into culture medium a2 has been described in detail, but the gas supplied into culture medium a2 after the useful bacteria and water have been supplied is not limited to these, as long as it promotes the growth of useful bacteria.

In addition, in the above embodiment, solenoid valve B is used as an example of the "on-off valve" of the present invention that connects and disconnects the supply of resources T1 to T9, but other valve members, such as an electrically operated valve including a motor, may also be used.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the valve control unit c4 is configured to control irrigation for all cultivation beds A at the preset morning and evening irrigation times, but the control unit C may also be configured to automatically determine the number of times irrigation is performed each day depending on the amount of solar radiation on that day.

For example, a database linking the date, sunrise time, and sunset time at the location of the cultivation facility 1 is stored in advance in the recording unit c6 shown in FIG. 3, and an operator can use the input device 4 to input and set the number of hours after sunrise for the first irrigation each day and the number of hours before sunset for the last irrigation each day into the control device C. Once the irrigation timing is set, as shown in FIG. 10, the control device C reads the sunrise time data for that day from the recording unit c6 at a predetermined time each day (e.g., midnight) based on the current date information obtained from the GPS signal by the clock unit 9, and calculates and sets the time for the first irrigation of that day based on the information on "how many hours after sunrise for the first irrigation" (step dd1). Then, when the set first irrigation time arrives (step dd2), the valve control unit c4 of the control device C irrigates each cultivation bed A in sequence (step dd3). In this way, by watering each cultivation bed A in turn, it is possible to adjust the amount of water irrigation for each cultivation bed A, as will be described in detail later.

It is not necessary to store a database linking the date with the sunrise and sunset times for the location of the cultivation facility 1 in the recording unit c6; it is also possible to store the database on an external server, etc., and obtain information on the sunrise and sunset times for that day from the external server, etc., based on the location information and date information of the cultivation facility 1. Furthermore, it is not necessary to have a database of sunrise and sunset times only for the location of the cultivation facility 1; it is also possible to store a database linking the date with the sunrise and sunset times for each location in the recording unit c6 or an external server, etc. In this case, it is possible to read information on the sunrise and sunset times from the database based on the location information and date information of the cultivation facility 1 obtained from GPS signals, etc. This eliminates the need to set the location information of the cultivation facility 1 when installing the control device C.

After the first watering, the control device C acquires the amount of solar radiation near the plants G detected by a solar radiation sensor separately installed in the cultivation facility 1 (step dd4), determines whether the amount of solar radiation is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and determines to water the plants a standard number of times (e.g., five times) if the amount of solar radiation is less than the predetermined value, or a number of times a predetermined value greater than the standard number of times (e.g., six times, which is one more than the standard number) if the amount of solar radiation is equal to or greater than the predetermined value (step dd5). The control device C then automatically calculates and sets the times for each subsequent watering so that the number of times determined based on the amount of solar radiation is equal to the amount of watering, from the first watering time set in step 1 (e.g., two hours after sunrise for that day) to the preset final watering time (e.g., five hours before sunset for that day) at equal time intervals (step dd6). Once the times for the second and subsequent irrigation have been set, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C will irrigate each cultivation bed A in turn from the second irrigation onwards at each irrigation time (step dd7) (step dd8).

During the first watering (step dd3 above) and each subsequent watering (step dd8 above), the control device C preferably determines the amount of water T1 to irrigate each cultivation bed A based on the detected value of a moisture sensor (not shown) that detects the moisture content of the medium a2 of each cultivation bed A before opening the solenoid valve B. The higher the moisture content of the medium a2, the less water T1 to irrigate, thereby preventing root rot of the plants G. Additionally, a cultivation bed A whose moisture content in the medium a2 is above a predetermined value may be configured not to be irrigated. Furthermore, when the cultivation bed A is configured so that excess water T1 irrigated to the medium a2 drips downward, or when plant seedlings are planted separately in bags as described above, the amount of dripping water is detected by a sensor or camera image processing. If the amount is above a predetermined value, it is determined that the plants G are not absorbing enough water, and the amount of water irrigated for that cultivation bed A is preferably reduced or not irrigated at all.

In addition, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, useful bacteria are supplied to a cultivation bed A in which an abnormality in the health condition of a plant G has been detected. However, the supply of useful bacteria to a cultivation bed A in which an abnormality has been detected may be continued at a predetermined frequency. In this case, it is preferable to detect the number of live bacteria in the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A to which useful bacteria have been supplied, and to stop the supply of useful bacteria if the detected number of live bacteria is equal to or greater than a predetermined value and no abnormality in the health condition has been detected by the first and/or second abnormality determination units c2 and c3. This configuration makes it possible to prevent and suppress diseases in plants G while reducing the cost of supplying useful bacteria. The detection of the number of live bacteria in the culture medium a2 may be indirect, i.e., by obtaining a correlation value indicating the degree of the bacteria count.

