Cultivation facilities

Abstract

To provide a cultivation installation that can prevent / suppress disease of plants even in agrochemical-free cultivation or agrochemical-reduced cultivation which does not use agrochemicals that sterilize pathogen.SOLUTION: A cultivation installation 1 having a plurality of cultivation blocks A cultivating plants comprises: a culture medium a2 which is provided in each cultivation block A, and cultures plants; abnormality detecting means for detecting abnormality of the health condition of plants; a resource supply source which supplies various resources T contributing to culturing of plants; a supply pipe P which supplies the resource T into the culture medium a2 of each cultivation block A; an opening / closing valve B which is arranged in the supply pipe P, and connects / disconnects supply of resource to each cultivation block A; and valve control means c4 for controlling opening / closing of the opening / closing valve B, where the resource supply source includes a useful bacterium source housing useful bacteria which suppresses propagation of pathogen to plants, and the valve control means, when the abnormality detecting means detects abnormality of the health condition of plants in any cultivation block, controls the opening / closing valve to supply useful bacteria to the culture medium of the cultivation block out of the plurality of cultivation blocks in which abnormality has been detected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a cultivation facility that is capable of preventing and suppressing plant diseases. [Background technology]

[0002] BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, in cultivation facilities such as fields, vinyl greenhouses, and plant factories, pesticides have been applied to cultivated plants when they develop various diseases or for the prevention of such diseases.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a composition containing a fungicide that kills plant pathogens. This composition can prevent and suppress various diseases such as powdery mildew, which frequently occurs on cucumbers, and gray mold, which frequently occurs on tomatoes. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Special Publication No. 2003-501448 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] In this way, using pesticides, including fungicides, in cultivation facilities can prevent and suppress various diseases, but on the other hand, there is a risk that pathogens that are resistant to the pesticides will emerge and that the use of pesticides may have a negative impact on the ecosystem surrounding the cultivation facilities.

[0006] In light of this situation, the present invention aims to provide a cultivation facility that can prevent and suppress plant diseases even in pesticide-free or reduced-pesticide cultivation, which does not use pesticides to kill pathogens. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The object of the present invention is to A cultivation facility having a plurality of cultivation sections for cultivating plants, A medium for cultivating plants provided in each cultivation section; An abnormality detection means for detecting abnormalities in the health state of a plant; a resource supply source that supplies various resources useful for plant cultivation; a supply pipe for supplying the resource into the medium of each cultivation section; an on-off valve disposed in the supply pipe for connecting and disconnecting the supply of the resources to each cultivation section; a valve control means for controlling the opening and closing of the on-off valve, The resource supply source includes a useful bacterial source containing useful bacteria that suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria on plants, This is achieved by a cultivation facility characterized in that when the abnormality detection means detects an abnormality in the health of a plant in any of the cultivation sections, the valve control means controls the opening / closing valve and supplies the beneficial bacteria to the culture medium of the cultivation section in which the abnormality is detected among the multiple cultivation sections.

[0008] According to the present invention, beneficial bacteria that suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria are supplied to a cultivation section in which an abnormality in the health of a plant is detected by the abnormality detection means, thereby suppressing the growth of pathogenic bacteria within the cultivation section, and therefore plant diseases can be prevented and suppressed even in pesticide-free or reduced-pesticide cultivation.

[0009] Generally, cultivating fungi is expensive, and there is a risk that the cost of continuously supplying useful fungi to the cultivation sections will be high. However, in the present invention, useful fungi are supplied to a cultivation section when an abnormality in the health of the plants in that cultivation section is detected. Therefore, the amount of useful fungi supplied can be reduced compared to when useful fungi are frequently supplied to all cultivation sections, and therefore the cost of cultivating or purchasing useful fungi can be reduced.

[0010] In addition, according to the present invention, by supplying beneficial bacteria to the culture medium in the cultivation area, the beneficial bacteria can be cultivated (i.e., propagated) in the culture medium, and even supplying small amounts infrequently can fully exert the effect of preventing and suppressing diseases.

[0011] Furthermore, according to the present invention, beneficial bacteria can be automatically supplied to the culture medium in cultivation areas where abnormalities in the health of plants are found, thereby preventing and suppressing diseases, thereby reducing the burden on workers of monitoring and treating the plants.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, The resource supply source includes a source of useful gas that promotes the growth of the useful bacteria and a water source that supplies water, A portion of the supply pipe is disposed in the culture medium of each cultivation section, and a porous pipe having a large number of holes communicating the inside and outside of the pipe is used in the portion of the supply pipe located in the culture medium; The beneficial bacteria, the beneficial gas, or the water supplied from the resource supply source can be supplied into the culture medium of each cultivation section through the hole of the supply pipe, The valve control means is configured to control the on-off valve to supply the water into the culture medium in the cultivation area after supplying the beneficial bacteria to the cultivation area where an abnormality in the health of the plant has been detected, and then to supply the useful gas.

[0013] According to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, a useful gas that promotes the proliferation of useful bacteria is supplied to the culture medium in the cultivation area to which useful bacteria have been supplied, thereby accelerating the proliferation of useful bacteria in the culture medium and enhancing the effectiveness of disease prevention and suppression.

[0014] Furthermore, according to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, water is supplied to the culture medium in the cultivation section to which the useful bacteria have been supplied, and then useful gas is supplied, so that the slime of useful bacteria that has clogged the many holes in the porous pipe is washed away with water, and then useful gas that promotes the growth of the useful bacteria can be supplied into the culture medium through the many holes. Therefore, even if the supply pipe for the useful bacteria, the supply pipe for the useful gas, and the water supply pipe are shared (combined into one), the useful gas can be smoothly supplied into the culture medium, and capital investment can be reduced.

[0015] Furthermore, according to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, a porous pipe is used in the portion of the supply pipe that supplies resources such as useful bacteria, which is located in the culture medium. This allows useful gas that contributes to the cultivation of useful bacteria to be supplied evenly throughout the culture medium, thereby enabling early prevention and suppression of disease.

[0016] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the useful gas is supplied only to the cultivation section to which the useful bacteria have been supplied, so that running costs can be reduced.

[0017] In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the abnormality detection means comprises an imaging device that images plants in the cultivation section, an image processing unit that generates a leaf extraction image in which leaves of the plants are extracted from the image of the plants captured by the imaging device, and an abnormality determination means that determines an abnormality in the health condition of the plants based on the leaf extraction image; The abnormality determination means calculates the ratio of the area showing discolored parts of the leaves to the area showing the leaves of the plant in the leaf extraction image, and determines that the health condition of the plant is abnormal if the ratio is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and the valve control means is configured to control the on-off valve to supply the useful bacteria into the culture medium of the cultivation area in which the health condition of the plant is determined to be abnormal.

[0018] According to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, abnormalities in the health of plants are detected based on images captured by an imaging device, so there is no need to install various sensors in each cultivation area to detect plant diseases, which significantly reduces equipment costs.

[0019] Furthermore, according to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, if an image of an extracted leaf shows many discolored areas of the leaves, the health of the plant is judged to be abnormal and beneficial bacteria are supplied to the culture medium in the cultivation area where the plant is located.Therefore, diseases that cause leaf discoloration, such as wilt and black spot, can be automatically detected and the beneficial bacteria can be supplied to suppress the diseases.

[0020] In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, the abnormality detection means comprises an imaging device that images plants in the cultivation section at a predetermined frequency, an image processing unit that generates a leaf extraction image in which leaves of the plants are extracted from the image of the plants captured by the imaging device, and an abnormality determination means that determines an abnormality in the health condition of the plants based on the leaf extraction image; The abnormality determination means calculates the ratio of the area showing the leaves in the leaf extraction image generated from the latest image of the plant to the area showing the leaves in the leaf extraction image generated from the previously captured image of the plant, and determines that the health condition of the plant is abnormal if the ratio is less than a predetermined value, and the valve control means is configured to control the on / off valve to supply the useful bacteria into the culture medium of the cultivation area in which the health condition of the plant is determined to be abnormal.

[0021] According to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, abnormalities in the health of plants are detected based on images captured by an imaging device, so there is no need to install various sensors in each cultivation area to detect plant diseases, which significantly reduces equipment costs.

