Media, support structures, and harvesting methods

Abstract

To enable plants and fungi to be easily harvested.SOLUTION: A three-dimensional culture medium 1 for cultivating plants or fungi has an elastic support structure 10 and a covering soil 30 that covers the elastic support structure 10, and the elastic support structure 10 is elastically deformable in at least one direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to culture media, support structures, and harvesting methods. [Background technology]

[0002] A common method for harvesting mushrooms is for producers to pick them using a tool, etc. In addition, as a method for efficiently harvesting mushrooms, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for harvesting mushrooms by burying an injection nozzle in the medium inside a cultivation bottle and injecting gas from a pressurized gas supply source through the nozzle when growing mushrooms in a bottle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-308848 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the method described in Patent Document 1, mushrooms cannot grow only in the area of ​​the mouth of the bottle, and production efficiency is low. In addition, large-scale equipment such as a gas supply source is required for harvesting. The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and aims to enable plants or fungi to grow in a wide area and to easily harvest plants or fungi when harvesting by methods other than manual picking. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a three-dimensional culture medium for cultivating plants or fungi, the three-dimensional culture medium having a support structure embedded in the three-dimensional culture medium and a covering soil covering the support structure, the support structure being elastically deformable in at least one direction. According to the above embodiment, the three-dimensional medium can be held by the support structure when the plants or fungi are growing. This allows the plants or fungi to grow from the sides of the three-dimensional medium, allowing them to grow in a wide three-dimensional area. Furthermore, by applying a compressive load to the three-dimensional medium so that the support structure elastically deforms, a force is applied to the plants or fungi, and the covering soil is deformed, so that the plants or fungi can be easily harvested.

[0006] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the three-dimensional culture medium is approximately cylindrical, approximately rectangular, or approximately cubic. According to the above embodiment, since the parallel surfaces are formed, it is easy to apply a compressive load to the three-dimensional culture medium. In particular, a compressive load can be applied by placing one surface on the ground and pressing the other surface with a tool or the like.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, the support structure has an overall lattice shape corresponding to the shape of the three-dimensional medium, and the three-dimensional medium has a bacterial bed provided inside the support structure. According to the above embodiment, the shape of the three-dimensional medium can be reliably maintained, and since the support structure has an opening at the center of each face, the growth of fungi or plants is promoted on each face. Also, since a fungal bed is provided inside the three-dimensional medium 1, the fungal bed is maintained inside even if the three-dimensional medium is deformed when harvesting fungi or plants.

[0008] According to one aspect of the invention, the support structure has an internal void. According to the above aspect, even in the portion of the three-dimensional culture medium that corresponds to the support structure, plants or fungi can grow through the gaps.

[0009] According to one aspect of the present invention, the support structure has elasticity in at least one of the mutually orthogonal X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions that is smaller than the elasticity in the other directions. According to the above embodiment, the three-dimensional medium can be supported in the direction of greater elasticity, and can be deformed while suppressing deformation in other directions by compressing in the direction of less elasticity. In particular, if the three-dimensional medium is dropped with the Y-axis direction being in the up-down direction, the three-dimensional medium deforms predominantly in the up-down direction, and deformation in the lateral direction can be suppressed. This prevents the three-dimensional medium from collapsing, and allows the three-dimensional medium to be easily reused.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the support structure is composed of a first layer in which a plurality of first members are arranged parallel to each other in the XY plane and a second layer in which a plurality of second members are arranged parallel to each other at an angle so as to intersect with the first members in the XY plane, stacked alternately in the Z-axis direction. According to the above aspect, in the support structure, the elasticity in the Z-axis direction can be made greater than that in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the first member and the second member intersect with each other at multiple intersections when viewed from the Z-axis direction, and the first member and the second member are formed so that the middle portions between adjacent intersections are narrower in width than the end portions. According to the above embodiment, the first member and the second member become thin, allowing the fungus or plant to pass through and grow inside the support structure.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the present invention, the mushroom bed is a mushroom bed. The stems of mushrooms easily break under loads such as shear forces, so the three-dimensional culture medium of this embodiment is suitable when the mushroom bed is a mushroom bed.

