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
  • A01G31/00—Soilless cultivation, e.g. hydroponics
  • A01G31/02—Special apparatus therefor
• • A—HUMAN NECESSITIES
  • A01—AGRICULTURE; FORESTRY; ANIMAL HUSBANDRY; HUNTING; TRAPPING; FISHING
  • A01C—PLANTING; SOWING; FERTILISING
  • A01C1/00—Apparatus, or methods of use thereof, for testing or treating seed, roots, or the like, prior to sowing or planting
  • A01C1/04—Arranging seed on carriers, e.g. on tapes, on cords ; Carrier compositions
• • 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
• • 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
  • A01G9/00—Cultivation in receptacles, forcing-frames or greenhouses; Edging for beds, lawn or the like
  • A01G9/02—Receptacles, e.g. flower-pots or boxes; Glasses for cultivating flowers
  • A01G9/029—Receptacles for seedlings
  • A01G9/0293—Seed or shoot receptacles
• • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
  • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
  • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
  • Y02P60/00—Technologies relating to agriculture, livestock or agroalimentary industries
  • Y02P60/20—Reduction of greenhouse gas [GHG] emissions in agriculture, e.g. CO2
  • Y02P60/21—Dinitrogen oxide [N2O], e.g. using aquaponics, hydroponics or efficiency measures