[0022] Furthermore, according to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, an imaging device captures images of plants in a cultivation area at a predetermined frequency, and if the ratio of the area showing the leaves in the current (= latest) leaf extraction image to the area showing the leaves in the previous leaf extraction image is less than a predetermined value, the health of the plant is determined to be abnormal, and useful bacteria are supplied to the culture medium in the cultivation area in which the plant is located.Therefore, by automatically detecting when leaves have wilted or fallen off due to wilt disease or the like, and supplying useful bacteria, it is possible to suppress the disease.

[0023] In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, The medium in each cultivation section is covered with a mulching sheet.

[0024] According to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the culture medium in each cultivation section is covered with a mulching sheet, so that the useful gas can be retained in the culture medium for a long period of time, and the effect of promoting the growth of useful bacteria can be sustained.

[0025] In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, The resource supply source further includes a liquid fertilizer supply source; The water or the liquid fertilizer contains glutamic acid.

[0026] According to this preferred embodiment of the present invention, the culture medium of each cultivation section is configured to be able to be supplied with water or liquid fertilizer containing glutamic acid, so that the glutamic acid can increase the germination rate of beneficial bacteria and promote their proliferation. [Effects of the Invention]

[0027] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a cultivation facility that can prevent and suppress plant diseases even in pesticide-free or reduced-pesticide cultivation, which does not use pesticides to kill pathogens. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0028] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a cultivation facility according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of resource supply within the cultivation facility shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the cultivation facility shown in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the cultivation bed shown in FIG. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the overall control by the control device. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the various controls performed by the control device during the day. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the bacteria supply control by the control device. [Figure 8] FIG. 8(a) is a schematic diagram showing a color image of a plant captured by an imaging device, and FIG. 8(b) is a schematic diagram showing an image of a leaf portion extracted by an image processing unit. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the various controls performed by the control device at night. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the control of irrigation in another preferred embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0029] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a cultivation facility 1 according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0030] The cultivation facility 1 is configured as a greenhouse H in which a vinyl film H1 is supported by a frame H2, and is provided with a number of cultivation beds A (A1 to A4) each having a roughly rectangular area inside the facility. Between the cultivation beds A, an automatic harvesting device for the plants G to be cultivated and a passage R for workers to pass through are formed. Each cultivation bed is an example of the "cultivation section" of the present invention.

[0031] The cultivation facility 1 according to this embodiment is configured as a cultivation facility for cultivating tomatoes as plants G, but the types of plants cultivated in the cultivation facility according to the present invention are not limited to this.

[0032] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of resource supply within the cultivation facility 1, and Fig. 3 is a control block diagram of the cultivation facility 1 shown in Fig. 1. Also, Fig. 4 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the cultivation bed A shown in Fig. 1.

[0033] In addition to the cultivation beds A, the cultivation facility 1 is equipped with a supply source of various resources T (T1 to T9) to be supplied to each cultivation bed A, a supply device 5 that supplies the resources T to each cultivation bed A, a control device C (see Figures 1 and 3) that controls the supply of resources T by the supply device 5, a sensor unit 6 (see Figure 3) arranged in each cultivation bed A, and an imaging device 8 (8a to 8d, see Figures 1 and 3) that captures images of plants G in each cultivation bed A.

[0034] As shown in Figure 4, each cultivation bed A is configured by placing and fixing a cultivation container a3 containing a culture medium a2 on an elevated bench a1. Various culture media can be used for the culture medium a2, including soil and fibrous materials such as rock wool.

[0035] The upper surface of the culture medium a2 is covered with a mulching sheet a5 except for the roots of the plants G. In the following, a case where four rows of cultivation beds A are provided will be described, but the embodiment of the present invention is not limited to this. In this embodiment, as the supply sources of the resource T, supply sources of resources T1 to T4 containing liquid and supply sources of resources T5 to T9 made of gas are provided.

[0036] The supply device 5 includes supply pipes P (P1 to P7) that supply the resource T to the cultivation bed A, solenoid valves B (B1 to B26) that open and close the supply pipes P, and mixers K (k1 to k3) that mix the liquid-containing resources T2 to T4 into water, which is one of the resources T. The mixer K can be a product such as "Dosatron" (registered trademark) from DOSATRON, which does not require a power source and can mix only the set ratio.

[0037] The supply pipe P is composed of a main supply pipe P1 that transports water T1 supplied from a water source constituted by a tank, a liquid supply pipe P2 (P2a to P2c) that transports liquid-containing resources T2 to T4 to the main supply pipe P1, a gas supply pipe P3 (P3a to P3e) that transports gaseous resources T5 to T9 to the main supply pipe P1, an underground supply pipe P4 (P4a to P4d) that extends through the culture medium a2 of each cultivation bed A, an aboveground supply pipe P5 (P5a to P5d) that extends above the culture medium a2 of each cultivation bed A, and a first supply pipe P6 and a second supply pipe P7 that can transport the resources T1 to T9 transported within the main supply pipe P1 to the underground supply pipe P4 and the aboveground supply pipe P5.

[0038] The above-ground supply pipe P5 is used to supply carbon dioxide T6, which is one of the resources T, to the vicinity of the cultivation bed A, and the underground supply pipe P4 is used to supply another resource T into the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A.

[0039] As the solenoid valves B, the supply device 5 is equipped with solenoid valves B1 and B2 that open and close the main supply pipe P1, solenoid valves B3 to B5 that open and close the liquid supply pipe P2, solenoid valves B6 to B10 that open and close the gas supply pipe P3, solenoid valves B11 to B18 that open and close the underground supply pipe P4, and solenoid valves B19 to B26 that open and close the aboveground supply pipe P5. The opening and closing of each solenoid valve is controlled by a control device C. The control device C and each solenoid valve may be capable of communicating via a wired connection or may be configured to be capable of communicating wirelessly.

[0040] One end of each of the central supply pipes P4a to P4d is connected to the first supply pipe P6, and the other end is connected to the second supply pipe P7, and one end of each of the upper supply pipes P5 is connected to the first supply pipe P6, and the other end is connected to the second supply pipe P7. As a result, various resources T are sent from both ends of the central supply pipes P4 and P5, which extend substantially horizontally, to the center, so that various resources T can be supplied evenly to the entire cultivation bed A.

[0041] The portion of the aboveground supply pipe P5 that extends above the culture medium a2 is made of a porous pipe (=porous pipe), and a large number of holes are formed on the outer surface of the pipe P5 that connect the outside of the aboveground supply pipe P5 to the internal space. The rest of the aboveground supply pipe P5 except for the portion located above the culture medium a2 is made of PVC pipe.

[0042] The portion of each underground supply pipe P4 that extends through the culture medium a2 (shown by the dashed line in Figure 2) is made of porous pipe, and its outer surface has a number of holes formed therein that connect the outside of the underground supply pipe P4 to the internal space. The portions of the underground supply pipe P4 other than the portion that extends through the culture medium a2, i.e., both ends of the underground supply pipe P4, are made of PVC pipe. Note that the material of both ends of the underground supply pipe P4 is not limited to PVC pipe, and it can also be made of, for example, a water hose.

[0043] In this embodiment, first and second liquid fertilizers T2 and T3 and a bacterial culture solution T4 containing beneficial bacteria that suppress the growth of plant pathogens are used as resources T to be mixed into water T1. The bacterial culture solution T4 containing beneficial bacteria and the first and second liquid fertilizers T2 and T3 are each stored in a tank as a supply source.

[0044] The two liquid fertilizers T2 and T3 have different ratios of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, and the nitrogen concentration of the second liquid fertilizer is set higher than that of the first liquid fertilizer. The first liquid fertilizer T2 contains iron.

[0045] Examples of useful fungi that suppress the growth of plant pathogens include Verticillium lecanii, which suppresses the growth of Verticillium dahliae Klebahn, which causes radish verticillium black spot disease, a non-pathogenic mutant of Ralstonia solanacearum, which suppresses the growth of the pathogenic fungus that causes bacterial wilt, and a non-pathogenic strain of Fusarium oxysporum, which suppresses the growth of Fusarium oxysporum, which causes tomato wilt. In this embodiment, the non-pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum is used as an example of a useful fungus. By supplying a non-pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum to medium a2, the growth of pathogenic strains is suppressed through a cross-protection reaction due to competition with normal pathogenic strains, thereby preventing or suppressing diseases such as wilt disease in plants.