[0013] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for harvesting plants or fungi growing in a three-dimensional culture medium, the three-dimensional culture medium having an internal support structure, the support structure being elastically deformable in at least one direction, and a load being applied to the three-dimensional culture medium in a direction in which the support structure is elastically deformable. According to the above aspect, by applying a compressive load to the three-dimensional culture medium so that the support structure elastically deforms, force is applied to the plants or fungi or the covering soil is deformed, making it easy to harvest the plants or fungi.

[0014] According to one aspect of the present invention, a load is applied to the three-dimensional culture medium by dropping the three-dimensional culture medium. According to the above aspect, a load can be applied to the three-dimensional culture medium in a simple manner. Effect of the Invention

[0015] The present invention allows plants or fungi to grow over a large area and makes the plants or fungi easier to harvest if harvested other than by hand. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a culture medium according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2A] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an elastic support structure of the present embodiment. [Figure 2B] FIG. 2 is a front view showing the elastic support structure of the present embodiment. [Figure 2C] FIG. 2 is a right side view showing the elastic support structure of the present embodiment. [Figure 2D] FIG. 2 is a top view showing the elastic support structure of the present embodiment. [Diagram 3] 4A and 4B are diagrams showing unit parts constituting a first plate-shaped portion and a second plate-shaped portion; [Figure 4] 6A to 6C are diagrams for explaining the assembly of a first plate-shaped portion and a second plate-shaped portion. [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a method for creating a three-dimensional culture medium. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a three-dimensional culture medium housed in a culture medium support frame. [Figure 7A] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing the configuration of the cultivation and harvesting device. [Figure 7B] 7B is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 7A. [Figure 7C] 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 7A. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a harvesting tool. [Figure 9] 1 is a photograph showing the growth of mushrooms in a three-dimensional culture medium created by the inventors. [Figure 10A] Photograph showing a three-dimensional culture medium containing mushrooms and prior to dropping, housed within a culture medium support frame. [Figure 10B] Photograph showing a three-dimensional culture medium after dropping contained within a culture medium support frame and having mushrooms growing thereon. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] An embodiment of the culture medium and harvesting method of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a substantially cubic three-dimensional culture medium is used as the culture medium, and a case where mushrooms are cultivated will be described. The shape of the culture medium is not limited to a cube, and may be any shape such as a rectangular parallelepiped, polyhedral, or cylindrical shape. Furthermore, the object of cultivation is not limited to mushrooms, and various plants and fungi can be applied. However, when applying a harvesting method in which a load is applied to the culture medium as described below, plants or fungi that can be easily harvested by applying force to the stem, such as mushrooms, are suitable.

[0018] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a culture medium according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the three-dimensional culture medium 1 includes an elastic support structure 10, a bacteria bed 20, and a soil cover 30. The elastic support structure 10 is formed by combining a plurality of members in a three-dimensional lattice shape, with gaps between the members. The bacteria bed 20 contains mushroom spawn and is disposed in the center of the elastic support structure 10. The soil cover 30 is disposed so as to cover each surface of the elastic support structure 10 while being embedded in the elastic support structure 10. With this configuration, the three-dimensional culture medium 1 can cultivate mushrooms not only on the horizontal surface, but also on the side and bottom surfaces.

[0019] 2A to 2D show the elastic support structure of this embodiment, with Fig. 2A being a perspective view, Fig. 2B being a front view, Fig. 2C being a right side view, and Fig. 2D being a top view. In the following explanation, as shown in Figs. 2A to 2D, the axial directions of the cubic shape of the elastic support structure 10 are defined as the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis.

[0020] The elastic support structure 10 is generally in the form of a cubic lattice corresponding to the shape of the three-dimensional medium 1, and is formed, for example, from TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane). The cubic lattice shape refers to a shape in which members extend along each side of a cube, and three holes (holes with square cross sections in this embodiment) penetrate in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions so as to connect the centers of the opposing substantially square faces. The elastic support structure 10 can be formed, for example, using a 3D printer. The material forming the elastic support structure 10 may be any material having the desired elasticity, and although it is efficient to use a 3D printer for the manufacturing method, it may also be formed by other methods. When the shape of the medium is a rectangular parallelepiped or columnar shape, it is preferable to configure the elastic support structure so that the members extend along each side.

