BR-112025012384-B1 - METHOD, APPARATUS AND SYSTEM FOR PRODUCING A PLURALITY OF ROOTED SEEDLINGS FROM A PLURALITY OF UNROOTED SEEDLINGS, AND A METHOD FOR PLANTING ROOTED SEEDLINGS.

BR112025012384B1BR 112025012384 B1BR112025012384 B1BR 112025012384B1BR-112025012384-B1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for producing, without the aid of a substrate, a plurality of rooted seedlings from a plurality of unrooted seedlings, comprising the steps: - inserting at least one unrooted seedling (26) into each empty cavity (12, 12') from a plurality of empty cavities (12, 12') of a strip element (10, 10', 10''), the strip element (10, 10', 10'') having a longitudinal dimension (L) and a transverse dimension (D) and formed at least in part of biodegradable material, the strip element (10, 10', 10'') forming the plurality of empty cavities (12, 12') arranged successively one after the other in a longitudinal direction (l) of the strip element, wherein the strip element (10, 10', 10'') has a first wall-forming member. (20) and a second wall-forming member (22) arranged to at least partially overlap the first wall-forming member (20) in the longitudinal direction (l) and not to totally overlap the first wall-forming member (20) in a transverse direction (d) of the strip element (10, 101, 10''), wherein the first wall-forming member (20) and the second wall-forming member (22) are fixed to each other in a spacer area (14, 14') of the strip element (10, 10', 10'') longitudinally adjacent to each cavity (12, 12') to thus delimit the plurality of cavities (...).

Inventors

Karoline STEINBERGER
Stefan Reiner
Dirk SCHIMMELPFENG
Per Klemm

Assignees

P & G IP GMBH

Dates

Publication Date: 20260310
Application Date: 20231222
Priority Date: 20221223

Claims (20)