[0046] While water T1 is being transferred through main supply pipe P1, opening solenoid valve B3 mixes first liquid fertilizer T2 into water T1, opening solenoid valve B4 mixes second liquid fertilizer T3 into water T1, and opening solenoid valve B5 mixes bacterial culture solution T4 containing beneficial bacteria into water T1. Water T1 or water T1 containing at least one of liquid resources T1-T3 is transferred through main supply pipe P1 in the direction of the gray arrow shown in Figure 2, and is transferred through first supply pipe P6 and second supply pipe P7 into at least one underground supply pipe P4. The water is then supplied into culture medium a2 through numerous holes in underground supply pipe P4.

[0047] For example, when a bacterial culture solution T4 containing useful bacteria is supplied to the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A4, the control device C opens the solenoid valves B1 and B2 arranged on the main supply pipe P1 and the solenoid valve B5 arranged on the liquid supply pipe P2c, and also opens the solenoid valves B17 and B18 arranged at both ends of the underground supply pipe P4d.

[0048] As a result, the bacterial culture solution T4 containing beneficial bacteria is mixed into the water T1, and the water T1 mixed with beneficial bacteria is transported through the main supply pipe P1 and the first and second supply pipes P6 and P7 into the underground supply pipe P4d, and is supplied to the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A4 through the multiple holes in the underground supply pipe P4d. At this time, all solenoid valves other than solenoid valves B1, B2, B5, B17, and B18 are closed.

[0049] Meanwhile, in this embodiment, the gaseous resource T is air T5 supplied by an air compressor 7, and carbon dioxide gas T6, oxygen gas T7, nitrogen gas T8, and hydrogen gas T9 supplied from a supply source such as a cylinder. Note that while air T5 is configured to be supplied from the air compressor 7, which is the air supply source, it may also be configured to be supplied from a cylinder or the like without using the air compressor 7. A pressure reducing valve, a flow meter 3, and a solenoid valve B are provided on each of the gas supply pipes P3b to P3e, which transfer the resources T6 to T9 to the main supply pipe P1, in this order from the cylinder side to the main supply pipe P1 side. Furthermore, a flow meter 3 for detecting the supply amount of water T1 is provided on the main supply pipe P1 upstream of the position of the solenoid valve B1.

[0050] For example, when carbon dioxide gas T6 is supplied to the cultivation bed A1, the control device C opens the solenoid valve B7 arranged on the gas supply pipe P3b and the solenoid valves B19 and B20 arranged on the aboveground supply pipe P5a, and closes the other solenoid valves. As a result, the carbon dioxide gas T6 supplied into the main supply pipe P1 through the gas supply pipe P3b is transported through the first and second supply pipes P6 and P7. The carbon dioxide gas T6 is then transported through the aboveground supply pipe P5a and supplied to the vicinity of the plants G cultivated in the cultivation bed A1 through a number of holes formed on the outer surface of the aboveground supply pipe P5a.

[0051] Also, for example, when oxygen gas T7 is supplied to the cultivation bed A2, the control device C opens the solenoid valve B8 arranged on the gas supply pipe P3c and the solenoid valves B13 and B14 arranged on the underground supply pipe P4b, and keeps the other solenoid valves closed.

[0052] As a result, oxygen gas T7 supplied into the main supply pipe P1 through the solenoid valve B8 arranged on the gas supply pipe P3c is transported through the first and second supply pipes P6 and P7, and then through the underground supply pipe P4b. The oxygen gas T7 is then supplied into the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A2 through a number of holes formed on the outer surface of the underground supply pipe P4b.

[0053] Furthermore, when air T5 is to be supplied to the cultivation bed A3, the control device C controls the air compressor 7 to transfer the compressed air T5 through the gas supply pipe P3a into the main supply pipe P1, and opens the solenoid valves B15 and B16 on the underground supply pipe P4c. As a result, the compressed air T5 is transferred from the main supply pipe P1 to the first and second supply pipes P6 and P7, and then supplied into the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A3 through the numerous holes formed on the outer surface of the underground supply pipe P4c.

[0054] The control device C is an information processing device composed of a well-known microcomputer including a CPU and its peripheral circuits. The control device C includes an image processing unit c1 that extracts (i.e., extracts) leaves from images of plants G in each cultivation bed A acquired by an imaging device 8; first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3 that determine whether or not there are abnormalities in the health of the plants G based on the leaf images extracted by the image processing unit c1; a recording unit c6 that records various data, such as numerical values, flags, and images, processed by the image processing unit c1 and the first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3; a valve control unit c4 that controls the opening and closing of each solenoid valve B; and a compressor control unit c5 that controls the operation of the air compressor 7. The valve control unit c4 corresponds to the "valve control means" of the present invention. The input side of the control device C is connected to a timer 9, a flowmeter 3, imaging devices 8 (8a-8d, see FIG. 1), a sensor unit 6, and an input device 4.

[0055] The recording unit c6 stores in advance a section database c6a, a sensor database c6b, an imaging device database c6c, an equipment database c6d, and a control condition database c6e.

[0056] The section database 33 stores an ID for identifying each cultivation bed A in the cultivation facility 1 and an ID for each strain of plant G cultivated in each cultivation bed, linked together. In this embodiment, each cultivation bed A is assigned an ID of one of A1 to A4. The ID for each strain is assigned based on the code of the cultivation bed in which the strain is located and the position of the strain in order from the front of the page in FIG. 1. For example, the second strain from the front of the page in cultivation bed A1 is assigned an ID of "A1-2," and the first strain from the front of the page in cultivation bed A3 is assigned an ID of "A3-1." In other words, the ID for each strain of plant G includes the ID of the cultivation bed A in which the strain is located.

[0057] The sensor database c6b stores the sensors 6a to 6e included in the sensor unit 6 and IDs that identify the respective sensor units 6, linked to the IDs of the cultivation beds A where they are installed. The imaging device database c6c stores IDs for identifying the imaging devices 8a to 8d in association with the IDs of the cultivation beds A that are the imaging targets of the imaging devices.

[0058] The equipment database c6d stores the equipment ID of the air compressor 7 and the equipment ID identifying each solenoid valve B. The equipment ID of the air compressor 7 is stored linked to the ID "T5" of compressed air T5, which is one of the resources T. The equipment IDs of the solenoid valves B arranged in the liquid supply pipe P2 and the gas supply pipe P3 are stored linked to IDs (T1 to T9) identifying the resource T, and the equipment IDs of the solenoid valves B arranged in the underground supply pipe P4 and the aboveground supply pipe P5 are stored linked to IDs (A1 to A4) of the cultivation beds A. When supplying each resource to one of the cultivation beds A, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C reads out the equipment ID of the solenoid valve B linked to the ID of the destination cultivation bed A and the equipment ID of the solenoid valve B linked to the ID of the resource T to be supplied, and controls the opening of the solenoid valves B. When compressed air T5 is supplied, the operation of the air compressor 7 is controlled by the compressor control unit c5 based on the device ID of the air compressor 7 read out based on the ID "T5", which is one of the IDs of the resource T. The control condition database c6e stores predetermined control conditions, that is, information on what kind of control is performed under what conditions.

[0059] The timing unit 9 is an electronic device that measures the elapsed time from a specific point in time, and outputs the measurement results to the control device C. Furthermore, the timing unit 9 has a clock function that acquires information on the current date and time from a GPS signal, and a calendar function that identifies the day of the week, and outputs this information to the control device C as well.

[0060] The flow meter 3 detects the transfer amount of the resources T6 to T9 transferred to the main supply pipe P1 through the gas supply pipes P3b to P3e and the supply amount of the water T1, and outputs a detection signal to the control device C.

[0061] Each of the imaging devices 8a to 8d is fixed to the frame H2 and is configured to be able to acquire high-definition color images based on a control signal (hereinafter referred to as an "imaging instruction signal") that instructs imaging output from the control device C. The imaging device 8a is positioned so as to be able to image the plant G grown in the cultivation bed A1, the imaging device 8b the plant G grown in the cultivation bed A2, the imaging device 8c the plant G grown in the cultivation bed A3, and the imaging device 8d the plant G grown in the cultivation bed A4.

[0062] Each sensor unit 6 is composed of a pH sensor 6a that detects the pH of the culture medium a2, an EC sensor 6b that detects the EC (electrical conductivity) of the culture medium a2, an oxygen concentration sensor 6c that detects the oxygen concentration in the culture medium a2, a carbon dioxide concentration sensor 6d that detects the carbon dioxide concentration in the vicinity of the plant G, and a culture medium temperature sensor 6e that detects the temperature in the culture medium a2.

