Planting support vehicle and plant cultivation bed

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a plant growth bed which can be easily laid with less labor, has high area efficiency and watering efficiency, and has a long ridge length, and to provide a planting support vehicle. [Solution] A planting support vehicle 1 includes a trench excavator 2 and a work vehicle 3 connected to the trench excavator 2. The trench excavator 2 has a towing vehicle 27 and a digging mechanism 30 provided at the rear part of the towing vehicle 27. The work vehicle 3 includes: a vehicle body 20 having culture soil dropping holes 21 penetrating a bottom part; and a laying roll 6r capable of attaching a roll-shaped film in front of the culture soil dropping holes 21 on the bottom surface of the vehicle body 20. A planting groove 13 is formed in the advancing direction of the towing vehicle 27 by the excavation of the digging mechanism 30, a culture soil 15 is dropped on a film 6 pulled out from the laying roll 6r and laid on the planting groove, the inside of the planting groove 13 is filled with the culture soil 15 by gravity, a double-folded film is inserted, and a plant growth bed 11 for plants is continuously formed inside the planting groove to support planting.

Description

Cross-reference

[0001] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-104024 filed in Japan on June 27, 2024, and all the contents described in the application are incorporated herein by reference as they are.

Technical Field

[0002] The present invention relates to a plant cultivation bed capable of achieving high irrigation efficiency and a long ridge length in barren land where plant growth is difficult, and a planting support vehicle for continuously forming this plant cultivation bed in barren land.

Background Art

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a vegetation method in arid land where an impermeable film is laid in a planting groove having a downwardly convex curved side wall on the bottom side and a ratio of the depth of the groove to the opening groove width of less than 1. In the vegetation method of Patent Document 1, a water collection sheet is laid on the soil filled in the impermeable film so as to cover the soil, and dew water and rainwater are taken in by the water collection sheet and stored at the bottom of the soil. However, the root system is hindered by the impermeable film with no opening at the bottom and cannot reach the stable soil water layer existing in the ground deeper than a certain depth, and growth in a vegetation environment dependent on dew water and rainwater is inevitable.

[0004] Also, Patent Document 2 discloses a method in which an isolation material for water cutoff is provided temporarily to grow crops for a certain period while adjusting the irrigation amount, and then the isolation material is removed by breaking the grid-shaped cut perforations so that the roots of the crops spread over the entire ridge. The isolation material is laid inside a planting groove having a downwardly convex forward inclined side wall with a shallower depth of the side wall compared to the opening groove width for ease of water cutoff, laying, and removal. However, the invention of Patent Document 2 having a forward inclined side wall with a shallower depth compared to the opening groove width is completely different from the intention and technical orientation of the present invention.

[0005] In agriculture and greening in arid regions, saline deposits, highly acidic soils, and former mine sites (hereinafter collectively referred to as "barren land"), there is a need for techniques that block harmful components in the soil and allow for planting with minimal irrigation. Even in arid regions, it is known that a soil layer with stable temperature and moisture content exists below a certain depth (hereinafter also referred to as the "stable soil water layer"). However, a large amount of irrigation is required to allow plant root systems to extend to the stable soil water layer, as it diffuses and penetrates the soil in all directions. For example, it has been reported that 60-90 liters of irrigation per plant is used to reach a depth of 60 cm or more in the soil (see Non-Patent Literature 1).

[0006] However, forming deep depressions in barren land to bring plant cultivation beds closer to a stable soil-water layer is difficult, and no technology has yet been proposed to efficiently create plant cultivation areas with long furrow lengths and high irrigation efficiency while suppressing the collapse of the deep depression walls.

[0007] In planting plants in barren land, to encourage early downward root growth with minimal irrigation, a plant cultivation bed can be considered in which a film is inserted into a recess with side walls exceeding the limiting excavation depth to form a water- and root-guiding pathway in the soil. Furthermore, vertical or inverted side walls, rather than forward-sloping side walls, allow for a larger volume of growing medium to be stored within the film, increasing the root growth area and water content, thereby improving the survival rate and growth rate.

