JPH0154975B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

The present invention relates to a soil material for growing plants that uses inorganic fibers. As a soil material for growing plants, it can be used for plant germination,
It goes without saying that it does not impede growth, but it is also required to have good air permeability and good water retention.
Conventionally, it has been proposed to use artificial inorganic fibers as a material that satisfies such requirements. (Tokuko Akira
(Refer to Publication No. 41-12642) This proposal proposes that artificial inorganic fibers be used mainly as culture soil, mixed with clay soil to give it porosity, and mixed with sandy soil to increase water adsorption and retention properties, thereby improving the soil texture. This is to measure the improvement of However, inorganic fibers, especially rock wool and glass wool, are disadvantageous because the water in which they are soaked is basic, resulting in a high PH, and it is said that a low PH is better, especially in potting soil for growing rice seedlings. In addition, since inorganic fibers contain almost no fertilizing components such as nitrogen, phosphoric acid, and potassium, fertilization is required when using them for growing seedlings and growing plants. In addition, inorganic fibers were originally manufactured as building materials and industrial materials, and cannot be said to be materials with high water absorption or water retention properties. For plant growth, water needs to be neither insufficient nor too humid, and it is necessary to impart hydrophilic properties suitable for use as a soil material. The present invention aims to solve this problem, and the gist thereof is to use ammonium sulfate alone or a mixture of ammonium sulfate and one or more of ammonium chloride, ammonium nitrate, or ammonium phosphate in an amount of 1 to 10% by weight (external percentage). Contains mineral acids,
This is a soil material for growing plants that does not substantially contain salts of mineral acids other than organic acids and/or fertilizer components, and is mainly made of inorganic fibers that have been treated to be hydrophilic with a nonionic activator. As the inorganic fiber, rock wool (also called mineral wool or slag wool) or glass wool, which is made by dissolving blast furnace slag produced as a by-product in steel mills, or natural minerals such as basalt, andesite, and diabase, and turning it into fibers, is used. In some cases, inorganic fibers may be mixed with a small amount of natural fibers (such as pulp), artificial fibers, or synthetic fibers. In the present invention, ammonium sulfate alone or ammonium salts of other mineral acids are blended with the inorganic fibers in order to adjust the basicity of the inorganic fibers and give them a fertilizing effect. Such ammonium salts of mineral acids include:
Examples include ammonium chloride, ammonium nitrate, and ammonium phosphate (particularly diammonium hydrogen phosphate), and these may be used alone or in combination of two or more. The amount of ammonium sulfate or a mixture of ammonium sulfate and other mineral acid ammonium salts (hereinafter referred to as ammonium sulfate, etc.) is 0.1 to 0.1 to inorganic fibers.
10% by weight (external division) is appropriate. In addition, the blending methods include immersing inorganic fibers in an aqueous solution of these salts and drying them, spraying these salts on inorganic fibers and drying them, and uniformly mixing salt powder with inorganic fibers. be. When using an inorganic fiber molded product obtained by processing inorganic fiber into a pine shape, plate shape, cube shape, etc. as a cultivation soil material for growing plants, the above treatment method may be applied to the molded product, but it is not necessary to use it during the molding process. Ammonium sulfate or the like can be mixed with the binder and blended into the inorganic fiber together with the binder. When ammonium sulfate and the like in the binder come into contact with water, they gradually dissolve and exhibit their effects. Therefore, it is slow-release and long-lasting, so even if the amount of ammonium sulfate or the like is increased, problems due to excessive fertilizer will not occur, and the effect will last for a long time. Binders used in inorganic fiber molding include synthetic resin binders such as phenolic resin, melamine resin, urea resin, vinyl acetate resin, and polyvinyl alcohol, and natural binders such as starch, glue, gelatin, and casein. Particularly advantageous is a method in which inorganic fibers are sprayed with a thermosetting resin binder such as phenolic resin, melamine resin, or urea resin, and then heated to a predetermined temperature to be molded. Ammonium sulfate and the like have the effect of adjusting the basicity due to inorganic fibers, and within the range of the above-mentioned blending amount, the pH of the product is lowered to about 6 to 7, which is particularly suitable as a potting soil for growing rice seedlings. In addition, it can also be expected to have a fertilizing effect as a nitrogen fertilizer or nitrogen phosphate fertilizer. If the amount of ammonium sulfate, etc. is less than 1% by weight, these effects cannot be expected, and if it exceeds 10% by weight, germination may be impaired or various problems may occur due to excessive fertilizer use. In the present invention, since ammonium sulfate and the like have the effect of adjusting the basicity of inorganic fibers, sulfuric acid,
Mineral acids such as hydrochloric acid and nitric acid, salts of mineral acids such as iron sulfate, sulfuric acid chloride, and manganese sulfate (excluding fertilizer components),
There is no need for acid treatment with organic acids such as citric acid, fumaric acid, malic acid, and nitrofumic acid. Inorganic fibers treated with acids such as sulfuric acid become brittle,
The surface becomes easily powdered. This is thought to be due to the fibers collapsing from the surface due to reaction in the portions that came into contact with sulfuric acid. Furthermore, the use of mineral acids and organic acids such as sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid has the problem of corrosion of equipment. Furthermore, if necessary, fertilizing ingredients such as potash and phosphoric acid may be added together with ammonium salts of mineral acids. For example, for raising paddy rice seedlings, potassium fertilizers such as potassium chloride and potassium nitrate, and phosphoric acid fertilizers such as superphosphate and ammonium phosphate can be blended. The inorganic fiber used is one that has been hydrophilized with a nonionic activator. Examples of nonionic surfactants include alkyl polyoxyethylene ether, alkylphenyl polyoxyethylene ether, alkyl carbonyloxy polyethylene, N,N-di(polyoxyethylene) alkanamide, fatty acid polyhydric alcohol ester, fatty acid polyhydric alcohol polyhydric alcohol Typical examples include oxyethylene ether, fatty acid sucrose ester, fatty acid monoglyceride, and N,N-di(alkanol)alkanamide. If inorganic fibers are hydrophilized with these,
When used as a potting soil, it improves the balance between water retention and aeration, improving germination rate and plant growth. Next, examples and comparative examples will be described. Example 1 In the process of melting blast furnace slag to produce rock wool, phenol resin was used as a binder and polyoxyethylene nonyl phenyl ether was used as a water absorbent.