[0063] In this embodiment, the input device 4 is configured as a touch panel, and allows input and setting of information such as the irrigation time, the day of the week to apply the first or second liquid fertilizer T2, T3, and the day and time to supply the beneficial bacteria T4. The information set using the input device 4 is stored in the recording unit c6. In this embodiment, the system is configured to perform irrigation twice, and a total of two irrigation times, one in the morning and one in the evening, can be set. The input device can also be configured as a mechanical switch, etc.

[0064] In the cultivation facility 1 configured as described above, the control device C determines whether it is daytime, which is a predetermined time of the day, or nighttime, which is outside of the predetermined time, as shown in Figure 5, and during the day, as shown in Figure 6, performs irrigation control to supply water T1 to each cultivation bed A, fertilization control to supply first or second liquid fertilizer T2, T3 to each cultivation bed A by mixing it with water T1, and bacteria supply control (see Figure 7) to detect abnormalities in the health of the plants G and supply bacterial culture solution T4 containing useful bacteria to the cultivation bed A.

[0065] On the other hand, at night, as shown in Figure 7, the control device C performs cooling control to cool the medium a2 by supplying air T5 to the medium a2, and gas supply control to supply resources T6 to T9 consisting of gases other than air T5 into the medium.

[0066] First, each control performed during the day will be explained using FIG.

[0067] FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the various controls performed by the control device C during the day.

[0068] During the day, the control device C first determines whether the current time acquired from the clock unit 9 is the preset morning irrigation time (step d1).

[0069] If the result of the determination is that the current time is not the morning irrigation time, the control device C repeats the determination until the current time becomes the irrigation time.

[0070] On the other hand, if the result of the determination shows that the current time is morning irrigation time, the control device C determines whether or not today's day is a day for fertilization control that has been preset using the input device 4, based on the day-of-the-week information acquired from the clock unit 9 (step d2). If the result of the determination shows that today is a day for fertilization control, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C performs fertilization control (step d3).

[0071] In the fertilization control, the valve control unit c4 supplies one of two types of liquid fertilizer T2 and T3 to each cultivation bed A in accordance with the detection result of each EC sensor 6b arranged in each cultivation bed A.

[0072] Specifically, when the EC value detected by the EC sensor 6b is less than a predetermined value for any of the cultivation beds A, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C supplies a second liquid fertilizer T3 having a high concentration of nitrogen components to the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A. For example, when the EC value detected by the EC sensor 6b is less than the predetermined value only for the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A1, the valve control unit c4 opens the solenoid valves B1, B2, B4, B11, and B12 to supply the second liquid fertilizer T3 to the cultivation bed A1, and then closes these solenoid valves B1, B2, B3, and B13 to B18 to supply the first liquid fertilizer T2 to the other cultivation beds A2 to A4.

[0073] In this way, by supplying the second liquid fertilizer T3 having a high concentration of nitrogen components to the cultivation bed A in which the EC value of the medium a2 is low, the EC value of the cultivation bed A can be increased.

[0074] On the other hand, if the result of the determination as to whether or not it is a day for fertilization control is that it is not a day for fertilization control, the valve control unit c4 performs irrigation control for all cultivation beds A (step d4). In the irrigation control, the valve control unit c4 opens the electromagnetic valves B1, B2 and B11 to B18 to supply water T1 to all the cultivation beds A.

[0075] When fertilization control or irrigation control is performed in this manner, the control device C determines whether or not today is a day of the week for performing bacterial supply control, which has been preset using the input device 4, based on the day of the week information acquired from the clock unit 9 (step d5). If the determination result indicates that today is a day for performing bacterial supply control, the control device C determines whether or not it is the time for performing the preset bacterial supply control (step d6), and if it is the time for performing bacterial supply control, performs bacterial supply control, which will be described in detail later (step d7). It is preferable that bacterial supply control be performed about once a week.

[0076] If today is not the day of the week when bacteria supply control is performed, or after the bacteria supply control has ended, the control device C determines whether the current time is evening irrigation time (step d8), and if it is irrigation time, irrigation control is performed on all cultivation beds A in the same manner as in step d4 as the final control of the day (step s9).

[0077] On the other hand, Figure 7 is a flowchart of the bacteria supply control by the control device C, Figure 8(a) is a schematic diagram showing an image of the plant G captured by the imaging device 8a, and Figure 8(b) is a schematic diagram showing an image of the leaf portion extracted by the image processing unit c1.

[0078] In this embodiment, by executing the bacterial supply control shown in Figure 7, a bacterial culture solution T4 containing useful bacteria is supplied to a cultivation bed A where a plant G is found to be in an abnormal health condition, thereby preventing and suppressing diseases in the plant G. In the bacteria supply control, the control device C first outputs an image capture instruction signal to each of the image capture devices 8a to 8d (step s1).

[0079] Upon receiving the imaging instruction signal, imaging device 8a outputs to control device C an image of plant G grown in cultivation bed A1 (see Figure 8(a)), imaging device 8b outputs to control device C an image of plant G grown in cultivation bed A2, imaging device 8c outputs to control device C an image of plant G grown in cultivation bed A3, and imaging device 8d outputs to control device C an image of plant G grown in cultivation bed A4.

[0080] When the image processing unit c1 of the control device C receives color images of the plants G in each cultivation bed A (see FIG. 8(a)) from the image capturing device 8, the image processing unit c1 performs threshold processing on the saturation and hue of each captured color image to generate a color image in which only the leaves of the plants G are extracted (step s2, see FIG. 8(b)). Note that in the leaf extraction image shown in FIG. 8(b), the leaves are shown in white to clearly show them, but in the actual leaf extraction image, the leaves are a color close to the actual color of the leaves, such as green, and this color is acquired and reproduced by the image sensor of the image capturing device 8.

[0081] When the leaf extraction image of the plant G for each cultivation bed A is generated in this way, the first abnormality determination unit c2 of the control device C calculates the area of ​​the portion showing the leaf for each plant of the plant G in the leaf extraction image and records it in the recording unit c6 together with the ID of each plant of the plant G (step s3). Hereinafter, the area showing the leaf of each plant in the leaf extraction image will be referred to as the "leaf area." In this embodiment, the leaf area calculated for each plant of the plant G in the leaf extraction image is the number of pixels showing the leaf of each plant of the plant G in the leaf extraction image (hereinafter referred to as the "leaf pixel count").

[0082] Next, the first abnormality determination unit c2 calculates the ratio of the area showing the leaves (=occupied by the leaves) in the currently generated leaf extraction image to the area showing the leaves (=occupied by the leaves) in the previous leaf extraction image (=leaf extraction image generated from color images captured in one week), for each plant.Then, the first abnormality determination unit c2 determines whether the ratio is less than a predetermined value (step s4).

[0083] More specifically, for each plant included in the leaf extraction image generated in step s2, the first anomaly determination unit c2 compares the current leaf pixel count with the leaf pixel count recorded previously for the same plant, and determines whether the ratio of the current (i.e., latest) leaf pixel count to the previously recorded leaf pixel count is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. The current leaf pixel count is the leaf pixel count recorded in step s3. Plants in the leaf extraction image can be distinguished, for example, by providing an identification label between two plants included in the field of view of each cultivation bed A captured by the imaging device 8 on each cultivation bed A, and determining which plant's leaf belongs to which plant based on whether the leaf is located on the left or right side of the captured label. While this embodiment is configured to calculate the ratio of the current leaf area to the previous leaf area for each plant G as described above, the ratio of the current leaf area to the previous leaf area may also be calculated for each cultivation bed A, i.e., for each leaf extraction image.

[0084] If the result of the determination is that there is a plant where the ratio of the current leaf area to the previous leaf area is less than a predetermined value, an abnormality in the health state of the plant G, such as wilted leaves or defoliation, is recognized, and the first abnormality determination unit c2 determines that the health state of the plant is abnormal and records data linking the ID of the plant to a flag indicating abnormality in the recording unit c6 (step s5).At the same time, the first abnormality determination unit c2 determines that the health state of the plant where the ratio of the current leaf area to the previous leaf area is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is abnormal, and records data linking the ID of the plant to a flag indicating normal in the recording unit c6.

[0085] On the other hand, if the result of the judgment is that there are no plants where the ratio of the current leaf area to the previous leaf area is less than the predetermined value, no abnormalities in health such as wilted leaves or fallen leaves are found in any of the plants, so the first abnormality judgment unit c2 judges that the health condition of each plant is normal (step s6) and records data linked to the plant's ID and a flag indicating normality in the recording unit c6.

