Abstract:
In the seedling raising device for an aerial seed cultivation of plants, which is capable of aerially cultivating offspring plants, a specific seedling raising plate of a suspending type, and watering and drainage devices, are set in a cultivating receptacle to increase the number of the offspring plants per a cultivation area; nutrient solution is separately supplied to cultivating units through a drip irrigator such that the respective mother plant cultivating units are separated from one another, thereby reducing the infection rate of blight and preventing one mother plant from being infected by another mother plant, thus improving productivity of the plants and largely increasing the number of the offspring plants.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     1. Field of the Invention 
     The present invention relates to a seedling raising device capable of cultivating the offspring of vegetable plants or flowering plants, such as strawberry plants, in an elevated structure in which the number of seedlings in a cultivation area is increased and water-borne infectious diseases such as anthracnose can be prevented. 
     2. Description of the Prior Art 
     Traditional methods for cultivating annual plants easily destroyed by blight, such as strawberries, generally involve raising seedlings in a controlled indoor environment and then transplanting the seedlings outdoors after sufficient growth. The growth enables the plant to increase its resistance to blight, thus increasing crop yield. 
     The traditional methods, however, require intensive labor in raising the seedling and then transplanting it for further growth. These methods also leave the plants vulnerable to water-borne diseases such as anthracnose, 
     More recently, methods have been developed in which plants are raised in an elevated soil bed to which a separate nutrient solution is provided. Horizontally arrayed seedling raising plates are incorporated into the structure. Plants grow in the elevated soil bed and offspring shoots of the plants are planted in the seedling raising plates. This method prevents the plants from being infected with the water-borne infectious diseases found in the open field. 
     However, as compared to cultivation in open fields, these elevated devices generally do not increase the number of offspring shoots that can be cultivated. Furthemore, if the mother plant is infected with a waterborne infection, the daughter plants will be likewise infected. Thus, the damage possible in using these prior art methods and devices can be very serious requiring the soil bed to be wholly replaced and a new mother plant planted. Such a remedy is inconvenient, costly, and complicated. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     It is, therefore, a primary object of the present invention to provide a seedling raising device for the elevated cultivation of plants, in which a separate seedling raising plate is elevated and watering and drainage devices are incorporated in a standing cultivating structure, which is disclosed in Utility Model No. 27267. This device increases the number of offspring plants in a cultivation area. By separately supplying the nutrient solution to the seedling rising plates, the blight infection rate is reduced, thus increasing crop yield. Further, the number of offspring plants is increased because blight does not spread from one mother plant to another. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention. 
     In the drawings: 
     FIG. 1 depicts a separate perspective view in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 2 illustrates a side sectional view of a seedling raising device in accordance with the present invention; 
     FIG. 3 sets forth a partially enlarged sectional explanatory view of the inventive seedling raising device; 
     FIG. 4 offers an operational explanatory view for an attachment and detachment of a cultivating receptacle in the inventive seedling raising device; 
     FIG. 5 a  presents an upper portion perspective view of a backing plate in the invention; 
     FIG. 5 b  represent a lower portion perspective view of the inventive backing plate; 
     FIG. 6 shows a partially cut perspective view of a water collecting tub in the present invention; 
     FIG. 7 provides a using state view of the inventive seedling raising device; and 
     FIG. 8 furnishes an installment state view in accordance with the present invention. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Reference will now be made in detail to be preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
     FIG. 1 is a separately perspective explanatory view of an aerially seedling raising device and FIG. 2 is its side sectional explanatory view, in accordance with the present invention. 
     In accordance with the present invention and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, a seedling raising device for an aerial seed cultivation of plants is constructed in a cultivating receptacle incorporating general aerial cultivating units  1 ,  1 ′, an interval maintained  2  and a rotary prop  3 , the inside of which has an insertion of a pipe body  4 . A drainage pipe  5  is inserted between the aerial cultivating unit  1  and the rotary prop  3 , both ends of the drainage pipe  5  hating an insertion of backing plates  6 ,  6 ′ as shown in FIG. 5 b  to thus fix the drainage pipe  5 , the aerial cultivating unit  1  and the rotary prop  3 ; the interval maintained  2  has upper/lower part shielding bulkhead  7 ,  7 ′ formed in the inside thereof and a water collecting tub  8  is inserted between the interval maintained  2  and the aerial cultivating units  1 ,  1 ′; a support pipe  10  is fixed onto an upper part of the pipe body  4  through a use of a clip  11 , and an irrigating hose  12  is fixed to the support pipe  10 , wherein the irrigating hose  12  is connected with a plurality of drip irrigators  13 ,  13 ′; and a separate raising-seedling plate  14  is set, suspended from the aerial cultivating unit  1  by a hook  15 , and an exhausting vessel  19  having a plate-bonding shape is installed in a lower face of the rotary prop  3 . 