[0008] However, inserting film into recesses with vertical or inverted side walls and ensuring it reaches the bottom has not been achieved due to reasons such as the film bending along the way or the side walls collapsing during insertion. In barren areas, due to harsh climatic conditions, most of the plants that grow naturally or are cultivated are low shrubs and herbaceous plants. For planting low shrubs and herbaceous plants, continuous groove-like recesses offer superior workability compared to independent hole-like recesses. Therefore, there is a need for a planting support method that mechanically inserts film into continuous groove-like recesses with vertical or inverted side walls without bending or collapse of the side walls along the way, thereby forming a plant growing area within the continuous groove-like recesses. [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0009] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-319367 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-238874 [Non-patent literature]

[0010] [Non-Patent Document 1] Kazuhiro Asami, "FY2017 Project for the Dissemination of Forest Regeneration Technology to Developing Countries: Demonstration Experiment 2 - Development of Greening Technology Using the Nurturing Block Method in the Arid Regions of Uzbekistan," March 20, 2018 [Retrieved December 19, 2022], Internet URL: https: / / jifpro.or.jp / wp-content / uploads / 2018 / 03 / 5_trial-report_OYO.pdf [Overview of the Initiative] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0011] The present invention aims to provide a plant cultivation bed that can be laid by mechanized work, can store a large amount of growing medium, has a high square cross-sectional ratio that enables high irrigation efficiency, and a planting support vehicle that can continuously form this plant cultivation bed by mechanized work, thereby supporting planting in vast barren areas. [Means for solving the problem]

[0012] The first aspect of the present invention is a planting support vehicle comprising a trenching machine and a work vehicle connected to the trenching machine, wherein the trenching machine is a planting support vehicle having a towing vehicle and a trenching mechanism provided at the rear of the towing vehicle. The work vehicle constituting the planting support vehicle according to the first aspect comprises a vehicle body having a soil dispensing hole penetrating the bottom, and a laying roll rotatably fixed in front of the soil dispensing hole on the bottom surface of the vehicle body and capable of mounting a roll of film. The planting support vehicle according to the first aspect continuously excavates planting trenches in the planting ground in the direction of travel of the towing vehicle, and drops soil for plant growth onto the film laid on the planting trench, which is pulled out in the reverse direction from the laying roll with the roll of film attached. The film, which is folded in half and filled with soil, is inserted into the planting trench by the gravity of the dropped soil, and a plant growth bed is continuously formed inside the planting trench to support planting.