[0086] When the first abnormality determination unit c2 has finished detecting an abnormality based on leaf wilting, leaf drop, etc., the process proceeds to a step of detecting an abnormality based on leaf discoloration by the second abnormality determination unit c3 of the control device C. Leaf discoloration refers to, for example, yellowing or browning of the leaves of the plant G, or the appearance of spots on the leaves.

[0087] Specifically, the second anomaly determination unit c3 first quantifies the color shading for each pixel in the leaf extraction image (step s7). That is, for each pixel representing a leaf, the darker the color, the higher the shading value, and the lighter the color, the lower the shading value. The shading value is a value that indicates the shading of each pixel.

[0088] Next, the second abnormality determination unit c3 calculates the ratio of the area showing the discolored leaf parts (=the area occupied by the discolored leaf parts) to the leaf area for each plant G in the leaf extraction image generated this time.The second abnormality determination unit c3 then determines whether or not this ratio is equal to or greater than a predetermined value (step s8).Hereinafter, the area of ​​the discolored leaf parts of each plant in the leaf extraction image will be referred to as the "discolored area."

[0089] More specifically, the second abnormality judgment unit c3 calculates the ratio of the number of pixels whose color intensity value is less than a threshold value (hereinafter referred to as the ``number of discolored pixels'') to the number of leaf pixels for each plant G in the leaf extraction image, and determines whether this ratio is greater than or equal to a predetermined value.

[0090] The threshold value of the color density can be set to a value that indicates discoloration of the leaves, such as yellowing, and the predetermined value for the percentage of discolored pixels can be set to a value that indicates the possibility of an early stage symptom of a disease such as wilt that causes discoloration of the leaves. Note that while this embodiment is configured to calculate the percentage of discolored leaves for each plant G as described above, the percentage of discolored leaves may also be calculated for each cultivation bed A, i.e., for each leaf extraction image.

[0091] If the result of the judgment is that there are no plants G whose discoloration area ratio is above the threshold, since no plants G with abnormal health conditions are found in any of the cultivation beds A, the second abnormality judgment unit c3 judges that the health conditions of all plants G are normal (step s9).

[0092] On the other hand, if the result of the determination is that there is a plant G whose discoloration area ratio is equal to or greater than the threshold, it is determined that the plant has an abnormal health condition, that is, discoloration of the leaves. Therefore, the second abnormality determination unit c3 determines that the health condition of the plant whose discoloration area ratio is equal to or greater than the threshold is abnormal, and records data linking the ID of the plant to a flag indicating abnormality in the recording unit c6 (step s10). At the same time, the second abnormality determination unit c3 determines that the health condition of the plant G whose discoloration area ratio is less than the threshold is normal, and records data linking the ID of the plant to a flag indicating normal in the recording unit c6.

[0093] In this way, when the second abnormality determination unit c3 has finished detecting an abnormality based on the discoloration of the leaves, the bacterial culture solution T4 containing useful bacteria is selectively supplied only to the cultivation bed A containing the plants whose health state has been determined to be abnormal by at least one of the first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3 (step s11). Hereinafter, the selective supply of the bacterial culture solution T4 containing useful bacteria only to the cultivation bed A containing the plants G whose health state has been detected to be abnormal is referred to as "selective supply." Note that if the health state of all the plants in all the cultivation beds A is determined to be normal, the supply of the bacterial culture solution T4 containing useful bacteria is not performed, and the processing shown in FIG. 7 is terminated.

[0094] In the selective supply, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C reads the ID of the cultivation bed A in which the plant in which the abnormality was detected is located from the ID of the plant G that has been flagged as abnormal by the first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3. Then, the valve control unit c4 controls the solenoid valve B to supply the bacterial culture solution T4 containing the useful bacteria only to the cultivation bed A indicated by the ID.

[0095] For example, if abnormalities are detected only in the plants on the front side of the cultivation bed A1 and the plants on the front side of the cultivation bed A2 shown in Figure 1, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C reads the IDs of the cultivation beds A1 and A2, "A1" and "A2," from the IDs "A1-1" and "A2-1" associated with the abnormality flags, and opens only the solenoid valves B1, B2, B5, and B11-B14, which are solenoid valves B associated with these IDs and the resource T4, for a first predetermined time. As a result, water containing beneficial bacteria is supplied to the culture medium a2 only in the cultivation beds A1 and A2 where abnormal plants are found.

[0096] In this way, when water containing beneficial bacteria is supplied to a cultivation bed A containing plants that have been found to be in an abnormal health state, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C supplies only water to the cultivation bed A for a second predetermined period of time (step s12).

[0097] As in the above example, if abnormal plants are found only in the cultivation beds A1 and A2, the valve control unit c4 closes the solenoid valve B5 and opens only the solenoid valves B1, B2, and B11 to B14 for a second predetermined time. This allows only water T1 to be supplied to the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A. This washes away the slime caused by the highly viscous beneficial fungus culture solution T4 that has clogged the numerous holes in the supply pipe P leading to the cultivation bed A, particularly in the aboveground supply pipe P5 extending above the culture medium a2, allowing the subsequent supply of gas.

[0098] Finally, the valve control unit c4 closes the solenoid valve B1 and opens the solenoid valve B6, and the compressor control unit c5 operates the air compressor 7 to supply compressed air T5 only to the cultivation bed A containing the plants found to be abnormal for a third predetermined time (step s13). At this time, as in the above example, if the plants found to be abnormal are only in the cultivation beds A1 and A2, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C opens only the solenoid valves B6 and B11 to B14.

[0099] In this way, by rinsing the inside of the supply pipe P with water and then supplying compressed air T5 to the cultivation bed A containing the plants that were found to be abnormal, oxygen-containing air can be sent to the non-pathogenic F. oxysporum, an example of a beneficial bacterium, supplied to the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A. The culture medium a2 of each cultivation bed A is covered with a mulching sheet a5 (see FIG. 4), so that air can be retained in the culture medium a2 for a long period of time.

[0100] Here, oxygen is required for the growth of filamentous fungi such as F. oxysporum. However, the oxygen concentration in media such as soil is generally lower than that in air. Therefore, as described above, supplying and maintaining oxygen-containing compressed air T5 into the medium a2 to which nonpathogenic F. oxysporum has been supplied can promote the growth (i.e., cultivation) of nonpathogenic F. oxysporum in the medium a2. This suppresses the growth of pathogenic bacteria in the cultivation bed A or the plant G, thereby preventing and suppressing disease in the plant G. In addition, supplying compressed air T5 can adequately dry the medium a2, which has become overly wet due to the supply of water T1, thereby preventing root rot of the plant G. The air supplied in step s13 is an example of a "useful gas" that promotes the growth of nonpathogenic F. oxysporum, an example of a beneficial fungus. A useful gas is a gas that promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria that suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria.

[0101] In addition, after compressed air T5 is supplied to the cultivation bed A where an abnormality is found, oxygen gas T7 may be further supplied to the culture medium a2 of that cultivation bed A (cultivation beds A1 and A2 in the above example), or oxygen gas T7 may be supplied to the culture medium a2 instead of supplying compressed air T5. This can increase the oxygen concentration in the culture medium a2, further promoting the growth of useful bacteria. Oxygen gas T7 is another example of a "useful gas" that promotes the growth of non-pathogenic F. oxysporum, which is an example of the useful bacteria of the present invention.

[0102] Finally, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C closes each of the electromagnetic valves B. This completes the bacteria supply control by the control device C.

[0103] Thus, in this embodiment, when there are plants G with wilted or defoliated leaves or plants with discolored leaves, a non-pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum, which is an example of a useful bacterium that suppresses the growth of pathogenic bacteria, is automatically supplied to the medium a2 of the cultivation bed A in which the plants are located, and air that promotes the growth of the non-pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum is then supplied. This allows the non-pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum to grow in the medium a2, thereby suppressing the growth of pathogenic F. oxysporum in the cultivation bed A. This makes it possible to prevent and suppress diseases such as wilt of tomatoes, which is an example of a plant.

[0104] On the other hand, FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the various controls performed by the control device C at night. At night, the control device C first controls the cooling of the culture medium a2 (step n1).