[0021] 2A to 2D, the elastic support structure 10 is configured by alternately stacking a first layer 110 in which a plurality of first plate-shaped portions 111 are arranged in parallel in the XY plane and a second layer 120 in which a plurality of second plate-shaped portions 121 are arranged in parallel in the XY plane in the Z-axis direction. The first plate-shaped portions 111 provided in the first layer 110 are parallel to each other and do not intersect with each other, and the second plate-shaped portions 121 provided in the second layer 120 are parallel to each other and do not intersect with each other. As described later, the first plate-shaped portion 111 and the second plate-shaped portion 121 have the same shape and are configured by connecting a plurality of unit portions 113 in the longitudinal direction.

[0022] The first plate-shaped portion 111 constituting the first layer 110 is a plate-shaped portion provided perpendicular to the XY plane. A plurality of first plate-shaped portions 111 extend in parallel within each first layer 110. The first plate-shaped portion 111 extends linearly in a state inclined at a predetermined positive angle with respect to the X axis, and inclines toward the positive direction of the X axis (toward the right in FIG. 2D) toward the positive direction of the Y axis (upward in FIG. 2D). The angle that the first plate-shaped portion 111 makes with respect to the X axis is 45 degrees or less, and is 15 degrees in this embodiment. The first plate-shaped portions 111 constituting each first layer 110 are all arranged in the same manner, and are arranged so as to overlap when viewed from the Z axis direction.

[0023] The second plate-shaped portion 121 constituting the second layer 120 is made of a plate-shaped portion provided perpendicular to the XY plane. A plurality of second plate-shaped portions 121 extend in parallel within each second layer 120. The second plate-shaped portion 121 extends linearly in a state inclined at a predetermined negative angle with respect to the X axis, and inclines negatively (downward in FIG. 2D) toward the Y axis direction as it approaches the X axis direction (toward the right in FIG. 2D). The predetermined angle that the second plate-shaped portion 121 makes with the X axis is equal in absolute value to the angle that the first plate-shaped portion 111 makes with respect to the X axis. The angle that the second plate-shaped portion 121 makes with respect to the X axis is 45 degrees or less, and is 15 degrees in this embodiment. The second plate-shaped portions 121 constituting each second layer 120 are all arranged in the same manner, and are arranged so as to overlap when viewed from the Z axis direction.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 2D, the first plate-shaped portion 111 constituting the first layer 110 and the second plate-shaped portion 121 constituting the second layer 120 form a rhombic lattice in the XY plane. In this rhombic lattice, lattice points 130 are aligned in the X-axis and Y-axis directions. The length of the diagonal line in the X-direction of the rhombic lattice is longer than the length of the diagonal line in the Y-direction. In addition, the length of the diagonal line in the X-direction of the multiple rhombuses is constant, and the length of the diagonal line in the Y-direction of the multiple rhombuses is constant. In each rhombic lattice, the vertices that form acute angles face each other in the X-axis direction, and the vertices that form obtuse angles face each other in the Y-axis direction. The acute angle of this rhombic lattice is 30 degrees. With this configuration, the elastic support structure 10 has smaller elasticity in the Y-direction than in the X-direction. In this embodiment, the first plate-shaped portion 111 constituting the first layer 110 and the second plate-shaped portion 121 constituting the second layer 120 form a diamond shape, but this is not limited thereto and they may form a square shape. In this case, the elasticity in the Y direction is equal to the elasticity in the X direction.

[0025] As described above, the first plate-shaped parts 111 constituting each of the multiple first layers 110 are all arranged in the same manner, and the second plate-shaped parts 121 constituting each of the multiple second layers 120 are all arranged in the same manner. Therefore, at the diamond lattice points 130, the first plate-shaped parts 111 of the first layer 110 and the second plate-shaped parts 121 of the second layer 120 are alternately arranged in a straight line in the Z-axis direction. This results in a very large elasticity in the Z-axis direction, which is greater than the elasticity in the X-axis and Y-axis directions. In addition, the elastic support structure 10 has a void inside because the first layer 110 consisting of the multiple first plate-shaped parts 111 arranged in parallel and the second layer 120 consisting of the second plate-shaped parts 121 arranged in parallel are alternately stacked.