[0013] A second aspect of the present invention relates to a plant growing bed in which a film folded in half and filled with growing medium is inserted into a planting furrow having a ratio of square cross-sectional areas of a cross section perpendicular to the ridge direction that is greater than 1. The plant growing bed according to this aspect is a plant growing bed in which (a) a film folded in half is inserted into the planting furrow with the folded portion facing downwards, the upper part of the folded portion is exposed from the planting furrow to the ground surface, and a dashed line is formed on the lower part, and (b) growing medium is filled inside the folded film. Here, "square cross-section" refers to a square cross-section whose sides are the width of the opening furrow obtained by cutting the furrow perpendicular to the ridge direction, and "ratio of square cross-sectional areas" refers to the value obtained by dividing the cross-sectional area of ​​the target furrow by the square cross-sectional area. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a plant cultivation bed that can be laid by mechanized work and achieves high irrigation efficiency due to its high ratio of square cross-sectional area, and a planting support vehicle that can continuously form this plant cultivation bed by mechanized work, thereby enabling planting support in vast barren areas. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0015] [Figure 1]It is a schematic left side view explaining the overall concept of the planting support vehicle according to the basic embodiment of the present invention [Figure 2] It is a left side view explaining the outline of the work vehicle constituting the planting support vehicle according to the basic embodiment [Figure 3] It is a rear view (back view) of the work vehicle corresponding to FIG. 2 [Figure 4] It is a top view (plan view) of the work vehicle corresponding to FIG. 2 [Figure 5] It is a left side view schematically explaining the state in which the trench digging machine constituting the planting support vehicle according to the basic embodiment is advancing while digging the planting trench, with the arrow indicating the advancing direction [Figure 6] It is a left side view explaining the outline of the laying roll and the punching mechanism of the work vehicle constituting the planting support vehicle according to the embodiment [Figure 7] It is a diagram for explaining the punching mechanism [Figure 8A] It is a diagram showing an example of an aerial view of the planting trench, and is an aerial view of the planting trench having a square cross section [Figure 8B] It is a diagram showing another example of an aerial view of the planting trench, and is an aerial view of the planting trench having a downwardly convex forwardly inclined cross section [Figure 8C] It is a diagram showing another example of an aerial view of the planting trench, and is an aerial view of the planting trench having a high aspect ratio vertical cross section [Figure 8D] It is a diagram showing another example of an aerial view of the planting trench, and is an aerial view of the planting trench having an upwardly convex reverse inclined cross section [Figure 9] It is an aerial view explaining the structure of the plant growing bed [Figure 10A] It is an aerial view showing the planting area [Figure 10B] It is an aerial view showing the state in which the planting trench is formed in the planting area [Figure 10C] It is an aerial view showing the state in which the film formed by a broken line is laid on the planting trench [Figure 10D] It is an aerial view showing the state in which the excavated soil is dropped on the laid film [Figure 10E]This is a bird's-eye view showing the state in which the laid film is folded in half by the gravity of the excavated soil, inserted into the planting furrow, and filled with growing medium to form a plant cultivation bed. [Figure 11] This is a schematic side view illustrating the process of forming a plant cultivation bed and sowing seeds through the excavation, film laying, soil application, and sowing stages performed by a planting support vehicle. [Figure 12] This is a schematic side view illustrating the process of forming a plant growing bed and sowing seeds using a planting support vehicle equipped with a retaining plate on a trenching mechanism, through the excavation stage, film laying stage, soil pouring stage, and sowing stage. [Figure 13] This is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a trenching mechanism equipped with retaining plates. [Figure 14] This is a left side view illustrating the soil removal mechanism installed in front of the towing vehicle. [Figure 15] This is a top view illustrating the soil removal mechanism installed in front of the towing vehicle. [Figure 16] This is a diagram illustrating a modified example of the trenching mechanism. [Figure 17] This is a diagram illustrating a modified example of the trenching mechanism. [Figure 18] This figure shows a planting support vehicle according to Embodiment 2. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0016] 1...Planting support vehicle, 2...Ditch digging machine, 3...Work vehicle, 4...Connecting arm, 6...Film, 6r...Laying roll, 7...Dotted line, 11...Plant growing bed, 12...Planting area, 13...Planting furrow, 14...Produced root tubers, 15...Cultivation soil, 16...Excavated soil, 19...Dollar wheel, 20...Vehicle body, 21...Cultivation soil dispensing hole, 22...Seed input mechanism, 23...Seeds, 24...Soil retaining plate, 24a...Left soil retaining plate, 24b...Right soil retaining plate, 25...Soil removal mechanism, 25p1...Front blade, 25p2...Blade support, 26…Housing, 27…Towing vehicle, 28…Rear coupling base, 29…Opening, 30…Ditching mechanism, 30a…Screw blade, 31p…Drilling mechanism, 61R, 62R, 61L…Starting end auxiliary piece, 79R, 79L…Superimposed closing surface, 91…Inclined wall, 92…Cultivated soil storage area, 321…Roller rotation shaft, 322…Mechanism rotation shaft, 323…Axle, 331, 332…Stay, 334…Drilling actuator [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0017] Embodiments 1 and 2 of the present invention will be described illustratively below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings of each embodiment below, identical or similar parts are denoted by the same or similar reference numerals. However, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic, and the relationship between thickness and planar dimensions, the ratio of the sizes of each component, etc., may differ from reality. Therefore, specific thicknesses, dimensions, sizes, etc., should be judged in a variety of ways, taking into account the spirit of the technical idea that can be understood from the following description. Furthermore, it goes without saying that there are parts where the relationships and ratios of dimensions differ between drawings.