[0105] In the cooling control, the control device C determines whether the temperature of the culture medium a2 in each cultivation bed A, detected by the culture medium temperature sensor 6e of the sensor unit 6 arranged in each cultivation bed A, is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. If there is a cultivation bed A in which the temperature of the culture medium a2 is equal to or higher than the predetermined value, the control device C supplies air T5 to the culture medium a2 in that cultivation bed A. In supplying air T5, the valve control unit c4 controls to open the solenoid valve B6 and the solenoid valve B corresponding to that cultivation bed A (for example, solenoid valves B15 and B16 in the case of cultivation bed A3), and the compressor control unit c5 starts operating the air compressor 7. This allows the temperature of the heat-accumulating culture medium a2 to be lowered at night during hot periods such as summer. The supply of air T5 may be configured to be performed for a predetermined period of time, or may be configured to be continued until the temperature of the culture medium a2 falls below a predetermined value.

[0106] After performing the cooling control in this way, the control device C performs the gas supply control (step n2).

[0107] In gas supply control, the control device C supplies appropriate resources T6 to T9 according to the detection results of the sensor units 6 installed in each cultivation bed A. For example, when the oxygen concentration in the medium a2 detected by the oxygen concentration sensor 6c installed in the cultivation bed A1 is low, the valve control unit c4 of the control device C opens only the solenoid valves B8, B11, and B12 to supply oxygen gas T7 into the medium a2 only in the cultivation bed A1. This promotes the growth of non-pathogenic F. oxysporum, an example of a beneficial bacterium, and reduces the cost of oxygen supply by supplying oxygen only to the cultivation bed A with a low oxygen concentration.

[0108] The supply of oxygen gas T7 may be configured to continue for a predetermined time, or may be configured to continue until the oxygen concentration detected by oxygen concentration sensor 6c reaches a predetermined concentration or higher. Note that if the plant is a moisture-loving species and the medium contains a lot of water, a dissolved oxygen concentration sensor may be used instead of oxygen concentration sensor 6c.

[0109] As described above, the cooling control and gas supply control of this embodiment are configured to supply gaseous resources T5 to T9 in accordance with the detection results of the sensor unit 6. However, air T5, oxygen gas T7, nitrogen gas T8, and / or hydrogen gas T9 may also be periodically supplied to the culture medium a2 of each cultivation bed A at night. This can activate the culture medium a2, such as soil, and the roots of the plants G. Furthermore, the timing and amount of supply of the gaseous resources T5 to T9 may be determined using AI. Unlike the liquid resources T1 to T4, the gaseous resources T5 to T9 supplied to the culture medium a2 are diffused evenly throughout the culture medium a2.

[0110] <Technical significance of this embodiment>

[0111] 1 to 8, a non-pathogenic strain of F. oxysporum, which is an example of a beneficial bacterium that suppresses the growth of pathogenic F. oxysporum, is supplied to a cultivation bed A in which an abnormality in the health of a plant G is detected by the imaging device 8, image processing unit c1, and first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3, which correspond to the abnormality detection means, thereby suppressing the growth of pathogenic bacteria in the cultivation bed A. Therefore, diseases of plants G can be prevented and suppressed even in pesticide-free or reduced-pesticide cultivation.

[0112] Generally, cultivating fungi is very expensive, and there is a risk that the cost of continuously supplying useful bacteria to the cultivation beds A will be high. However, in this embodiment, when an abnormality in the health of a plant G in any of the cultivation beds A is detected, useful bacteria are selectively supplied to that cultivation bed A (in other words, only to that cultivation bed A). Therefore, the amount of useful bacteria supplied can be reduced compared to when useful bacteria are frequently supplied to all of the cultivation beds A, and therefore the cost of cultivating or purchasing useful bacteria can be reduced.

[0113] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, by supplying useful bacteria to the culture medium a2 in the cultivation bed A, the useful bacteria can be cultivated (= propagated) in the culture medium a2, and even if a small amount is supplied at a low frequency, the effect of preventing and suppressing disease can be fully exerted.

[0114] In addition, according to this embodiment, beneficial bacteria are automatically supplied to the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A where abnormalities in the health of the plants G are found, thereby preventing and suppressing diseases, thereby reducing the burden on workers in terms of monitoring and treatment work.

[0115] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, by supplying air T5, which is an example of a useful gas that promotes the proliferation of useful bacteria, to the culture medium of the cultivation bed A to which useful bacteria have been supplied, the proliferation of the useful bacteria in the culture medium a2 can be accelerated, thereby enhancing the effect of preventing and suppressing diseases.

[0116] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, water T1 is supplied to the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A to which useful bacteria have been supplied, and then air T5 is supplied, so that the slime of useful bacteria that has clogged the numerous holes formed on the outer periphery of the underground supply pipe P4 is washed away with water, and air that promotes the growth of useful bacteria can be supplied into the culture medium through the numerous holes. Therefore, even if the supply pipe for useful bacteria, the supply pipe for useful gas, and the supply pipe for water are shared (in other words, combined into one), the useful gas can be smoothly supplied into the culture medium a2, and capital investment can be reduced.

[0117] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, a porous pipe is used for the underground supply pipe P4 of the supply pipe P that supplies resources T such as useful bacteria T4, and the like, in the portion located in the culture medium a2. Therefore, air T5 and oxygen gas T7, which are useful gases that contribute to the cultivation of useful bacteria T4, can be evenly supplied into the culture medium a2, and the disease prevention and suppression effects can be obtained early.

[0118] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, as shown in steps s12 and s13 of Figure 7, the useful gas is supplied only to the cultivation bed A to which the useful bacteria T4 has been supplied, thereby reducing running costs.

[0119] In addition, according to this embodiment, the system is configured to detect abnormalities in the health of plants G based on color images captured by the imaging device 8, so there is no need to install various sensors such as moisture sensors in each cultivation bed A to detect diseases in plants G, which allows for significant reductions in equipment costs.

[0120] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, if there are many discolored areas in the leaves in a leaf extraction image in which the leaves (= leaves) of the plant G are extracted, that is, if the ratio of the number of discolored pixels to the number of leaf pixels is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the health condition of the plant G is judged to be abnormal, and useful bacteria are supplied into the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A in which the health condition of the plant is judged to be abnormal.Therefore, diseases that cause leaf discoloration, such as wilt, can be automatically detected, and the disease can be suppressed by supplying useful bacteria.

[0121] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the imaging device 8 captures images of the plant G in the cultivation bed A at a predetermined frequency (once a week in this embodiment), and if the ratio of the leaf area in the current leaf extraction image to the leaf area in the previous leaf extraction image (= the ratio of the number of leaf pixels in this current image to the number of leaf pixels in the previous image) is less than a predetermined value, the health condition of the plant G is determined to be abnormal, and useful bacteria are supplied into the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A in which the health condition of the plant is determined to be abnormal.Therefore, by automatically detecting when leaves have wilted or fallen off due to wilt disease, etc., and supplying useful bacteria, it is possible to suppress the disease.

[0122] Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the culture medium a2 of each cultivation bed A is covered with a mulching sheet a5, so that useful gases such as air T5 and oxygen gas T7 can be retained in the culture medium a2 for a long period of time, thereby sustaining the effect of promoting the proliferation of useful bacteria.

[0123] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the invention described in the claims, and it goes without saying that these modifications are also included within the scope of the present invention.

[0124] For example, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 8, the cultivation facility 1 is constituted by a vinyl greenhouse H, but it may be another cultivation facility such as a field or a plant factory.

[0125] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example in which tomatoes are cultivated as the plant G has been described in detail, but the type of plant to which the present invention is applicable is not limited to tomatoes, as mentioned above. For example, when the present invention is used to cultivate cucumbers, powdery mildew, downy mildew, etc. can be detected by calculating the proportion of pixels that show leaf spots as the number of discolored pixels.

[0126] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a tank is used as the water source, but the water source is not limited to this. For example, the water source can be composed of groundwater and a pump that supplies the groundwater to the supply pipe P, and a control unit that controls the operation of the pump can be provided in the control device C. In this case, the solenoid valve B1 provided in the main supply pipe P1 is not necessarily required. Also, tap water can be used as the water source.

[0127] In addition, the beneficial bacteria T4 may be resistant to the fungicide contained in the pesticide, which allows the beneficial bacteria to be cultivated in the medium a2 while spraying a low amount of pesticide containing a fungicide.