[0026] 3 is a diagram showing the units constituting the first plate-shaped portion and the second plate-shaped portion. The first plate-shaped portion 111 and the second plate-shaped portion 121 are formed by connecting a plurality of units 113 in the longitudinal direction. The intermediate portion 113A of each unit portion 113 has recesses formed on both sides in the height direction. As a result, the unit portion 113 has a large width at both end portions 113B, and the width of the intermediate portion 113A is narrower than the width of both end portions 113B. The unit portions 113 are formed line-symmetrically in the longitudinal and lateral directions.

[0027] 4 is a diagram for explaining the assembly of the first plate-shaped portion and the second plate-shaped portion. As shown in FIG. 4, the first plate-shaped portion 111 constituting the first layer 110 is formed by connecting the unit portions 113, and the end portion 113B of the unit portion 113 is arranged so as to be located at the lattice point 130. The second plate-shaped portion 121 constituting the second layer 120 is formed by connecting a plurality of unit portions 113, and the end portion 113B of the unit portion 113 is arranged so as to be located at the lattice point 130. In this way, since the first plate-shaped portion 111 and the second plate-shaped portion 121 are formed by connecting the unit portions 113 configured so that the width of the intermediate portion 113A is narrow, the elastic support structure 10 has a gap penetrating the elastic support structure 10 in front view and side view, and does not hinder the growth of mushrooms from the culture bed 20 to the surface of the three-dimensional culture medium 1.

[0028] The elastic support structure 10 is manufactured by a 3D printer. Specifically, the first layer 110 and the second layer 120 are alternately laminated by the 3D printer. At this time, the part corresponding to the lattice of the elastic support structure 10 is formed, for example, from TPU (thermoplastic polyurethane), and the part corresponding to the through holes is formed from PVA (polyvinyl alcohol), which is a water-soluble material. Then, after the molding of the cubic structure is completed, the part formed from PVA is dissolved in water. In this way, the cubic lattice-shaped elastic support structure 10 can be formed.

[0029] The bacteria bed 20 can be manufactured, for example, by performing compost production and a clay fungus work. Compost production is a process for producing compost, in which materials such as sawdust, horse manure, coffee bean pomace, soybean pomace, gypsum, etc. are mixed and fermented to produce compost. In the clay fungus work, bacteria are manually spread in the compost and mixed with the compost using a mixer. In this embodiment, mushroom seed bacteria are used as the seed bacteria, but this is not limited to this, and other fungi such as Enoki mushroom and Shiitake mushroom may also be used. In addition to fungi, it is also possible to cultivate plants. In this case, a medium may be formed from leaf mold instead of the bacteria bed, and plant seeds may be planted. The medium is not limited to the above example, and any medium suitable for growing fungi (mushrooms) and plants may be used. The bacteria bed is formed in an approximately cubic shape and is placed in the center of the elastic support structure 10.

[0030] The soil cover 30 may be, for example, black peat moss. Black peat moss is a fibrous plant material preserved in colder water at the bottom than the "peat moss" that accumulates in the marshes of cool regions in Iceland. The soil cover 30 is not limited to this example, and any soil suitable for growing fungi (mushrooms) or plants may be used. The soil cover 30 is provided to cover the surface of the bacteria bed 20 and the elastic support structure 10 so that the elastic support structure 10 is buried. All six sides of the three-dimensional culture medium 1 are covered with the soil cover 30.

[0031] Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining a method for creating a three-dimensional culture medium. First, as shown in Fig. 5(A), a bacterial bed 20 is shaped into a roughly cubic shape and placed in the center of an elastic support structure 10. Next, as shown in Fig. 5(B), the openings on each side of the elastic support structure 10 are covered with covering soil 30. Then, as shown in Fig. 5(C), the portion along the elastic support structure 10 is covered with covering soil 30. In this way, a three-dimensional culture medium 1 can be created.

[0032] Next, a method for cultivating and harvesting mushrooms according to the present embodiment will be described. In the following description, a case will be described in which cultivation and harvesting are performed in a three-dimensional medium 1 using a cultivation and harvesting device for cultivation and harvesting, but the cultivation and harvesting device is not essential.