[Table] Example 2 In the process of melting blast furnace slag to produce rock wool, an aqueous solution containing a mixture of phenol resin as a binder, polyoxyethylene nonyl phenyl ether as a water absorbing agent, and ammonium sulfate shown in Table 2 was sprayed onto rock wool. and heat it,
Density 80g/, binder 2% by weight, water absorbing agent 0.5
Various rock wool molded articles (Samples 7 to 10) containing ammonium sulfate, etc. in a predetermined weight percent and amount were manufactured. In the same manner as in Example 1, the pH of the soaking water was measured immediately before sowing and 7 days after sowing. Table 2 lists the sample types and PH measurement results.

[Table] Monium Example 3 Samples 1-2 and 4-9 of Example 1 and Example 2
A paddy rice seedling growing test was conducted using this method. Height 280mm,
A sample cut to a width of 580 mm and a thickness of 20 mm was placed in a commercially available seedling box, and the surface was evenly sprinkled with water from step 2.
200g of ``Koshihikari'' sprouting rice was sown, 1kg of unfertilized soil was placed on top of the seedlings, and the seeds were placed in a budding machine maintained at 32°C for 2 days to germinate. Afterwards, they greened and hardened the seeds in a vinyl greenhouse, and raised them for 14 days to produce young seedlings. Table 3 lists the results of the seedling-raising test for young seedlings.

[Table] Ammonium nitrate binder compounding treatment

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 Contains 1 to 10% by weight (external) of ammonium sulfate alone or a mixture of ammonium sulfate and one or more of ammonium chloride, ammonium nitrate, or ammonium phosphate, and contains mineral acids, organic acids, and / Or a plant growing soil material that does not substantially contain mineral acid salts other than fertilizer components and is mainly made of inorganic fibers that have been treated to be hydrophilic with a nonionic activator. 2. A cultivating soil material for growing plants according to claim 1, which is molded with a binder. 3. The soil material for growing plants according to claim 2, which is molded with a binder containing an ammonium salt of a mineral acid and a nonionic activator.