Definitions

• TITLE DEVICES AND METHODS FOR GROWING CROPS WITH NON-FIBROUS, NON-POROUS AND NON-CONSUMABLE SUBSTRATE
• the present invention relates to novel devices, apparatus and methods for growing crops from seed, seedling, clone, plant or root stock without the use of fibrous or porous media, using reusable materials.
• the invention relates to devices which enable growing from seed, clone or root stock using synthetic, polymeric non-woven, non-porous, non-fibrous materials which are not consumed in the growing process and which are capable of being cleaned and reused.
• the devices are applicable to a wide range of apparatus to grow crops in a variety of orientations, such as horizontal, vertical and angled, in hydroponic systems.
• the method relates to the use of the device and apparatus in planting, harvesting and cleaning to prepare for reuse.
• Hydroponics encompasses the field of growing crops using nutrient rich water. Hydroponics includes various subsets, specifically, aeroponics, deep water culture (DWC), nutrient film technique (NFT) and flood-drain systems.
• DWC deep water culture
• NFT nutrient film technique
• Hydroponics typically relies on the delivery of nutrient rich and oxygen rich water to plant roots.
• Seeds are typically germinated in a fibrous or porous growth media such as soil, soil composites with synthetic additives, or in woven or non-woven natural or synthetic fibers such as rockwool, peat, coconut coir, hemp, jute, phenolic foam or polyester.
• the germinated seeds, together with a portion of growth media are then inserted or otherwise replanted into the hydroponic system once the seeds have germinated and the roots have infiltrated the growth media.
• the growth media serves as structural support for the germinating seeds, further providing structural support as the seedling grows.
• the growth media serves a primary duty of wicking and retaining water to ensure proper germination.
• Fibrous and porous media may be consumed and therefore represent an ongoing economic cost to the process.
• soils, natural fibers and non-woven fibers such as rockwool are not cleanable or reusable with substantial reprocessing prior to reuse.
• Synthetic woven fibers such as polyester require extensive cleaning to remove plant matter interwoven in the fibers from the prior growing cycle.
• Synthetic fibers such as rockwool and polyester cannot be certified as organic under USDA organic regulations or by parallel regulations in Canada, the European Union or Asia.
• the present invention relates to novel devices, apparatus and methods for growing crops from seed, seedling, clone, plant or root stock (herein "plants").
• the device suspends seeds or plants in air such that the shoot system of the seed (once germinated), the plant, plant clone or the root stock is delineated from the root system.
• the device can be incorporated into a variety of apparatus for use in a horizontal plane, vertical plane, slanted plane, or multifaceted or circular column.
• the method comprises the steps to operate the apparatus including the steps by which seeds, plant clones or root stock are planted, grown and harvested, and steps by which the apparatus is cleaned and prepared for reuse.
• FIG. 1 (A-E) shows an example of one embodiment of the device from five views, A through E.
• FIG. 2 shows an example of one embodiments of the device from three different views, top angle (A), side (B), and from the bottom view (C).
• FIG. 3 shows a full color example of one embodiment of the device in use with newly germinated plants.
• the device is comprised of non-woven synthetic polymeric materials such as silicone rubber, nitrile, neoprene, vinyl, thermoplastic elastomers, ethylene propylene diene monomer, polypropylene, polyurethane, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, acrylonitrile styrene acrylate and/or combinations thereof.
• the device cradles seeds or holds plants at the base of the stem, and/or top of the root system, at the delineation between the shoot system 5 (or shoot zone) and root system (or root zone).
• the portion of the device forming the delineation between the shoot system and root system may be comprised, for example, of flexible silicone rubber protrusions 1, flaps 2 or a combination thereof as seen in FIG. 1 (A-E).
• this device allows water supplied to either side of the device to drain toward the root zone, with a small amount of water or nutrient solution held within the device via capillary action and surface tension.
• the protrusions 1, flaps 2 or a combination thereof as seen in FIG. 1 (A-E) and FIG. 2 (A-C) are held in place via a first rigid support structure 3 and held in opposition to a second rigid support structure 4.
• the first 3 and second 4 rigid support structures may form any shape desirable for the application, such as a rectilinear or cuboid shape seen in Fig. l(A-E), or an elongated trough or tray shape as seen in Fig. 2(A-C).
• the trough or tray shape visualized in Fig. 2(A-C) is approximately 1-inch long in the lateral direction 6.
• This is device may extend to any length as desired for the application, with applications in industry ranging from less than 0.5-inches to more than 2O-feet. Similarly, this device may form a repeating channel array by duplicating the features of the device in the right 7 and left 8 directions indicated in Fig. 2B. By extending and repeating this device in these directions, lateral, right and left, many different lengths and widths of this device are envisioned as appropriate for each application in horizontal, vertical and angled applications of hydroponics. Many other shapes and sizes of these structures are applicable to a wide range of use cases, including rounded or circular structures and long narrow vertical structures.
• this combination has surprisingly yielded a device which can cradle seeds of less than 1-mm in width and also be used with clones, maturing plants, and matured plants with stem widths up to the distance between the first support structure 3 and the second support structure 4.
• This has resulted in a generalized solution with surprising utility compared to the prior art.
• the distance between the rigid structures of the device indicated by structural sections 3 and 4, and the flexible portions of the device, the protrusions 1 and flaps 2 enable the device to be cleaned easily, and similarly allows plants to be removed easily with root systems fully intact.
• the flexible portion of the device produced by combining the flap and protrusion features in series, can span a relatively wide distance compared to the devices used by the prior art and still exert resistance sufficient to suspend seeds, clones, and plants within the device. During cleaning, this wide distance enables large plant material to easily be washed through the device, and/or all or portions of a plant to be removed without damage.
• the device instantly described may incorporate an open end, as visualized in Fig. 1 (A-E) and Fig. 3. This open end allows plants ready for harvest, transplant or removal, to be removed easily from the device without damage by sliding the plant laterally out of the opening.
• Seeds may be placed on the device on the shoot zone side of the device at the position at which the flexible portion of the device meets the second rigid support structure indicated in the figures at position 5, resting on the protrusions forming the delineation.
• the device When the device is used for growing plant clones, root stock, seedlings or plants, these are inserted through the delineation zone such that the root of the plant is on the root zone side of the device and the stem or foliage of the plant is on the shoot zone side of the device.
• the protrusions are spaced appropriately and comprised of sufficiently rigid material to prevent the seeds, germinated seeds, plant clones, root stock, seedlings or plants from passing through the delineation zone under their own weight.
• the protrusions must be comprised of sufficiently flexible material to allow the plants to grow through the delineation zone and to allow insertion of plant clones, root stock, seedlings or plants without damage to the device or plants.
• the newly germinated root will continue to grow into the root zone (watered side) where nutrient rich water is provided and the shoot system will continue to grow into the shoot zone (air side) where exposure to light and circulated air is provided.
• plant clones such as basil cuttings may be grown using the device.
• the stem of the plant clone can be inserted into the device through the delineation zone such that the cut stem where the root zone is intended to develop is on the root zone side of the device, which the stem being held in place by the pressure exerted by the flexible protrusions 1, flaps 2 or a combination thereof, against an adjacent rigid material 4.
• root stock such as from strawberries may be grown using the device.
• the root portion of the root stock can be inserted into the device through the delineation zone such that the root system is on the watered side of the device and the shoot system is on the shoot zone side.
• the device may be provided water from the shoot zone side, such that the water drains into the device through the delineation zone to reach the root zone.
• Water may be provided from the shoot zone side of the device during initial planting, such as during the germination process for newly planted seeds, or continuously.
• the device is oriented relative to the ground such that water provided from the shoot zone side will drain into the device passing through the delineation zone into the watered side.
• the device is oriented relative to the ground such that water provided from the watered side does not substantially pass through the delineation zone and remains or drains from the watered side of the device.
• the device can be incorporated into a horizontal apparatus to enable hydroponic growing via DWC, NFT, flood-drain or aeroponics.
• the device can be incorporated into vertical apparatus to enable hydroponic growing via NFT, drip watering, or aeroponics.
• the device can be incorporated into angled apparatus to enable hydroponic growing via NFT, drip watering, or aeroponics.
• the device can be used with hydroponic systems using synthetic, natural, combination or aquaponic nutrient enriched water.
• a cutting tool when the crops are ready to harvest a cutting tool may be applied across the foliar portion to cut the grown crops from the remaining portion of the plant body.
• the plants when the crops are ready to harvest or be removed from the device, the plants may be removed from the device by sliding laterally out the open end of the device.
• the device after the harvest of the edible portion of the crop the device may be washed with high-pressure washing to remove all plant material.
• the device is comprised of UV-stable materials.
• the device is comprised of materials resistant to common methods of sterilization, including heat and chemical sterilizers common in the art.

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• Life Sciences & Earth Sciences (AREA)
• Environmental Sciences (AREA)
• Soil Sciences (AREA)
• Hydroponics (AREA)
• Cultivation Of Plants (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=92501816

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (5)

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Family Cites Families (6)

• 2024
  • 2024-02-24 EP EP24761122.1A patent/EP4669099A2/de active Pending
  • 2024-02-24 KR KR1020257032135A patent/KR20250156761A/ko active Pending
  • 2024-02-24 WO PCT/US2024/017186 patent/WO2024178408A2/en not_active Ceased
  • 2024-02-24 CN CN202480014760.XA patent/CN120751927A/zh active Pending
  • 2024-02-24 AU AU2024226143A patent/AU2024226143A1/en active Pending

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