[0018] The embodiments shown below illustrate methods and apparatus used in these methods for realizing the technical concept of the present invention. The technical concept of the present invention does not limit the materials, shapes, structures, arrangements, etc., of the components, or the procedures of the methods to those described below. The technical concept of the present invention is not limited to the contents described in Embodiment 1 and Embodiment 2, and various modifications can be made. Furthermore, the definitions of directions such as up and down in the following description are merely for the convenience of explanation and do not limit the technical concept of the present invention. For example, if an object is rotated 90° and observed, "up" and "down" will be converted to "left" and "right" and read accordingly, and if it is rotated 180° and observed, "up" and "down" and "left" and "right" will be reversed and read accordingly. Furthermore, in the drawings, the "a" and "b" attached to the mechanisms and part numbers constituting the planting support vehicle indicate the mechanisms and part numbers viewed from the left or right side of the side view, unless otherwise specified. In the description of the embodiments, numbers without "a" or "b" collectively refer to the mechanisms and parts on the right and left sides.

[0019] [Embodiment 1] <Planting support vehicle> As shown in Figure 1, the planting support vehicle 1 according to Embodiment 1 is a planting support vehicle 1 that includes a trenching machine 2 and a work vehicle 3 connected to the trenching machine 2, wherein the trenching machine 2 has a towing vehicle 27 and a trenching mechanism 30 provided at the rear of the towing vehicle 27.

[0020] The trenching machine 2 and the work vehicle 3 are connected by inserting kingpins (not shown) into the rear coupling base 28 of the trenching machine 2 and the coupling arms 4a and 4b (see Figure 4) of the work vehicle 3. The power required for the work vehicle 3 is supplied from the towing vehicle to the work vehicle via wiring (not shown) that is connected in parallel during coupling.

[0021] As shown in Figure 1, the trenching mechanism 30, consisting of a screw blade 30a and a cylindrical housing 26 that houses it, is attached to the rear coupling base 28 at the rear of the towing vehicle 27. The screw shaft of the screw blade 30a can rotate and move up and down by a lifting mechanism (not shown) or a rotation mechanism (not shown) attached to the rear coupling base 28, and can be freely inserted into and removed from the ground.

[0022] The housing 26 of the trenching mechanism 30 is cylindrical and covers the top of the screw blade 30a. An opening 29 is provided on the upper rear surface of the housing 26, sloping downwards and reaching the soil storage area 92 provided on the work vehicle 3.

[0023] As shown in Figure 5, the trenching mechanism 30 moves the towing vehicle 27 in the direction of the arrow while rotating the screw blade 30a inserted into the ground to excavate the planting area 12 and form a planting trench 13. The excavated soil 16 (see Figure 3) is raised by the screw blade 30a to the upper opening 29 and transported to the soil storage area 92 of the body 20 of the work vehicle 3.

[0024] As shown in Figures 2 and 4, the work vehicle 3 comprises a vehicle body 20 and connecting arms 4a and 4b provided in front of the vehicle body 20 to connect the vehicle body 20 with the trenching machine 2. As shown in Figure 3, a laying roll 6r is attached to the front bottom surface of the vehicle body 20 of the work vehicle 3 via a stay 331, and a perforating mechanism 31p is attached via a stay 332. The roller rotation shaft 321 that constitutes the laying roll 6r can be used to load or unload a roll of film. The roller rotation shaft 321 and the perforating mechanism 31P are rotatably supported by bearings built into the stay 331 or 332. The spacing between the dolly wheels 19 is set to be wider than the width of the film 6.

[0025] In Embodiment 1, a roll of film with pre-formed dashed lines 7 is mounted on the laying roll 6r, so the perforation mechanism 31p is unnecessary. However, in the case of a roll of film without pre-formed dashed lines 7, the perforation mechanism 31p is used to form the dashed lines. The roll-shaped film 7 is formed by a rotary blade having intermittent blades on its outer circumference. Alternatively, it may be a roll-shaped film in the broader sense, in which the long ends of two films are pre-joined together with disintegrating thread, a stapler, or the like.