1. Method for producing a plurality of rooted seedlings from a plurality of unrooted seedlings, without the aid of a substrate, characterized in that it comprises the steps: - inserting at least one unrooted seedling (26) into each empty cavity (12, 12’) from a plurality of empty cavities (12, 12’) of a strip element (10, 10’, 10’’), the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’) having a longitudinal dimension (L) and a transverse dimension (D) and formed at least in part of biodegradable material, the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’) forming the plurality of empty cavities (12, 12’) arranged successively one after the other in a longitudinal direction (l) of the strip element, wherein the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’) has a first wall-forming member (20) and a second wall-forming member (22) arranged to at least partially overlap the first wall-forming member (20) in the longitudinal direction (l) and not fully overlap the first wall-forming member (20) in a transverse direction (d) of the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’), wherein the first wall-forming member (20) and the second wall-forming member (22) are fixed to each other in a spacer area (14, 14’) of the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’) longitudinally adjacent to each cavity (12, 12’) to thus delimit the plurality of cavities (12, 12’), wherein each cavity (12, 12’) has a width (W, W’) along the longitudinal direction (l) of the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’), a depth (T) along the transverse direction (d) of the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’), an opening (16) on a top side (17) facing the transverse direction (d) of the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’) and through which at least one unrooted seedling (26) is inserted, and a bottom side (18) opposite the top side, wherein the bottom side (18) is at least partially closed and the first wall-forming member (20) extends beyond the second wall-forming member (22) in the transverse direction (d) of the strip element on the top side (17) of each cavity (12, 12’), and wherein the biodegradable material has a liquid holding capacity of at least about 100 g of liquid per 100 g of dry weight of biodegradable material.
2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that, in the longitudinal direction (l) of the strip element, the material length of the second wall-forming member (22) used in forming a cavity (12, 12’) of the plurality of empty cavities (12, 12’) exceeds the material length of the first wall-forming member (20) used in forming the cavity (12, 12’) by at least 5% to at most 10%, 20% or 30%.
3. Method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the shape of each cavity (12) {a} is one of essentially rectangular and essentially square, or {b} tapers from its opening (16) on one side towards its bottom side (18).
4. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that a longitudinal dimension of each spacer area (14, 14’) is one of the following: - less than the width (W) of the cavity (12, 12’); - at least approximately equal to the width (W) of the cavity (12, 12’); and - greater than the width (W) of the cavity (12, 12’).
5. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the first wall-forming member (20) and the second wall-forming member (22) are fixed to each other in each spacer area (14, 14’) of the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’) by means of at least one of adhesive bonding, crimping and stitching or sewing.
6. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that both the first wall-forming member (20) and the second wall-forming member (22) are continuous sheets of paper fiber.
7. A method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the liquid is an aqueous solution comprising at least one of a nutrient, a growth promoter, an endophyte, a growth regulator, and a rooting hormone.
8. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises the step of, at the end of the predetermined rooting period, dispatching the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’) with the rooted seedlings for further processing, or separating the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’) into sections, each having at least one rooted seedling, and dispatching the sections for further processing.
9. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises the step of moistening, before or after the insertion of the unrooted seedlings (26) into the empty cavities (12, 12’), each cavity (12, 12’) with a liquid.
10. Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it further comprises the step of arranging the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’) in a rooting station and allowing the inserted seedlings to root for a predetermined rooting period.
11. Apparatus for producing a plurality of rooted seedlings from a plurality of unrooted seedlings, without the aid of a substrate, characterized in that the apparatus comprises: a first wall-forming member (20) formed at least partly of biodegradable material; a second wall-forming member (22) formed at least partly of biodegradable material, the second wall-forming member (22) arranged to overlap at least partially the first wall-forming member (20) in a longitudinal direction (l) and not to totally overlap the first wall-forming member (20) in a transverse direction (d); a plurality of empty cavities (12, 12’) arranged successively one after the other in the longitudinal direction (l), wherein the plurality of empty cavities (12, 12’) are collectively formed by the first wall-forming member (20) and the second wall-forming member (22), and wherein each cavity (12, 12’) has a width (W, W’) along the longitudinal direction (l), a depth (T) along the transverse direction (d), an opening (16) on a top side (17) facing the transverse direction (d) for inserting at least one unrooted seedling, and a bottom side (18) opposite the top side, the bottom side (18) being at least partially closed, wherein the first wall-forming member (20) extends beyond the second wall-forming member (22) in the transverse direction (d) on the top side (17) of each cavity (12, 12’) to thus create an area guide (24) just above each empty cavity (12, 12’), the first wall-forming member (20) and the second wall-forming member (22) being fixed to each other in a spacer area (14, 14’) longitudinally adjacent to each cavity (12, 12’) to delimit the plurality of cavities (12, 12’).
12. Apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that, in the longitudinal direction (l) of the strip element, the material length of the second wall-forming member (22) used in forming a cavity (12, 12’) of the plurality of empty cavities (12, 12’) exceeds the material length of the first wall-forming member (20) used in forming the cavity (12, 12’) by at least 5% to at most 10%, 20% or 30%.
13. Apparatus according to claim 11 or 12, characterized in that the shape of each cavity (12) {a} is one of essentially rectangular and essentially square, or {b} tapers from its opening (16) on one side towards its bottom side (18).
14. Apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 13, characterized in that a longitudinal dimension of each spacer area (14, 14’) is one of the following: - smaller than the width (W, W’) of the cavity (12, 12’); - at least approximately equal to the width (W, W’) of the cavity (12, 12’); and - larger than the width (W, W’) of the cavity (12, 12’).
15. Apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 14, characterized in that the first wall-forming member (20) and the second wall-forming member (22) are fixed to each other in each spacer area (14, 14’) of the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’) by means of at least one of adhesive bonding, crimping and stitching or sewing.
16. Apparatus according to any one of claims 11 to 15, characterized in that both the first wall-forming member (20) and the second wall-forming member (22) are continuous sheets of paper fiber.
17. Method for planting rooted seedlings, characterized in that it comprises: (i) receiving an apparatus with a plurality of cavities (12, 12’) as defined in any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein each cavity (12, 12’) contains at least one rooted seedling; (ii) separating a cavity (12, 12’) containing at least one rooted seedling from the apparatus; and (iii) planting the cavity (12, 12’) containing the at least one rooted seedling in a growth medium.
18. System for producing a plurality of rooted seedlings from a plurality of unrooted seedlings, without the aid of a substrate, characterized in that the system comprises: (i) a strip element (10, 10’, 10’’) having a longitudinal dimension (L) and a transverse dimension (D) and consisting essentially of biodegradable material, the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’) forming a plurality of empty cavities (12, 12’) arranged successively one after the other in a longitudinal direction (l) of the strip element, wherein the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’) has a first wall-forming member (20) and a second wall-forming member (22) arranged to at least partially overlap the first wall-forming member (20) in the longitudinal direction (l) and not totally overlap the first wall-forming member (20) in a transverse direction (d) of the element of strip (10, 10’, 10’’), wherein the first wall-forming member (20) and the second wall-forming member (22) are fixed to each other in a spacer area (14, 14’) of the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’) longitudinally adjacent to each cavity (12, 12’) to delimit the plurality of cavities (12, 12’), wherein each cavity (12, 12’) has a width (W, W’) along the longitudinal direction of the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’), a depth (T) along the transverse direction (d) of the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’), an opening (16) on a top side (17) facing the transverse direction (d) of the strip element (10, 10’, 10’’), and a bottom side (18) opposite on the top side, wherein the bottom side (18) is at least partially closed and the first wall-forming member (20) extends beyond the second wall-forming member (22) in the transverse direction (d) of the strip element on the top side (17) of each cavity (12, 12’) to create a guide area (24) just above each empty cavity (12, 12’), and wherein the biodegradable material has a liquid holding capacity of at least about 100 g of liquid per 100 g of dry weight of biodegradable material; and (ii) at least one seedling inserted into each previously empty cavity (12, 12’).
19. System according to claim 18, characterized in that, in the longitudinal direction (l) of the strip element, the material length of the second wall-forming member (22) used to form a cavity (12, 12’) of the plurality of empty cavities (12, 12’) exceeds the material length of the first wall-forming member (20) used to form said cavity (12, 12’) by at least 5% and at most 10%, 20% or 30%.
20. System according to claim 18 or 19, characterized in that the shape of each cavity (12) {a} is one of essentially rectangular and essentially square, or {b} tapers from its opening (16) on one side towards its bottom side (18).