[0033] When cultivating using a cultivation device, the three-dimensional culture medium 1 is cultivated in a state where it is housed in a culture medium support frame. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the three-dimensional culture medium housed in the culture medium support frame. As shown in FIG. 6, the culture medium support frame 200 is formed, for example, from resin or metal, and is formed in a cubic lattice shape, with the center of each face opening in a square shape. Each side 210 of the culture medium support frame 200 is formed in an L-shaped cross section (a shape bent at a right angle). The three-dimensional culture medium 1 is housed in a cubic space defined by each side 210 of the culture medium support frame 200. This results in the culture medium support frame 200 covering the outside of each side of the three-dimensional culture medium 1. At least the bottom surface of the three-dimensional culture medium 1 is supported by abutting against the four sides of the bottom surface of the culture medium support frame 200. Note that the culture medium support frame 200 may be configured so that some sides are removable so that the three-dimensional culture medium 1 can be easily housed therein.

[0034] 7A to 7C are schematic diagrams showing the configuration of the cultivation harvesting device, in which Fig. 7A is a front view, Fig. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB in Fig. 7A, and Fig. 7C is a cross-sectional view taken along line CC in Fig. 7A. As shown in Fig. 7A, the cultivation harvesting device 300 has a cultivation section 310 and a harvesting section 320.

[0035] The cultivation section 310 has a guide frame 311 with multiple stages (three stages in this embodiment) spaced apart in the vertical direction. Each guide frame 311 holds a plurality of three-dimensional culture media 1. As shown in FIG. 7B, each guide frame 311 has guide members 312 arranged at the four corners of a square in the vertical cross section. The distance between the inner faces of each guide member 312 in the horizontal and vertical directions is slightly larger than the width of the culture medium support frame 200 in the horizontal and vertical directions. Each guide member 312 is made of an L-shaped angle member, and each side is arranged along the vertical and horizontal directions. The culture medium support frame 200 is held in a state where its outer surface is in contact with the inner faces of the four guide members 312, and thus the culture medium support frame 200 is supported so as to be movable in the horizontal direction. The three-dimensional culture medium 1 is arranged in the guide frame 311 so that the direction in which the elastic support structure 10 has a small elasticity (Y direction) is the vertical direction.

[0036] The harvesting section 320 has a base 322 and four guide members 321 erected on the base 322. The guide members 321 are arranged at positions corresponding to the four corners of a square in horizontal cross section. These guide members 321 are made of angle members having an L-shaped horizontal cross section, and are arranged so that each side of the square follows the front-rear and left-right directions. The guide members 321 guide the four corners of the horizontal cross section of the culture medium support frame 200 when the three-dimensional culture medium 1 is dropped to harvest mushrooms.

[0037] The mushroom cultivation method according to this embodiment will be described below. The cultivation and harvesting device is installed in a cultivation room where temperature, humidity, and ventilation can be controlled, and the mushrooms are placed in an environment (temperature, humidity, and atmosphere) optimal for their growth.

[0038] First, the three-dimensional culture medium 1 is produced. The three-dimensional culture medium 1 may be produced as described with reference to Fig. 5. Then, the produced three-dimensional culture medium 1 is housed in the culture medium support frame 200.

[0039] Next, the multiple medium support frames 200 containing the three-dimensional medium 1 are placed in each guide frame 311 of the cultivation section 310. At this time, the three-dimensional medium 1 is placed so that the elastic support structure 10 of the three-dimensional medium 1 is in the vertical direction in the direction of least elasticity (Y direction in this embodiment). When the medium support frames 200 are placed in the guide frame 311, they are placed with a sufficient interval between them so that mushrooms can grow. In this state, by placing it in an environment suitable for mushroom growth, mycelium extends from the mushroom bed 20, and mushrooms grow from the surface of the cover soil 30. The mushrooms grow on each surface of the three-dimensional medium 1, front and back, left and right, top and bottom. At this time, the medium support frames 200 are provided along the sides of the lattice, and each guide frame 311 of the cultivation section 310 supports only the parts of the medium support frame 200 that correspond to the sides extending in the horizontal direction, so that the growth of mushrooms is not hindered.

