NL2007534C2

NL2007534C2 - A method of breeding young plants and a plant breeding system.

Info

Publication number: NL2007534C2
Application number: NL2007534A
Authority: NL
Inventors: Petrus Mattheus Maria Hoff
Original assignee: Holding P M M Hoff B V
Priority date: 2011-10-04
Filing date: 2011-10-04
Publication date: 2013-04-08
Also published as: TN2013000254A1

Description

P96167NL00

Title: A method of breeding young plants and a plant breeding system

The invention relates to a method of breeding young plants.

International patent application PCT/NL/2010/050581 discloses an irrigating system that can serve as a plant breeding system for irrigating young plants or seeds.

5 In order to breed young plants successfully in different soil species on Earth, it might be desirable to change the composition of the soil since not all soil types match soil conditions that enable optimal growth of a young plant. Changing a soil’s composition can be performed by a pretreatment process, before actually planting the plant. Then, the plant can be 10 planted and a plant facilitating system, such an irrigating system, can be placed to improve growth conditions for the young plant, especially in areas that are exposed to relatively extreme weather conditions, such as dry or rocky subsoil.

However, pre-treating the soil might be expensive and/or complex. 15 It is an object of the invention to provide a method of breeding young plants wherein the soil composition is changed without pre-treating the soil. Thereto, method according to the invention includes the steps of selecting a young plant, retrieving information from a soil structure wherein the young plant is to be planted, providing a structure for facilitating 20 growth of a young plant, wherein the structure includes disseminatable additives dedicated to the young plant and/or to the soil structure where the young plant is to be planted.

By including disseminatable additives in the structure, the ground composition can be changed, e.g. in terms of acid degree, salt degree and/or 25 lime degree, by simply placing the structure near the plant. The process of pre-treating the soil can now be omitted, thereby saving effort and costs.

Further, by including disseminatable additives, such as an aromatic substance, a flavouring such as camphor, chili, pepper or garlic, a fertilizer, mycorrhizae, anti-fungal material, an insecticide, fungi, animal 2 urine or excrements such as elephant excrements, baits such as sugar, honey and/or syrup, and/or dried plant parts, such as dried Melaleuca species, dried Taxodidium species and/or dried Juniperus species, the environment can be influenced, e.g. by chasing away harmful animals, 5 thereby further increasing growing conditions for the young plant.

Specifically, by including animal urine or excrements, harmful animals can be chased away. On the other hand, by including baits, specific animals such as bees can be attracted to the young plant.

By selecting seeds, symbiotic bacteria, eggs, nutrients and/or 10 spores as additives, the young plant can be provided with organic material that is beneficial and dedicated to the specific plant species.

Also harmful animal damaging material, such as glass grindings, sand grindings, metal grindings, cement, lime, silicon and/or rubber can be included in the additives.

15 The structure may include an irrigating system and/or a plant tray including a cup for retaining the young plant, and can be made from biodegradable material and/or pulp to reducing manufacturing costs and keep environmental impact low. By using biodegradable material the additives, if integrated with the base material which then serves as an 20 agent, can be disseminated in a dosed manner.

By coating the structure with a coating layer including additives dedicated to the young plant and/or to the soil structure where the young plant is to be planted, a standardized structure can be made suitable for use in a specific area on Earth by applying a last manufacturing step. The 25 coating step can be performed centrally in a manufacturing site or locally, near or at the specific planting area. It is noted that also the standardized structure can be provided with additives.

Further, the structure can be provided with a colour. Here, a first structure having a first additive composition can be provided with a first 30 colour while a second structure having a second additive composition, 3 different from the first additive composition, can be provided with a second colour, different from the first colour. Thereby, the structures are optically easily distinguishable for their purpose.

The colour can be provided by applying a coloured top layer on the 5 structure, e.g. by a painting process. However, the colour can also be provided otherwise, e.g. by penetrating the structure with coloured particles. As an example, if the structure is made from pulp, the material can be soaked through by a colour (dye) stuff.