Description

[001] Rooting of seedlings occurs millions of times today in the context of vegetative propagation of ornamental and agricultural crops. For this, seedlings are usually planted in a moist substrate so that roots develop in it. As a substrate, soil, perlite, vermiculite, coconut fiber, mineral wool, or expanded clay pellets can be used, for example. Seedlings are usually grown first in small containers and then, after the development of the first roots, they are transplanted into larger containers, in which they can later be transported to customers. The plants are then grown by customers in other containers until they are ready for sale. [002] The described process of seedling cultivation is relatively lengthy and also entails losses, since not all seedlings develop as planned. It is therefore desirable to provide an improved way of rooting and cultivating seedlings that, on the one hand, reduces the cost of seedling cultivation and, on the other hand, produces better results, such as larger and more stable plants and fewer losses. Furthermore, any solution to the problem must be environmentally sound, especially with regard to the generation of waste materials. The objective of the present invention is to provide such a solution to the above problems. [003] Document EP 3 790 376 B1 describes a method for substrate-free rooting of a plurality of unrooted seedlings, which uses a plastic support strip, for example, as marketed under the name AutoStix™ by Visser Horti Systems. The method requires attaching a climate membrane to the support strip in such a way that at least one region of the support strip associated with the bases of the seedlings is enclosed by the climate membrane. [004] With the aim of solving the aforementioned problems, the present invention, according to a first aspect, provides a method for producing, without the aid of a substrate, a plurality of rooted seedlings from a plurality of unrooted seedlings, comprising the steps: - inserting at least one unrooted seedling into each empty cavity from a plurality of empty cavities of a strip element, the strip element having a longitudinal dimension and a transverse dimension and formed at least in part of biodegradable material, the strip element forming the plurality of empty cavities arranged successively one after the other in a longitudinal direction of the strip element, wherein the strip element has a first wall-forming member and a second wall-forming member arranged to overlap at least partially the first wall-forming member in the longitudinal direction and not totally overlap the first wall-forming member in a transverse direction of the strip element, wherein the first wall-forming member and the second wall-forming member are fixed to each other in an area a spacer of the strip element longitudinally adjacent to each cavity to delimit the plurality of cavities, wherein each cavity has a width along the longitudinal direction of the strip element, a depth along the transverse direction of the strip element, an opening on a top side facing the transverse direction of the strip element and through which at least one unrooted seedling is inserted, and a bottom side opposite the top side, wherein the bottom side is at least partially closed and the first wall-forming member extends beyond the second wall-forming member in the transverse direction of the strip element on the top side of each cavity, and wherein the biodegradable material has a liquid retention capacity of at least about 100 g of liquid per 100 g of dry weight of biodegradable material. [005] Preferably, the method includes moistening each cavity with a liquid before or after inserting the unrooted seedlings. [006] Preferably, the method involves arranging the strip element in a rooting station and allowing the inserted seedlings to root for a predetermined rooting period. The moistening step can advantageously be carried out in the rooting station. [007] Unlike known methods for producing a plurality of rooted seedlings, the method according to the present invention does not generate any residual material. In particular, the strip element that forms the plurality of empty cavities (which may also be called empty pouches or empty bags) is the only structural element and consists essentially of biodegradable material. In other words, the strip element, through its wall-forming members, forms the boundaries of each cavity or empty pouch. By “formed at least in part of biodegradable material” we mean that, for example, some adhesive bond may be used in the formation of the strip element, wherein the adhesive or glue may or may not be fully biodegradable. However, even if a not fully biodegradable adhesive or glue is used, this will not result in any perceptible residual material, since the remnants of this adhesive or glue will be part of any substrate used in the subsequent cultivation of the rooted seedlings, and the residual quantities of this adhesive or glue will be min