[0128] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the cultivation facility 1 includes multiple cultivation beds as an example of the "multiple cultivation sections" of the present invention, and is configured to supply resources T1-T9 containing beneficial bacteria T4 to each cultivation bed. However, the cultivation facility may also include multiple ridges, multiple areas, or multiple seedling rows as the multiple cultivation sections. As is currently done, tomato seedlings, for example, may be individually placed (planted) in separate bags containing soil or other medium, with each of these bags serving as a cultivation section. By configuring the facility to supply resources such as beneficial bacteria to specific ridges, specific areas, specific seedling rows, or specific bags where abnormalities in plant health have occurred, plant diseases can be prevented or suppressed even in pesticide-free or reduced-pesticide cultivation. When plant seedlings are cultivated individually in separate bags, drip tubes for irrigation may be used as supply pipes for supplying the resources T1-T9. In this case, by inserting the drip tubes into the medium contained in the bags, the various resources T1-T9 can be automatically supplied to the medium through the drip tubes.

[0129] In addition, in the above embodiment, as shown in Figure 7, a two-stage abnormality judgment (=detection) process is provided by the first and second abnormality judgment units c2 and c3, but it may also be configured so that abnormality judgment is performed only by the first abnormality judgment unit c2, or so that abnormality judgment is performed only by the second abnormality judgment unit c3.

[0130] In the above embodiment, the cultivation facility 1 includes an imaging device 8 and first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3 as abnormality detection means for detecting abnormalities in the health of plants. However, the cultivation facility 1 may also be configured so that water irrigated to the medium a2 that is not absorbed by the plants G drips downward from the cultivation bed A, and the amount of dripping is detected by a sensor. For example, a hole for draining excess water may be formed below the cultivation container a3, and a fixed amount of water may be irrigated daily. A container for collecting excess water that drips through the hole may be placed below the hole, and the water level in the container may be detected by a sensor. In this case, if the amount of water dripping into the container is greater than a predetermined amount, it is determined that the roots of the plants G are weakened. Therefore, by configuring the cultivation bed A to supply water T4 containing beneficial bacteria, it is possible to prevent and suppress disease in the plants G. The "predetermined amount" may be set, for example, to the daily irrigation amount minus the minimum amount of water absorbed by a healthy plant. As mentioned above, when seedlings such as tomatoes are grown individually in bags (as cultivation plots), it is also preferable to form drainage holes in the bottom of the bags so that water containing beneficial bacteria is automatically supplied when the amount of water dripping from the holes exceeds a predetermined amount. In this case, by providing one sensor to detect the amount of excess water for every 10 bags, for example, the cost of installing sensors can be reduced.

[0131] Furthermore, instead of using a sensor to detect the amount of dripping water, the sensor may be configured to detect the amount of water (moisture content) in the culture medium. In this case, if the detected amount of water is greater than a predetermined amount, it is recognized that the roots of the plant G are weakened, and by configuring the cultivation section to be able to supply water containing beneficial bacteria, plant diseases can be prevented and suppressed.

[0132] Additionally, the cultivation facility 1 according to the above embodiment includes an imaging device 8, an image processing unit c1, and first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3 as examples of the "abnormality detection means." The imaging device 8 acquires color images of all cultivation beds A, and the image processing unit c1 processes the images, after which the first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3 determine whether or not an abnormality exists. However, it is not necessarily required to configure all cultivation beds A to detect abnormalities in the health condition using these abnormality detection units. For example, it is also possible to configure some cultivation beds A to detect abnormalities in the health condition by measuring the amount of excess water, as described above. That is, there may be a mixture of cultivation beds A whose health condition is detected based on images acquired by the imaging device 8 and cultivation beds A whose health condition is detected by measuring the amount of excess water.

[0133] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the image processing unit c1 and the first and second abnormality judgment units c2 and c3 of the abnormality detection means are provided in a control device C separate from the imaging device 8, but these may also be provided in the imaging device, and the valve control unit c4 of the control device C may be configured to supply resources such as useful bacteria T4 to the cultivation bed A based on the abnormality judgment signal output from the imaging device 8.

[0134] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the proliferation of beneficial bacteria is promoted by supplying oxygen gas T7. However, glutamic acid may be added to water T1, the first liquid fertilizer T2, or the second liquid fertilizer T3 and supplied to the medium a2. This increases the germination rate of non-pathogenic F. oxysporum, an example of beneficial bacteria, and effectively promotes proliferation. Note that other amino acids, enzymes, etc. may be supplied to the medium a2 instead of or together with glutamic acid.

[0135] Furthermore, while the above-described embodiment is configured to supply nonpathogenic F. oxysporum to medium a2, the above-described nonpathogenic mutant strain of R. solanacearum may be supplied to the medium instead of or together with nonpathogenic F. oxysporum. This suppresses the growth of pathogenic R. solanacearum, the causative agent of bacterial wilt disease, in medium a2, thereby preventing continuous crop damage to tomatoes and other plants. In this case, it is more preferable to supply a bacterial culture solution containing a nonpathogenic mutant strain of R. solanacearum to the medium by mixing it with water not only when abnormalities in the health of the plants G are observed, but also periodically.

[0136] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3 of the control device C are configured to determine (detect) abnormalities in the health condition of the plants G based on the images of each cultivation bed A acquired by the imaging device 8, and to supply water containing useful bacteria T4 to the cultivation bed A in which an abnormality is found. In addition to this configuration, when an operator visually checks each cultivation bed A and finds a plant G in an abnormal health condition, the operator may input or select the ID of the cultivation bed A using an input device such as a touch panel or a mouse, so that resources T1 to T9 such as a bacterial culture solution T4 containing useful bacteria can be supplied to the cultivation bed A selected by the control device.

[0137] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, each imaging device 8 is fixed to the frame H2, but for example, the imaging device may be attached to a drone or a mobile work vehicle, etc., and images of each cultivation bed A may be acquired while the drone or work vehicle is flying or traveling. This allows the number of imaging devices to be reduced, thereby suppressing equipment costs. In this case, the images are transmitted to the control device C via wireless communication, etc., and the first and second abnormality determination units c2 and c3 of the control device C can detect abnormalities in the health condition, as in the above embodiment.

[0138] In the above embodiment, the color shading of the leaves in the extracted leaf image is quantified, and discoloration of the leaves of the plant G is detected based on the percentage of discolored pixels in the light areas where this shading value is less than a predetermined value. However, the system may also be configured to calculate the percentage of pixels within a predetermined color range relative to the number of leaf images in the extracted leaf image, and if this percentage is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, determine that there is something wrong with the health of the plant, and supply beneficial bacteria, water, or beneficial gas to the cultivation section containing the plant determined to be abnormal. The predetermined color range can be set to, for example, a yellowish range, a brown range, a white range, or the like, to detect yellowing, withered leaves, spots, etc.

[0139] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, nitrogen gas is configured to be supplied into the culture medium a2 as resource T8, but ammonia may be supplied instead of nitrogen gas, or argon gas may be applied separately.

[0140] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, a configuration in which useful bacteria and water are supplied into the culture medium a2, and then air or oxygen is supplied, has been described in detail, but the gas supplied into the culture medium a2 after the supply of useful bacteria and water is not limited to these, as long as it promotes the proliferation of useful bacteria.

[0141] In addition, in the above embodiment, an electromagnetic valve B is used as an example of the "on / off valve" of the present invention that connects and disconnects (=interrupts) the supply of resources T1 to T9, but other valve members such as an electric valve including a motor may also be used.

[0142] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, as shown in Figure 6, the valve control unit c4 is configured to control irrigation for all cultivation beds A at the preset morning and evening irrigation times, but the control unit C may also be configured to automatically determine the number of times irrigation is performed each day depending on the amount of solar radiation on that day.

[0143] For example, a database linking the date, sunrise time, and sunset time at the location of the cultivation facility 1 may be stored in advance in the recording unit c6 shown in FIG. 3 , and an operator may input and set the number of hours after sunrise for the first irrigation of each day and the number of hours before sunset for the last irrigation of each day into the control device C using the input device 4. Once the irrigation timing is set, the control device C reads the sunrise time data for that day from the recording unit c6 at a predetermined time (e.g., midnight) based on the current date information acquired from the GPS signal by the clock unit 9, as shown in FIG. 10 , and calculates and sets the time of the first irrigation of that day based on the information on "how many hours after sunrise for the first irrigation" (step dd1). Then, when the set first irrigation time arrives (step dd2), the valve control unit c4 of the control device C irrigates each cultivation bed A in sequence (step dd3). In this way, by irrigating each cultivation bed A in turn, it becomes possible to adjust the amount of irrigation water for each cultivation bed A, as will be described in detail later.