By colouring the breeding systems, a person applying the system 10 can easily determine which system can be used in a specific area or for breeding a specific plant. Preferably, the specific colour of the system can be chosen such that the person handling the systems directly associates the system with an intended soil type or other area circumstances where the young plant is to be planted. As an example, a yellow system might be 15 intended for use in a sand desert, while a gray system might be intended for use in rocky soils. By colouring the systems with a colour that is naturally associated with a particular soil type, the application of the different systems is made so simple, that a chance of taking a wrong system is almost zero. The systems can also be used by less skilled persons, or even by 20 illiterate persons.

The top layer and the coating layer discussed above can be integrated. However, the layers can also be applied separately, or only one of the layer types can be applied.

Further advantageous embodiments according to the invention are 25 described in the following claims.

The invention also relates to a breeding system.

By way of example only, embodiments of the present invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying figures in which

Fig. 1 shows a schematic perspective cross sectional view of a first 30 embodiment of a plant breeding system according to the invention; 4

Fig. 2 shows a schematic perspective top view of a second embodiment of a plant breeding system according to the invention;

Fig. 3 shows a flow chart of an embodiment of a method according to the invention.

5 It is noted that the figures show merely preferred embodiments according to the invention. In the figures, the same reference numbers refer to equal or corresponding parts.

Figure 1 shows a schematic perspective cross sectional view of a first embodiment of a plant breeding system 1 according to the invention.

10 The system is implemented as an irrigating system 1 that comprises a collection structure 99 for collecting moisture present in the atmosphere, wherein the collection structure 99 is provided with a water recovery surface 24 which during use at least partly makes an angle with respect to the orientation of gravity. The system 1 also includes a reservoir 98 for storing 15 the recovered moisture, wherein the reservoir 98 is provided with irrigation means 19, 21 for delivering moisture present in the reservoir 98 to a subsoil located therebelow.

According to an aspect of the invention, the collection structure 99 and/or the reservoir 98 are manufactured from a biodegradable material, 20 such as biodegradable plastic or pulp. The biodegradable material may include cardboard, cellulose, such as paper tissue, paper foam and/or fiber paper.

As an example, the fiber paper may include coconut fiber, cotton fiber, banana fiber, jute fiber, wool fiber, straw fiber, grass fiber, hemp fiber, 25 kenaf fiber, wheat straw paper, sunflower stalks fiber, rags fiber, mulberry paper and/or kozo.

A biodegradable plastic can be based on petroleum based plastics or renewable raw materials, both including a biodegradable additive.

Generally, petroleum based plastics are known as hydro-carbons.

30 During a biodegradation process, microbes are enabled to metabolize the 5 molecular structure of the plastic and to produce inert humus material, water and biogases, such as CH4 and CO2. An example of a biodegradable additive is the commercially available substance, known as EcoPure including organic compounds for opening the polymer chain of the hydro-5 carbons, and attractants stimulating microbial colonization on the plastics. The biodegradation occurs at the atomic level and is anaerobic or aerobic. As an example, a biodegradable additive can be applied for a wide variety of plastics, such as PVC, PE, PP, PS, PC, PET and PA.

Renewable raw materials for forming a biodegradable plastic may 10 include wood fiber, e.g. 60%, combined with a plastic, e.g. 40%. When a suitable biodegradable additive is added, the material is made biodegradable.

Pulp as such can include various materials. Preferably, the pulp consists of biodegradable material. For example, the pulp that is used 15 mainly consists (for example by at least 90%, e.g. at least 99%) of wood pulp, paper pulp, or a combination of paper pulp and wood pulp. The pulp can include other materials as well, for example one or more of the materials that have been mentioned above.

Alternatively, the pulp contains liquid (e.g. water) when it is 20 applied to a mould, wherein the pulp can be dried (i.e. the liquid is removed from the pulp) during and/or after the moulding process.

