Classifications

• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01G—HORTICULTURE; CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, RICE, FRUIT, VINES, HOPS OR SEAWEED; FORESTRY; WATERING
  • A01G24/00—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor
  • A01G24/10—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor based on or containing inorganic material
  • A01G24/12—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor based on or containing inorganic material containing soil minerals
  • A01G24/15—Calcined rock, e.g. perlite, vermiculite or clay aggregates
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01G—HORTICULTURE; CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, RICE, FRUIT, VINES, HOPS OR SEAWEED; FORESTRY; WATERING
  • A01G24/00—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor
  • A01G24/30—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor based on or containing synthetic organic compounds
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01G—HORTICULTURE; CULTIVATION OF VEGETABLES, FLOWERS, RICE, FRUIT, VINES, HOPS OR SEAWEED; FORESTRY; WATERING
  • A01G24/00—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor
  • A01G24/40—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor characterised by their structure
  • A01G24/42—Growth substrates; Culture media; Apparatus or methods therefor characterised by their structure of granular or aggregated structure

Definitions

• the present invention relates to a substrate for hydroponic cultivation of plants in containers or pots and to a method of manufacturing said substrate.
• the development of the substrates has its origin in the cultivation in container or pot. Since the container or pot crop was introduced, the need for a conceptual change with respect to traditional soil cultivation was raised, the substrates appearing, in their different varieties, to replace the natural soil.
• Hydroponic cultivation, or landless cultivation of plants in pots or containers uses solid substrates as an inert support medium for rooting and sustaining plants, with nutrients being provided in the form of mineral salts dissolved in the water supplied to the plant. plant.
• the substrate preparer looks for materials that are uniform and tends to reject materials that have seasonal or limited availability, those that present excessive handling difficulties, or those that under certain circumstances can be toxic to plants.
• the substrates As for the physical and chemical characteristics of the substrates, it is generally sought that they have a high water retention capacity but at the same time they are porous to facilitate root aeration. In the same way, it is also important that they are stable so that their useful life is long and so that they do not affect the pH and conductivity of the aqueous solution that provides the nutrients to the plant.
• the objective of the present invention is to solve the aforementioned drawbacks, developing a substrate for hydroponic cultivation of plants in pots or containers, which has the advantages that will be described below.
• the present invention provides a substrate comprising inert support means for rooting and supporting plant roots, and characterized by the fact that said inert support means comprise a plurality of granules of plastic material obtained by means of an extrusion process that substantially dispenses with the degassing stage to concentrate gases and allow subsequent inflation of the plastic material at high temperature.
• the plastic mass that forms said granules swells at a high temperature, acquiring, when leaving the oven and being cut, a "swollen lentil” aspect with rough edges.
• the plastic material constituting the grains swells at the exit of the furnace due to the concentration of gases in the dough, giving said grains an appearance with rough edges that facilitate the retention of water from the substrate.
• the plastic granules thus obtained together have optimum density, water retention and aeration properties, which make them useful for use as a substrate.
• the substrate of the present invention has the advantage that it is clean and stable, not affecting at all the pH or electrical conductivity (EC) of the aqueous nutrient solution that is supplied to the plant.
• the material of said granules comprises recycled thermoplastic.
• an environmentally sustainable product is obtained that allows reusing commercial or industrial plastic.
• said plastic material comprises recycled polyethylene, preferably recycled retractable polyethylene. It has been observed that the retractable polyethylene from films absorbs moisture very easily, facilitating an optimal concentration of gases in the plastic mass that, as already mentioned, is basically responsible for the swelling of the plastic that gives the aesthetic appearance in shape of "swollen lentil" of the granules.
• the size of said granules is between 2 mm and 20 mm. It has been observed that this granulometry facilitates obtaining optimum water retention of the substrate.
• the present invention provides a method of manufacture of the claimed substrate comprising the steps of;
• the granules are manufactured by means of an extrusion process that dispenses with degassing agents, whereby the plastic material swells at a high temperature at the exit of the oven. At the exit of the extruder, the cutting of the blades and their rotating speed defines the size of the particles.
• said extrusion step is carried out without degassing at a temperature equal to or greater than 200 ° C.
• said plastic material comprises polyethylene, preferably, retractable polyethylene from low density films.
• Polyethylene has the advantage that it is easily washable with water, absorbing, the retractable, a greater amount of water which, as mentioned, favors the concentration of gases and the subsequent inflation of the product.
• a substrate will be understood as a material prepared to grow a plant that preferably includes the said solid granules as the only solid component.
• said substrate may be formed by a mixture of said granules with another type of solid material.
• Figure 1 shows a view of a recycled plastic granule of the substrate.
• Figure 2 shows a view of a set of granules like that of Figure 1.
• Figure 3 shows a section of a pot or container that includes the claimed substrate.
• Figure 4 shows a view of a plant root that has been grown on the claimed substrate.
• the substrate 1 of the present invention is constituted by a plurality of plastic granules 2 having a "swollen lentil” shape with rough edges 2a that facilitate water retention.
• plastic granules 2 have been obtained by an extrusion process that substantially dispenses with the degassing stage to allow gas concentration and subsequent swelling of said plastic material at high temperature.
• the plastic material that has been used to make the granules 2 has basically been recycled polyethylene recycled from film, since it has been observed that this retractable plastic absorbs moisture and facilitates the concentration of gases during the extrusion process.
• the polyethylene has been washed, ground, centrifuged and dried, before being extruded at 220 ° C without degassing. It has then been cut into pieces to form granules 2.
• the size of the granules 2 shown in the figures is 10 mm. However, this size may vary depending on the type of crop. To obtain granules 2 of greater or lesser size, the cutting of the blades and their rotation speed will be adapted in the cutting stage of the manufacturing process.
• Figure 3 shows a pot 3 or container in which a set of granules 2 has been deposited as a substrate 1 for the cultivation of a plant 4.
• the apparent density of the substrate 1 in the pot 3 is between 100 Kg / m 3 and 300 Kg / m 3 .
• the physical properties (bulk density and water retention capacity) of the substrate 1 in the pot 3 are very similar or equivalent to those of another widely used substrate such as expanded clay.
• the substrate 1 proposed by this invention has a number of advantages over expanded clay.
• substrate 1 does not affect the pH or electrical conductivity (EC) of the aqueous solution at all and is clean and washable, since it does not generate dust or debris.
• EC electrical conductivity
• Figure 4 shows a view of a root 5 of a plant 4 that has been cultivated in the claimed substrate 1.
• the growth of the roots in the substrate 1 has been very optimal, from which it follows that the physical properties of the substrate have been adequate, guaranteeing optimum water retention and aeration.

Landscapes

• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Environmental Sciences (AREA)
• Soil Sciences (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Inorganic Chemistry (AREA)
• Hydroponics (AREA)
• Cultivation Receptacles Or Flower-Pots, Or Pots For Seedlings (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=49005051

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (2)

Cited By (1)

Citations (4)

• 2012
  • 2012-02-23 ES ES201230274A patent/ES2423908B1/es not_active Withdrawn - After Issue
• 2013
  • 2013-02-21 WO PCT/ES2013/070111 patent/WO2013124515A1/fr not_active Ceased

Patent Citations (4)

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