[0144] Note that it is not necessary to store in the recording unit c6 a database linking the date with the sunrise and sunset times at the location of the cultivation facility 1; it is also possible to store the database on an external server, etc., and obtain information on the sunrise and sunset times for that day from the external server, etc., based on the location information and date information of the cultivation facility 1. Furthermore, it is not necessary to have a database of sunrise and sunset times only at the location of the cultivation facility 1; it is also possible to store in the recording unit c6 or an external server, etc., a database linking the date with the sunrise and sunset times for each location. In this case, it is possible to read information on the sunrise and sunset times from the database based on the location information and date information of the cultivation facility 1 obtained based on GPS signals, etc. This eliminates the need to set the location information of the cultivation facility 1 when installing the control device C.

[0145] After the first watering, the control device C acquires the value of the amount of solar radiation near the plants G detected by a solar radiation sensor separately provided in the cultivation facility 1 (step dd4), determines whether the value of the amount of solar radiation is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and determines to water the plants G a reference number of times (e.g., five times) if the value of the amount of solar radiation is less than the predetermined value, or a number of times that is one more than the reference number of times by a predetermined value (e.g., six times, which is one more than the reference number) if the value of the amount of solar radiation is equal to or greater than the predetermined value (step dd5).Then, the control device C automatically calculates and sets the times of each subsequent watering so that the watering will be performed a number of times determined according to the amount of solar radiation at equal time intervals from the time of the first watering set in step 1 (e.g., two hours after sunrise on that day) to the preset timing of the last watering (e.g., five hours before sunset on that day) (step dd6). Once the time for each irrigation from the second onwards is set in this way, the valve control section c4 of the control device C performs the second and subsequent irrigation in turn to each cultivation bed A at each irrigation time (step dd7) (step dd8).

[0146] During the first watering (step dd3) and each subsequent watering (step dd8), the control device C preferably determines the amount of water T1 to be irrigated to each cultivation bed A based on the detected value of a moisture content sensor (not shown) that detects the moisture content in the medium a2 of each cultivation bed A before opening the solenoid valve B. The higher the moisture content of the medium a2, the less amount of water T1 to be irrigated, thereby preventing root rot of the plants G. In addition, a cultivation bed A whose moisture content in the medium a2 is equal to or greater than a predetermined value may be configured not to be irrigated. Furthermore, when the cultivation bed A is configured so that excess water T1 irrigated to the medium a2 drips downward, or when plant seedlings are planted separately in bags as described above, the amount of dripping water is detected by image processing using a sensor or a camera. If the amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, it is determined that the plants G are not absorbing enough water, and the amount of water irrigated to that cultivation bed A is preferably reduced or not irrigated at all.

[0147] Additionally, in the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, useful bacteria are supplied to a cultivation bed A in which an abnormality in the health condition of a plant G is detected. However, the supply of useful bacteria to a cultivation bed A in which an abnormality is detected may be continued at a predetermined frequency. In this case, it is preferable to detect the number of live bacteria in the culture medium a2 of the cultivation bed A to which the useful bacteria have been supplied, and to stop the supply of useful bacteria when the detected number of live bacteria is equal to or greater than a predetermined value and no abnormality in the health condition is detected by the first and / or second abnormality determination units c2 and c3. This configuration can prevent and suppress diseases of the plant G while reducing the cost of supplying useful bacteria. The detection of the number of live bacteria in the culture medium a2 may be indirect, i.e., by obtaining a correlation value indicating the degree of the number of bacteria.

[0148] For example, as described above, a container for collecting excess water dripping from the cultivation bed A is placed below the cultivation bed A, and a carboxyfluorescein diacetate (hereinafter referred to as "CFDA") solution is automatically added to the container. The bottom of the container is preferably transparent. Then, at night, based on a control signal transmitted from the control device C, an irradiation device placed directly below the container automatically irradiates the container with excitation light, and an imaging device also placed directly below the container automatically captures a fluorescent image. The number of fluorescent spots in the fluorescent image is automatically measured by image processing, or the fluorescent intensity in the image is automatically measured. If the measured number of fluorescent spots or fluorescent intensity is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, it is determined that the number of bacteria in the medium a2 of the cultivation bed A is large and that the beneficial bacteria have been successfully cultivated in the medium a2. Therefore, the supply of beneficial bacteria can be stopped, provided that no abnormalities in the health of the plants G are detected. Although it cannot be said that the number of measured fluorescent spots or the intensity of fluorescence are almost entirely due to the esterase activity of the beneficial bacteria, it is recognized that the beneficial bacteria have been cultivated in culture medium a2 by including the condition that no abnormalities in the health of plant G have been detected.

[0149] In this way, by measuring the number of bacteria in the water dripping downward through the medium a2, the number of live bacteria in the medium a2 can be detected much faster than culturing bacteria in a petri dish, etc., and the measurement of the number of bacteria can be automated. Furthermore, the number of live bacteria in the medium a2 may be indirectly detected based on the EC value of the medium a2 detected by the EC sensor 6b, for example, other than CFDA, or may be indirectly detected based on the value of a component such as iron in the medium a2. [Explanation of symbols]

[0150] 1. Cultivation facility 3 Flow meter 4 Input Devices 5 Feeding device 6 Sensor Unit 7. Air Compressor 8. Imaging device 9 Timing section C Control device T1~T9 Resources

Claims

1. A cultivation facility having a plurality of cultivation sections for cultivating plants, A medium for cultivating plants provided in each cultivation section; An abnormality detection means for detecting abnormalities in the health state of a plant; a resource supply source that supplies various resources useful for plant cultivation; a supply pipe for supplying the resource into the medium of each cultivation section; an on-off valve disposed in the supply pipe for connecting and disconnecting the supply of the resources to each cultivation section; a valve control means for controlling the opening and closing of the on-off valve, The resource supply source includes a useful bacterial source containing useful bacteria that suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria on plants, A cultivation facility characterized in that when the abnormality detection means detects an abnormality in the health of a plant in any of the cultivation sections, the valve control means controls the opening / closing valve and supplies the beneficial bacteria to the culture medium of the cultivation section in which the abnormality is detected among the multiple cultivation sections.

2. The resource supply source includes a source of useful gas that promotes the growth of the useful bacteria and a water source that supplies water, A portion of the supply pipe is disposed in the culture medium of each cultivation section, and a porous pipe having a large number of holes communicating the inside and outside of the pipe is used in the portion of the supply pipe located in the culture medium; The beneficial bacteria, the beneficial gas, or the water supplied from the resource supply source can be supplied into the culture medium of each cultivation section through the hole of the supply pipe, The cultivation facility described in claim 1, characterized in that the valve control means is configured to control the on-off valve to supply the water into the culture medium in the cultivation section after supplying the beneficial bacteria to the cultivation section in which an abnormality in the health of the plant has been detected, and then supply the useful gas.

3. the abnormality detection means comprises an imaging device that images plants in the cultivation section, an image processing unit that generates a leaf extraction image in which leaves of the plants are extracted from the image of the plants captured by the imaging device, and an abnormality determination means that determines an abnormality in the health condition of the plants based on the leaf extraction image; The cultivation facility described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the abnormality determination means calculates the ratio of the area showing discolored portions of the leaves to the area showing the leaves of the plant in the leaf extraction image, and determines that the health condition of the plant is abnormal if the ratio is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, and the valve control means is configured to control the on-off valve to supply the beneficial bacteria to the culture medium of the cultivation section in which the health condition of the plant is determined to be abnormal.

4. the abnormality detection means comprises an imaging device that images plants in the cultivation section at a predetermined frequency, an image processing unit that generates a leaf extraction image in which leaves of the plants are extracted from the image of the plants captured by the imaging device, and an abnormality determination means that determines an abnormality in the health condition of the plants based on the leaf extraction image; The cultivation facility described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the abnormality determination means calculates the ratio of the area showing the leaves in the leaf extraction image generated from the latest image of the plant to the area showing the leaves in the leaf extraction image generated from the previously captured image of the plant, and determines that the health condition of the plant is abnormal if the ratio is less than a predetermined value, and the valve control means is configured to control the on-off valve to supply the useful bacteria to the culture medium of the cultivation section in which the health condition of the plant is determined to be abnormal.

5. The cultivation facility according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the culture medium in each cultivation section is covered with a mulching sheet.

6. The resource supply source further includes a liquid fertilizer supply source; 3. The cultivation facility according to claim 1, wherein the water or the liquid fertilizer contains glutamic acid.

Images