For example, as described above, a container for collecting excess water dripping from cultivation bed A is placed below cultivation bed A, and a carboxyfluorescein diacetate (hereinafter referred to as "CFDA") solution is automatically added to the container. The bottom of the container is preferably transparent. Then, at night, based on a control signal transmitted from control device C, an irradiation device located directly below the container automatically irradiates the container with excitation light, and an imaging device also located directly below the container automatically captures fluorescent images. The number of fluorescent spots in the fluorescent images is automatically measured by image processing, or the fluorescent intensity in the images is automatically measured. If the measured number of fluorescent spots or fluorescent intensity is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the number of bacteria in culture medium a2 in cultivation bed A is found to be large, indicating that beneficial bacteria have been successfully cultivated in culture medium a2. Therefore, the supply of beneficial bacteria can be stopped, provided that no abnormalities in the health of plants G are detected. Although it cannot be said that the number of measured fluorescent spots or fluorescence intensity is entirely due to the esterase activity of the beneficial bacteria, it can be recognized that beneficial bacteria have been cultivated in medium a2 by including the condition that no abnormalities in the health of plant G have been detected.

In this way, by measuring the number of bacteria in the water dripping downward through the medium a2, the number of live bacteria in the medium a2 can be detected much faster than by culturing bacteria in a petri dish, etc., and the measurement of the number of bacteria can be automated. Furthermore, the number of live bacteria in the medium a2 can be detected indirectly based on the EC value of the medium a2 detected by the EC sensor 6b, in addition to the CFDA, or can be detected indirectly based on the values of components such as iron in the medium a2.

1 Cultivation facility 3 Flow meter 4 Input device 5 Supply device 6 Sensor unit 7 Air compressor 8 Imaging device 9 Timer C Control device T1 to T9 Resources

Claims (6)

A cultivation facility having a plurality of cultivation sections for cultivating plants,
A medium for cultivating plants provided in each cultivation section;
An abnormality detection means for detecting abnormalities in the health state of a plant;
a resource supply source that supplies various resources useful for plant cultivation;
a supply pipe for supplying the resource into the medium of each cultivation section;
an on-off valve disposed in the supply pipe for connecting and disconnecting the supply of the resources to each cultivation section;
a valve control means for controlling the opening and closing of the on-off valve,
The resource supply source includes a useful bacterial source containing useful bacteria that suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria on plants,
A cultivation facility characterized in that when the abnormality detection means detects an abnormality in the health of a plant in any of the cultivation sections, the valve control means controls the opening/closing valve and supplies the beneficial bacteria to the culture medium of the cultivation section in which the abnormality is detected among the multiple cultivation sections. The resource supply source includes a source of useful gas that promotes the growth of the useful bacteria and a water source that supplies water,
A portion of the supply pipe is disposed in the culture medium of each cultivation section, and a porous pipe having a large number of holes communicating the inside and outside of the pipe is used in the portion of the supply pipe located in the culture medium;
The beneficial bacteria, the beneficial gas, or the water supplied from the resource supply source can be supplied into the culture medium of each cultivation section through the hole of the supply pipe,
The cultivation facility described in claim 1, characterized in that the valve control means is configured to control the on-off valve to supply the water into the culture medium in the cultivation section after supplying the beneficial bacteria to the cultivation section in which an abnormality in the health of the plant has been detected, and then supply the useful gas. the abnormality detection means comprises an imaging device that images plants in the cultivation section, an image processing unit that generates a leaf extraction image in which leaves of the plants are extracted from the image of the plants captured by the imaging device, and an abnormality determination means that determines an abnormality in the health condition of the plants based on the leaf extraction image;
The cultivation facility described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the abnormality determination means calculates the ratio of the area showing discolored portions of the leaves to the area showing the leaves of the plant in the leaf extraction image, and determines that the health condition of the plant is abnormal if the ratio is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and the valve control means is configured to control the on-off valve to supply the beneficial bacteria to the culture medium of the cultivation section in which the health condition of the plant is determined to be abnormal. the abnormality detection means comprises an imaging device that images plants in the cultivation section at a predetermined frequency, an image processing unit that generates a leaf extraction image in which leaves of the plants are extracted from the image of the plants captured by the imaging device, and an abnormality determination means that determines an abnormality in the health condition of the plants based on the leaf extraction image;
The cultivation facility described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the abnormality determination means calculates the ratio of the area showing the leaves in the leaf extraction image generated from the latest image of the plant to the area showing the leaves in the leaf extraction image generated from the previously captured image of the plant, and determines that the health condition of the plant is abnormal if the ratio is less than a predetermined value, and the valve control means is configured to control the on-off valve to supply the useful bacteria to the culture medium of the cultivation section in which the health condition of the plant is determined to be abnormal. A cultivation facility as described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the medium in each cultivation section is covered with a mulching sheet. The resource supply source further includes a liquid fertilizer supply source;
3. The cultivation facility according to claim 1, wherein the water or the liquid fertilizer contains glutamic acid.