     In one side face of a backing plate  6 ,  6 ′ an inner/outer double jaw  17 ,  17 ′ is formed and the drainage pipe  5  is inserted therebetween, and in another side face thereof, a concave part  18  as shown in FIG. 5 a  may be formed so that a lower part of the serial cultivating unit  1 ,  1 ′ is safely set thereinto. The collecting-water tub  8  is formed by a funnel shape, namely, an upper-wide and lower-narrow shape, and its lower portion has a plurality of insertion concave flutes  16 ,  16 ′. The pipe body  4  is divided into upper and lower bodies  4 ′,  4 ″, and an upper end part of the upper body  4 ′ has an insertion of a rotary support rod  9 , one end of which is formed longer than a boundary section of the upper and lower bodies  4 ′,  4 ″ that the pipe upper body  4 ′ is rotatable when the rotary support rod  9  is lifted up and is rotated. 
     Non-explained referenced No.  30  in FIG. 7 represents a mother plant. 
     The inventive operations with such construction is described in detail as follows, with reference to the accompanied drawings. 
     The device of the present invention is installed, as shown in the Figures, by assembling the elements as follows: lower body  4 ″ is inserted through vessel  19 , which has been placed in the cultivation area, to a given depth. Rotary prop  3 , backing plate  6 ′. Shown in FIGS. 5 a  and  5   b , drainage pipe  5 , water collecting tub  8 , interval maintainer  2 , aerial cultivating unit  1 ′, water collecting tub  8 , are then assembled in that order and pipe body  4  is threaded into trough the elements. 
     The height of cultivating units  1 ,  1 ′ can be controlled by varying the length of the drainage pipe  5  and the pipe lower body  4 ″. The number of cultivating units may be increased by adding additional groupings of interval maintainer  2 , collecting vat tub  8 , and aerial cultivating unit  1 . 
     An alternative embodiment is the seedling raising device supported only by the backing plate without the rotary prop  3 . This is accomplished by attaching backing plate  6  directly to the upper part of vessel  19 . 
     The function of vessel  19  is to collect nutrient solution flowing downwards and both ends of vessel  19  are provided with nozzles not shown in the drawing, to discharge the nutrient solution gather in vessel  19 . 
     Pipe upper body  4 ′ is inserted into pipe lower body  4 ″. The rotary support rod  9  is inserted into pipe upper body  4 ′, thus supporting pipe  4 . An upper end part of pipe upper body  4 ′ is fixed by a clip  11  and a support pipe  10  fixed to the cultivation equipment. The support pipe  10  is also combined with an irrigating hose  12  and a plurality of drip irrigators  13 ,  13 ′ are connected thereto. A seedling railing plate  14  having a plurality of seedling raising chambers is hung by hook  15  from the edges of cultivating units  1 ,  1 ′. 
     FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged side sectional view showing a flowing of the nutrient solution in the inventive seedling raising device, In FIG. 3, the nutrient solution is supplied from the drip irrigators  13 ,  13 ′ not shown in the drawing. This nutrient solution soaks through the lower part of the soil bed held in cultivating unit  1 ′, supplying nourishment and moisture to the roots of a mother plant  30 . The remainder of the nutrient solution flows through the lower part of cultivating unit  1 ′ and reaches bulkheads  7 ,  7 ′ of interval maintainer  2 , A constant quantity is then gathered by a jaw, and in case a quantity more than the constant quantity flows in, the nutrient solution overflows between the pipe lower body  4 ″ and the interval maintainer  2 . The solution which flowed through the lower part does not soak through another aerial cultivating unit  1 , but flows into the water collecting tub  8  and then is channeled to vessel  19 . 
     Further, a reservoir of nutrient solution gathers on the upper part of the shielding bulkheads  7 ,  7 ′. This reservoir evaporates thus supplying moisture to the roots of the mother plant  30  held in cultivating unit  1 ′, thereby preventing withering caused by dryness of the roots. 
     In comparison with conventional techniques in which the nutrient solution is supplied from an upper part and flows downward to other cultivating units, in the present invention a plurality of drip irrigators  13 ,  13 ′ are used to supply the separate nutrient solution to the respective aerial cultivating units  1 ,  1 ′. That is, the nutrient solution supplied to one unit does not reach another unit. Thus, even if the mother plant  30  growing in one aerial cultivating unit  1  is infected by blight, the blight infection or any other water-borne infectious disease will not spread to another aerial cultivating unit  1 ′ through the nutrient solution. 
     When a stem of the mother plant  30  grows and droops, an offspring plant can be produced from the stem. The seedling raising plate  14  is filled with soil as shown in FIG.  7  and is suspended vertically from cultivating unit  1 . The stem from the mother plant  30  is directed into the soil bed of the seedling raising chamber and is irrigated with nutrient solution through the drip irrigators  13 ,  13 ′. 
     After a period of irrigation, a toot and bud will grow in the seedling rising chamber which can be transplanted after an appropriate period of growth Seedlings raised by the present method will be more resistant to blight, will take root readily, and will grow rapidly. 
     The cultivating units  1 ,  1 ′ arc divided into a plurality of cultivation chambers. The seedling raising plate  14  is hung from these individual chambers. The number of cultivation chambers is thus greatly increased for a given cultivation area, In addition, a number of cultivation units can be stacked to further increase the capacity of the inventive device. 
     As shown in the following table showing a comparison between the inventive device and conventional techniques, the inventive device not only requires a raising-seedling cultivation area smaller than the conventional method of cultivating in the open field, but also can produce by about 17.2 times the number of the offspring trees with a smaller area. 
     