Preferably, material forming the collection structure and the reservoir includes water impermeable material and/or is provided with a liquid impermeable coating, e.g. on the inner and/or outer side. Further, the 25 forming material can be coated with a biodegradable layer, preferably having a pre-determined thickness so that a desired degree of degradedness can be set. Alternatively or additionally, the degradedness of the biodegradable layer can be set by including a dosed amount of conserving material. Further, the degradedness can be set by localizing specific parts at 30 specific heights with respect to the ground level. In general, material in the 6 collection structure will degrade later than material in the reservoir, due to the position relative to the ground.

The base material of the collection structure and/or reservoir includes additives, specific materials, that are bound to the base material 5 for a specific time period and is then disseminated into the environment, due to degradable properties of the base material. By setting the degradedness of the base material, the degree of dissemination of the additives can be determined. In this respect it is noted that environmental parameters, such as wind, moisture etc may influence the degradedness of 10 the base material.

As an alternative, the additives are attached to the structure, e.g. in a pocket or in an adhesive layer at an outer surface of the structure, such that the additives can disseminate after placing the structure on the soil.

After placing the breeding structure and the young plant, the 15 additives can immediately disseminate into the soil structure. Especially, the additives can then penetrate into the soil containing roots of the young plant, thus improving surviving conditions for the young plant.

Since the bottom of the reservoir covers the soil, additives can immediately spread in the soil directly below the reservoir. As an example, 20 mycorrhizae or other fungi, more generally hydrophilic additives, can immediately disseminate and/or multiply under the influence of the extreme high humidity under the reservoir. The air below the reservoir can even be saturated with moisture, thus improving the circumstances for the roots to grow. In this respect it is noted that no sunlight enters below the reservoir. 25 Further, temperature conditions are relatively moderate since the soil directly under the reservoir will not become extremely hot or extremely cold. Due to the heat capacity of the reservoir, and the water in it, the temperature under the reservoir mainly follows the temperature course of the environmental air avoiding the extremes.

7

The additives can thus be integrated with the base material of the structure for facilitating growth of a young plant. Further, additives can be included in a coating layer that is provided on the structure, either on the outer side or the inner side, or both sides. The coating layer can be provided 5 on the structure using a known coating process, such as spraying or immersing. The additives are then attached at the surface of the structure. The additives can also be provided by impregnating the structure with a carrier material including the additives. Then, the whole structure, or a substantial part of it, is penetrated by the additives.

10 At least one of the above-mentioned techniques, e.g. the immersing process, can be carried out at the spot where the plant breeding system is to be placed and the young plant is to be planted, thereby providing a system that is in principle suitable for application everywhere on Earth, while the last processing step, e.g. the immersing process, makes the system 15 especially dedicated for use at the location of interest. In addition, by providing additives a relatively short time before actually placing the system, the additives can immediately start penetrating the subsoil and a ball of soil that carries at least a part of the root structure of the rootsructure, of the young plant. The additives are then not spoiled during 20 transport and/or storage.

The additives may include aromatic substances, flavourings, such as camphor, chili, pepper or garlic, (artificial) fertilizer or mycorrhizae, antifungal material and/or an insecticide, e.g. nicotine or borax for chasing away harmful animals such as termites, and/or fungi. Similarly, the additives 25 may include animal urine or excrements such as elephant excrements, baits such as sugar, honey and/or syrup, and/or dried plant parts, such as dried Melaleuca species, dried Taxodidium species and/or dried Juniperus species. As an example, dried Taxodidium distichum and/or dried Melaleuca species can be used for chasing away termites.

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Further, the additives may include seeds, symbiotic bacteria, eggs, nutrients and/or spores that may germinate after leaving the base material, thereby improving the biodiversity of the irrigating system.

In addition, the additives may include material that damages 5 harmful animals. Such material may include glass grindings, sand grindings, metal grindings, cement, lime, silicon, rubber or any material that damages harmful animals, preferably without poisoning.

The additives may influence soil characteristics. As an example, an acid degree can be increased or decreased. As a further example, a salt 10 degree can be reduced.