[0040] Next, when the mushrooms have grown to a sufficient size, the mushrooms are harvested by dropping the three-dimensional medium 1 in the harvesting section 320. That is, the medium support frame 200 is moved along the guide frame 311 of the cultivation section 310 to the harvesting section 320. Then, in the harvesting section 320, the medium support frame 200 is dropped in a state in which the four corners of the horizontal cross section of the medium support frame 200 are surrounded by the guide members 321. At this time, the three-dimensional medium 1 is dropped so that the direction in which the elastic support structure 10 has a small elasticity (Y direction) is the up-down direction. When the medium support frame 200 collides with the base 322, an impact load is applied to the three-dimensional medium 1 due to its own weight, and the three-dimensional medium 1 is compressed in the up-down direction. At this time, a shear force acts on the mushroom stalk extending from the side of the three-dimensional medium 1, and a force acting outward from the medium acts on the mushroom stalk extending from the upper and lower surfaces. This allows the mushrooms to come out of the three-dimensional medium 1 and be harvested. Furthermore, by dropping the three-dimensional medium 1 so that the direction in which the elastic support structure 10 has less elasticity (Y direction) is the up-down direction, the three-dimensional medium 1 deforms mainly in the up-down direction and does not deform significantly in the lateral direction. Therefore, the deformation of the three-dimensional medium 1 can be controlled to maintain its shape, and the three-dimensional medium 1 can be reused.

[0041] According to this embodiment, the three-dimensional medium 1 has an elastic support structure 10 and a covering soil 30 that covers the elastic support structure 10, and the elastic support structure 10 is elastically deformable. As a result, the three-dimensional medium 1 can be held by the elastic support structure 10 when mushrooms or the like are growing. This allows the mushrooms to grow from the sides of the three-dimensional medium 1 as well, allowing them to grow in a three-dimensionally wide area. Furthermore, by applying a compressive load to the three-dimensional medium 1 so that the elastic support structure 10 elastically deforms, a force acts on the mushrooms and the covering soil 30 deforms, allowing the mushrooms to be easily harvested.

[0042] According to this embodiment, the three-dimensional culture medium 1 is substantially cubic. As a result, parallel surfaces are formed, making it easy to apply a compressive load to the three-dimensional culture medium 1. In particular, a compressive load can be applied by placing one surface on the ground and pressing the other surface with a tool or the like.

[0043] According to this embodiment, the elastic support structure 10 has an overall lattice shape corresponding to the shape of the three-dimensional medium 1, and the three-dimensional medium 1 has a bacterial bed 20 provided inside the elastic support structure 10. This allows the shape of the three-dimensional medium 1 to be reliably maintained, and since the center of each face of the elastic support structure 10 is open, the growth of mushrooms is promoted on each face. Furthermore, since a bacterial bed is provided inside the three-dimensional medium 1, the bacterial bed 20 is maintained inside even if the three-dimensional medium 1 is deformed when harvesting mushrooms.

[0044] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the elastic support structure 10 has voids inside, which allows mushroom hyphae to grow through the voids even in the part of the three-dimensional culture medium 1 that is in contact with the elastic support structure 10.

[0045] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the elastic support structure 10 has smaller elasticity in the Y-axis direction among the mutually orthogonal X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions than in the other directions. This allows the three-dimensional culture medium 1 to be supported in the X-axis and Z-axis directions, and the three-dimensional culture medium 1 can be easily deformed by compressing it in the direction of smaller elasticity. In particular, if the three-dimensional culture medium 1 is dropped with the Y-axis direction aligned vertically, the three-dimensional culture medium 1 will be significantly deformed in the vertical direction and slightly deformed in the horizontal direction. This prevents the three-dimensional culture medium 1 from collapsing, and allows the three-dimensional culture medium 1 to be easily reused.

[0046] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the elastic support structure 10 is formed by alternately stacking in the Z-axis direction a first layer 110 in which a plurality of first plate-shaped portions 111 are arranged in parallel in the XY plane and a second layer 120 in which a plurality of second plate-shaped portions 121 are arranged in parallel at an angle so as to intersect with the first plate-shaped portions 111 in the XY plane. This allows the elasticity of the elastic support structure 10 to be greater in the Z-axis direction than in the X-axis and Y-axis directions.

[0047] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the first plate-shaped portion 111 and the second plate-shaped portion 121 intersect with each other at a plurality of intersections when viewed from the Z-axis direction, and the first plate-shaped portion 111 and the second plate-shaped portion 121 are formed such that the middle portions 113A between the adjacent intersections are narrower than the end portions 113B. This makes the first plate-shaped portion 111 and the second plate-shaped portion 121 thinner, allowing the mushrooms to pass through the elastic support structure 10 and grow.