       
         
               
               
               
               
             
               
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 The present invention 
                   
                   
               
               
                   
                 (two-stage accumulated 
                 Conventional technique 
                 Remarks (comparison 
               
               
                   
                 layer) 
                 (open field cultivation) 
                 with conventions) 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
               
             
          
           
               
                 required seedling raising 
                 100 p&#39;yong (Korean unit) 
                 1,731 p&#39;yong (Korean 
                 5.9% area requirement 
               
               
                 area 
                 330 sq. m. 
                 unit) 5.712 sq. m. 
               
               
                 required mother plant 
                 4,848 roots 
                 280 roots 
                 17.3 increase 
               
               
                 number 
               
               
                 offspring tree production 
                 145,440 roots 
                 8,400 roots 
                 17.3 times increase 
               
               
                 number 
               
               
                 offspring trees formal 
                 4,848 p&#39;yong (Korean unit) 15,998 sq. m. 
                 280 p&#39;yong (Korean unit) 924 sq. m. 
                 17.3 times increase 
               
               
                 required 
               
               
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
     As shown in FIG. 4, further, the aerial cultivating unit  1  can be separated from the seedling raising device after growth of the offspring plant, The seedling raising chambers con then be refilled with soil. The entire device need not be disassembled in order to remove the cultivating unit. Instead, the cultivating unit can be removed by first rotating the rotary support rod  9  in the direction of the arrow. This movement of the rotary support rod  9 , which is attached to the pipe upper body  4 ′ by means of clip  11 , will then cause the pipe upper body  4 ′ to disengage from the pipe lower body  4 ″. The aerial cultivating unit can then be freely separated from the structure. 
     The ease of removal of the cultivating unit enables the ready replacement of the soil bed should the mother plant become infected The reassembly of the unit is similarly simplified. Lower pipe body  4 ″ is inserted into the aerial cultivating unit  1 ; rotary support rod  9  and pipe upper body  4 ′ are turned so that pipe upper body  4 ′ can be contacted with pipe lower body  4 ″. 
     The advantages of this invention is that the effective cultivation area is increased, thus increasing the number of offspring plants that can be raised in a limited cultivation area; and the provision of nutrient solution to mother plants separated from each other lessens the incidences of infection of blight and prevents the transmission of such infections between plants. 
     Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to the preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.