The system may include a combination of different additives. As an example, a first part of the system, e.g. the collection structure or a cup (as described below), might include a first additive, while a second part of the system, e.g. a reservoir or an intermediate portion (as described below) may 15 include a second additive. The number of additives such as seeds, fungi and/or spores can be determined before integrating in a base material.

Thus, the additive may serve as plant protecting material and/or plant nutrition material.

Advantageously, the plant tray may include biodegradable 20 material. As an example, paper material and/or biodegradable plastic can be used.

By using paper material and/or biodegradable plastic, the plant irrigating system can be manufactured in a very cheap way. Further, the environmental impact decreases. Some cardboard, paper foam and/or fiber 25 paper types easily tear, thereby counteracting any theft of the system. The paper material may include cardboard, cellulose, such as paper tissue, paper foam and/or fiber paper.

According to an aspect of the invention, a paper material carrier can be provided including specific material for dissemination into the 30 environment caused by a biodegrading process of the paper material, e.g.

9 due to moisture. The specific material may include the specific materials described above in relation to the base material of the irrigating system.

The paper material carrier may be integrated with or fixed to the irrigating system or can be provided separately. Further, the paper material 5 carrier may be applied without the irrigating system, e.g. for sowing seed in a field.

Further, additives can be included in a coating layer provided on the structure 1, simplifying the manufacturing, storing and distributing process. Advantageously, the structure is provided with a colour top layer, 10 the specific colour indicating the type of additives that are provided on the structure. As an example, yellow systems are applicable for sand type soils, green systems are applicable for rocky type soils, pink systems are applicable for soils having a high pH degree, and gray systems are applicable for soils having a low pH degree. By colouring systems having 15 additive composition dedicated to a particular soil and/or plant, the applicability of the system is even further recognizable.

It is noted that systems provided with a particular additive composition can be made distinguishable also in other ways, e.g. by providing marks on the outer surface.

20 In the shown embodiment, the water recovery surface 24 has a specific geometry for receiving rain, bloom and other moisture from the atmosphere. The water is collected in a drain 25 and flown to the reservoir 98 via downwardly extending pipes 26, 27. The moisture receiving structure 24 further includes a cap 28 removably closing an aperture in the cover 25 layer 22, and an exit drain 29 flowing excess water to an exit opening 30 in a radial outer wall section 12a of the water reservoir 98. The wall module 2 extends through the cover layer 22 and the moisture receiving structure 24 and forms a radial inner wall of the drain 25.

Further, in the shown embodiment, the plant irrigating system 30 includes an upwardly extending tube 2 forming a radial inner wall section 10 12b of the water reservoir 98. The tube 2 is connected to the collection structure 99 and has a longitudinal axis A2, for at least partly sideways surrounding a young plant. The water reservoir 98 is thus formed by the radial outer wall section 12a, the radial inner wall section 12b, a bottom 5 side 11 and a cover layer 22 that forms a top section of the water reservoir 98.

During use of the removable plant protection system 1, a single or a multiple number of seeds, plants or small trees are placed in a soil area 9 surrounded by the tube 2, such that it on the one hand throws a shadow on 10 the soil area 4 near the tube 2 when the sun reaches its highest orbit point and on the other hand allows a sun beam on the soil area 4 at a time period on the day when the elevation of the sun is relatively low, e.g. a few hours after sunrise and/or a few hours before sunset, as explained in more detail in the International patent application PCT/NL2010/050581.

15 Thereto, the system 1 is placed on the Earth’s surface and oriented such that the horizontal orientation of the tube aperture extends substantially parallel to an Earth’s circle of latitude, i.e. along an East-West line 5 extending from the East E to the West W. The East-West line 5 is perpendicular to a North-South line, not shown, also called a meridian line, 20 extending from the North N to the South S.

The irrigation means for irrigation the subsoil may include an injection needle or to a capillary structure 21 extending through an irrigation point 19 for irrigation the subsoil in a dosed manner. Alternatively, a membrane is applied.