[0048] According to this embodiment, the fungal bed 20 is a fungal bed of a mushroom. The stem of a mushroom easily breaks under a load such as a shear force. For this reason, the three-dimensional culture medium 1 of this embodiment is suitable for a fungal bed of a mushroom.

[0049] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the method for harvesting mushrooms grown in the three-dimensional medium 1 is such that the three-dimensional medium 1 has an internal elastic support structure 10 which is elastically deformable in at least one direction, and a load is applied to the three-dimensional medium in the direction in which the elastic support structure 10 is elastically deformable. In this way, by applying a compressive load to the three-dimensional medium 1 so that the elastic support structure 10 elastically deforms, a force acts on the mushrooms and the covering soil 30 deforms, so that the mushrooms can be easily harvested.

[0050] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, a load is applied to the three-dimensional culture medium 1 by dropping the three-dimensional culture medium 1. This makes it possible to apply a load to the three-dimensional culture medium 1 by a simple method.

[0051] In the above embodiment, the mushrooms are harvested by dropping the three-dimensional culture medium, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, harvesting can be performed using a tool as shown in Fig. 8. As shown in Fig. 8, harvesting tool 400 includes plate material 401 formed in a square ring shape and handle 402 attached to plate material 401. Plate material 401 has a dimension such that it can cover the position of three-dimensional culture medium 1 that comes into contact with elastic support structure 10.

[0052] When harvesting using such a jig 400, the three-dimensional culture medium 1 is placed on the ground so that the direction in which the elastic support structure 10 is easily deformed (the direction in which elasticity is small) is the up-down direction. Then, the user grasps the handle 402 and abuts the plate material 401 of the jig 400 on the upper surface of the three-dimensional culture medium 1, and applies a downward force to the jig 400, compressing the three-dimensional culture medium 1. As a result, the three-dimensional culture medium 1 is compressed in the up-down direction, and the mushrooms can be harvested as in the first embodiment. Note that when the three-dimensional culture medium 1 is placed on the ground and pressed with the plate material 401, if there is a possibility that the mushrooms on the upper and lower surfaces may interfere with the ground or the jig 400, it is advisable to harvest the mushrooms that may interfere in advance.

[0053] In the above embodiment, the three-dimensional medium is described as having a cubic shape, but the shape is not limited to this and may be a three-dimensional shape such as a rectangular parallelepiped or a cylindrical shape. However, in order to harvest the three-dimensional medium, a shape having two parallel sides is preferable.

[0054] In the above embodiment, the method for cultivating mushrooms has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this and can also be applied to the cultivation of other fungi (mushrooms) and plants. In the present embodiment, a fungal bed is provided in the center of the three-dimensional culture medium, but it is also possible to fill the inside of the elastic support structure with culture medium and cover the outside with culture medium, without providing a fungal bed, and to include seed fungi or seeds in the culture medium.

[0055] In the above embodiment, the elastic support structure is described as being lattice-shaped, but the shape is not limited thereto as long as a culture bed can be placed inside. EXAMPLES

[0056] The inventors have experimentally confirmed that mushrooms can be cultivated using the three-dimensional culture medium 1 of this embodiment. As described above, the inventors shaped the fungus bed 20 into a roughly cubic shape, placed it in the center of the elastic support structure 10, and covered the openings on each side of the elastic support structure 10 and the area along the elastic support structure 10 with soil cover 30 to create a three-dimensional medium 1. The three-dimensional medium 1 thus created was then placed in an environment with a bed temperature of 18-25°C, a room temperature of 22-25°C, high humidity (up to 95%), and high CO2 concentration (about 1000 ppm). Figure 9 is a photograph showing the growth of mushrooms in the three-dimensional medium created by the inventors. After about seven days had passed since the creation of the three-dimensional medium 1, the mushroom mycelium had spread over the surface, as shown in Figure 9(A).

[0057] Then, the three-dimensional medium 1 was subjected to a growth operation. The growth operation involves gradually applying changes to the surrounding environment, such as lowering the bed temperature, room temperature, and humidity, to create a harsh environment for the mushrooms. This shocks the mushrooms and promotes the growth of mushroom sprouts. As a result, the mycelium became thicker and harder, as shown in Figure 9(B).