25 It is noted that numerous variations on the features, functions and/or geometry of the irrigating system 1 are possible. As an example, the collection surface of the water recovery surface 24 is substantially transverse with respect to the orientation of the gravity. The collection surface may have a specific shape including a grooved pattern as shown in 30 Figure 1, or can be substantially flat. Further, channels can be formed to 11 guide the collected moisture droplets towards the reservoir. In addition, the collection structure can be provided with an overhanging portion extending away from the tube, beyond the outer side wall 12a of the reservoir 98.

It is also noted that the breeding system may include a collection 5 structure for collecting moisture present in the atmosphere, without a water reservoir and without a tube at least partially surrounding a young plant. Then, the collected water is not collected in the breeding system, but directly available, e.g. for the plant in the soil. Alternatively, the breeding system may include a collection structure for collecting moisture present in 10 the atmosphere and a reservoir for storing the water, without a tube at least partially surrounding a young plant.

Figure 2 shows a schematic perspective view of a second embodiment of a plant breeding system according to the invention, implemented as a plant tray 101. The plant tray 101 is applicable for 15 propagating plants and/or seeds. The plant tray 101 has a multiple number of cups 103. The cups are mutually connected via intermediate portions 130, preferably via a detachable connection 135. During use of the plant tray, the cups 103 retain a plant growing medium and a seed and/or a plant at least partially embedded in the plant growing medium. On the upper side, the 20 cup 103 has an opening 108 allowing an accommodated plant to grow in an upward direction UD. The cup 103 further has a bottom structure that is penetrable for a primary root of the plant growing in a downward direction DD. Further, the tray 101 includes a spacer extending downwardly, beyond the bottom structure of the cup 103.

25 The bottom structure as such can be configured and shaped in various ways, as will be appreciated by the skilled person. For example, the bottom structure can be flat, concave or convex, when viewed in a top view (i.e. in downward direction DD). Also, the bottom structure can be flat, concave or convex, when viewed from an opposite bottom view (i.e. in an 30 upward direction UD).

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The tray 101 is applicable for use in the field of horticulture / agriculture. Plants, such as vegetables, bushes, trees or flowers, can be grown in the cups 103. Thereto, the cups 103 are filled with a plant growing medium, e.g. ground, clay, substrate such as rock wool, perlite, flug sand, 5 coarse granulates and/or peat soil. If biodegradable based materials are used for manufacturing the plant tray 101, in principle any kind of plant growing medium can be used. With the conventional trays the soil has to form a cup model and is not allowed to fall apart while planting in order not to cause breaking roots, because in the known planting method, the plant 10 plug is taken out of the plastic cup before planting. By using a cup made from biodegradable material, any local soil, even soil that has no adhering structure, may be used. This means that the growth of plants becomes world wide possible on the spot. In case of using non-biodegradable cups, after the plants have grown, the plant growing medium including the root structure, 15 also called root plug, can be removed from the cup for planting in the ground. If biodegradable material is used for manufacturing the cup, the step of removing the plug from the cup can be omitted, thereby advantageously avoiding that damage may occur on the roots of the plant. If when using a bio-degradable cup a seed doesn’t germinate and a cup is 20 without a plant, the cup including the soil medium can be mixed and reused together for the next planting. Small plants or seeds are embedded in the plant growing medium. During use, the tray 101 may be placed on a surface 113, e.g. on a desk, in a stand, or on a floor, for instance in a glass house. After the plants have grown, the plants can be put in another 25 environment, e.g. in the ground.

In this context it is noted that the breeding system may include a single cup 103.

Figure 3 shows a flow chart of an embodiment of the method according to the invention. The method includes the steps of selecting (201) 30 a young plant, retrieving (202) information from a soil structure wherein the 13 young plant is to be planted, and providing (203) a structure for facilitating growth of a young plant, wherein the structure includes disseminatable additives dedicated to the young plant and/or to the soil structure where the young plant is to be planted.

5 The invention is not restricted to the embodiments described herein. It will be understood that many variants are possible.

It is noted that if the breeding system is implemented as a plant irrigating system, the system can have any closed periphery, in principle, when seen in a top view, such as a U-profile, a polygon, a square, a 10 rectangle, a triangle, a circle, an ellipse, etc. Further, the irrigating system can be formed without the above described tube. Then, the irrigating system can be formed as a bag, bin, tank or pot.

The tube, if comprised by the irrigating system, can also have a desired contour, such as a square, a circle, a rectangle, or a semi-closed or 15 half-opened contour, such as an U-shape.

The collection structure and/or the reservoir can be provided with a heat isolating layer to prevent excessive increase of water in the reservoir. As an example, the collection structure may include hollow spaces or heat isolating material, e.g. perlite particles.

20 It is further noted that any structure for facilitating growth of a young plant may include disseminatable additives dedicated tot the young plant and/or to the soil structure where the young plant is to be planted.

Other such variants will be apparent for the person skilled in the art and are considered to fall within the scope of the invention as defined in 25 the following claims.

Claims

A method for growing young plants, comprising the steps of: - selecting a young plant; - extracting information from a soil structure in which the young plant must be planted; - providing a structure for facilitating the growth of a young plant, wherein the structure contains dispersible additives intended for the young plant and / or for the soil structure in which the young plant is to be planted.

Method according to claim 1, wherein the structure for facilitating growth of a young plant has a plant irrigation system and / or a plant tray with a cup for holding the young plant.

3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a multiple number of dispersible additive types are included in the basic material of the structure.

A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein additives change soil characteristics, such as the acidity, a salt degree and / or a degree of lime.

5. Method as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the dispersible additives are an aromatic substance, an aroma such as camphor, chili pepper, pepper and / or garlic, a fertilizer, mycorrhizae, antifungal material, an insecticide, fungi, animal urine or droppings such as elephant droppings, bait such as sugar, honey and / or syrup, and / or dried plant parts such as dried Melaleuca species, dried Taxodium species and / or dried Juniperus species.

A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the dispersible additives comprise seeds, symbiotic bacteria, eggs, nutrients and / or spores.

7. Method as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, wherein the dispersible additives comprise a material harmful for harmful animals, such as glass grind, sand grind, metal grind, cement, lime, silicon and / or rubber.

8. Method as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, comprising the step of providing the structure with a coating that has additives intended for the young plant and / or for the soil structure in which the young plant is to be planted.

9. Method as claimed in any of the foregoing claims, comprising the step of providing the structure with a color, wherein a first structure provided with a first additive composition has a first color and wherein a second structure provided with a second additive composition that deviates from the first additive composition, has a second color that differs from the first color.

10. Plant growing system, comprising a structure for facilitating growth of a young plant, wherein the structure comprises dispersible additives intended for the young plant and / or for the soil structure in which the young plant is to be planted.

The plant culture system of claim 1, wherein the base material from which the structure is made comprises biodegradable material and / or pulp.

A plant-growing system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the dispersible additives are integrated in the basic material of the collection structure and / or the reservoir.

13. Plant cultivation system according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the system comprises a plant irrigation system and wherein the structure for facilitating growth of a young plant comprises a collection structure for collecting moisture present in the atmosphere, the collection structure being provided with a water recovery surface which during use at least partially makes an angle with respect to the orientation of gravity, wherein the structure for facilitating growth of a young plant further comprises a reservoir for storing the recovered moisture, the reservoir being provided with irrigation means for supplying moisture present in the reservoir to a substrate.

A plant-growing system according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the system comprises a plant tray for growing plants, and wherein the structure for facilitating growth of a young plant comprises a cup for holding a plant growth medium and a seed, a cuttings and / or a plant that is at least partially embedded in the plant growth medium.

The plant culture system of claim 14, wherein the structure for facilitating growth of a young plant comprises a plurality of cups and intermediate portions interconnecting the individual cups.