[0058] Furthermore, by adding the growth operation, the growth of pins (mushroom sprouts) was confirmed as shown in Figure 9(C). Under this condition, the bed temperature was set to ~19°C, room temperature to 17-18°C, humidity to 85%, and CO2 to 1200ppm. After that, mushrooms grew as shown in Figure 9(D). As shown in the figure, it can be confirmed that mushrooms grew not only from the top but also from the sides.

[0059] Next, the inventors confirmed that mushrooms can be harvested by dropping the three-dimensional medium on which the mushrooms are growing. 10A and 10B are photographs showing a three-dimensional medium housed in a medium support frame and having mushrooms growing thereon, with FIG. 10A showing the medium before it was dropped and FIG. 10B showing the medium after it was dropped. As shown in FIG. 10A, mushrooms were growing on the side of the three-dimensional medium before it was dropped. This three-dimensional medium housed in the medium support frame was dropped from a height of 500 mm. As a result, as shown in FIG. 10B, the three-dimensional medium was compressed in the vertical direction but did not collapse in the horizontal direction. The mushrooms growing on the side of the three-dimensional medium fell off. Thus, by using the three-dimensional medium of this embodiment, it is possible to suppress collapse in the horizontal direction even if a compressive load acts on the three-dimensional medium. This allows the three-dimensional medium after the mushrooms have been harvested to be used again for growing mushrooms. [Explanation of symbols]

[0060] 1: Three-dimensional medium 10: Elastic support structure 20: Bacterial bed 30: Covering soil 110: 1st layer 111: First plate-shaped portion 113: Unit 113A: Middle part 113B: End 120: 2nd layer 121: Second plate-shaped portion 130: Lattice point 200: Culture medium support frame 310:Cultivation Department 311: Information frame 312: Guide member 320: Harvesting Department 321: Guide member 322: Foundation 400: Jig 401: Plate material 402: Handle

Claims

1. A three-dimensional medium for cultivating plants or fungi, A support structure embedded in the three-dimensional medium; and a cover soil covering the support structure, The support structure is elastically deformable in at least one direction. Three-dimensional medium.

2. The three-dimensional culture medium is approximately cylindrical, approximately rectangular, or approximately cubic. The three-dimensional culture medium according to claim 1.

3. The support structure has an overall shape of a lattice corresponding to the shape of the three-dimensional medium, The three-dimensional culture medium has a bacterial bed provided inside the support structure, The three-dimensional culture medium according to claim 1.

4. The support structure has an internal void. The three-dimensional culture medium according to claim 1.

5. The support structure has elasticity in at least one of an X-axis direction, a Y-axis direction, and a Z-axis direction which are perpendicular to each other, which is smaller than the elasticity in the other directions. The three-dimensional culture medium according to claim 1.

6. The support structure includes: A first layer including a plurality of first members arranged in parallel in an XY plane; A plurality of second members are alternately stacked in the Z-axis direction, and second layers are arranged in parallel at an angle so as to intersect with the first members in the XY plane. The three-dimensional culture medium according to claim 5.

7. the first member and the second member intersect with each other at a plurality of intersection points when viewed from the Z-axis direction, The first member and the second member are formed such that a middle portion between adjacent intersections has a narrower width than both end portions. The three-dimensional culture medium according to claim 6.

8. The mushroom bed is a mushroom bed. The three-dimensional culture medium according to claim 3.

9. A support structure for supporting a three-dimensional culture medium for cultivating plants or fungi, the support structure being embedded in the three-dimensional culture medium, The support structure has elasticity in at least one of an X-axis direction, a Y-axis direction, and a Z-axis direction which are perpendicular to each other, which is smaller than the elasticity in the other directions. Support structure.

10. A method for harvesting plants or fungi grown in a three-dimensional medium, comprising the steps of: The three-dimensional culture medium has an internal support structure, The support structure is elastically deformable in at least one direction; A load is applied to the three-dimensional medium in a direction in which the support structure can be elastically deformed. Harvesting method.

11. The support structure has elasticity in at least one of an X-axis direction, a Y-axis direction, and a Z-axis direction which are perpendicular to each other, which is smaller than the elasticity in the other directions; When applying a load to the three-dimensional medium, the load is applied in the direction of the small elasticity.

11. The harvesting method of claim 10.

12. A load is applied to the three-dimensional culture medium by dropping the three-dimensional culture medium.

12. The harvesting method according to claim 10 or 11.

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