[0026] Before the planting support vehicle 1 begins work, the roll of film is attached to the laying roll 6r so that the center of the screw blade 30a and the dashed line on the roll of film roughly coincide in the width direction. Furthermore, the film 6 is pulled out from the laying roll 6r in the reverse direction of the planting support vehicle 1's movement, and its starting end is fixed in front of the area where the planting furrow is to be formed. The planting furrow 13 is formed by the movement of the towing vehicle 27 in the direction of the arrow and the furrow digging mechanism 30, and the film 6 is continuously pulled out from the laying roll 6r installed behind the furrow digging mechanism 30 and laid to cover the planting furrow 13.

[0027] As shown in Figure 3, the vehicle body 20 is configured with a V-shaped soil storage area 92 consisting of an inclined wall 91 that slopes downward from the side inward, and a soil dropping hole 21 (see Figure 4) that penetrates the vehicle body and is provided at the lowest part of the V-shape. Excavated soil 16, which has been excavated for planting furrows and transported to the soil storage area 92 via the opening 29, is continuously dropped from the soil dropping hole 21 onto a film 6 laid over the planting furrow 13. The film 6 laid over the planting furrow is folded in half in the recess of the planting furrow 13 by the gravity of the dropped excavated soil and inserted into the planting furrow 13, forming a plant growing bed 11 in the planting furrow 13, which is made of a folded film with the excavated soil 16 filled inside as soil 15 (see Figure 9).

[0028] By setting the width of the rolled film to 2h + w + 2d, a portion of the folded film 6 inserted into the planting furrow is exposed to the ground surface. Here, w is the width of the planting furrow 13, h is the depth of the furrow, and d is the exposure distance d of the film 6 to the ground surface. The exposure distance d refers to the distance from the ground surface of the film 6 to the long side end of the exposed film, assuming that the folded film 6 inserted into the planting furrow is virtually cut perpendicular to the direction of the furrow in the planting furrow.

[0029] As the towing vehicle 27, a tractor or heavy machinery can be used, and the drive means can be either wheels or crawlers. As the ditching mechanism 30 attached to the ditching machine 2, in addition to the auger type using a screw blade shown in this embodiment, other digging attachments such as a chain belt type with multiple digging blades attached, a wheel type with multiple digging blades formed on the outer circumference of a wheel, and a hoe type can be used.

[0030] The opening 29 at the top of the housing 26 can be rotated to either the rear or the left or right. When the excavated soil 16 is to be used as hilling soil 15, the opening 29 is positioned towards the rear. When the excavated soil 16 is not to be used as hilling soil 15, the opening 29 is rotated to a horizontal direction perpendicular to the ridge direction, the excavated soil is discharged to the side of the planting furrow 13, and hilling soil 15 from elsewhere is dropped onto the laying film 6.

[0031] The planted plants targeted by the present invention are, in the first group, deep-rooted plants such as licorice, and in the second group, plants whose tubers enlarge at a shallow depth, such as sweet potatoes.

[0032] The film folded in half by the planting support vehicle 1 of Embodiment 1 is inserted into the planting furrow 13 by gravity of the growing medium inside or separately added growing medium. Therefore, regardless of the shape of the planting furrow, it can be reliably reached to the bottom of the furrow without bending or getting stuck. The growing medium 15 inside the folded film inserted into the planting furrow 13 expands to fit into any shape of planting furrow by the growing medium itself or by rainwater or irrigation. The expanding soil pressure of the growing medium and the soil pressure of the planting furrow wall are balanced with the film 6 in between, and the film alone does not hold the soil pressure on either side, thus reducing the risk of the film 6 constituting the plant growing bed breaking. Furthermore, since the position of the dashed line 7 on the film 6 is aligned with the widthwise middle portion of the screw blade 30a that excavates the planting furrow, the folded film dashed line 7 is reliably positioned at the bottom of the planting furrow 13. As a result, rainwater and irrigation water to the plant growing bed 11 do not flow out in all directions from the sides of the film but collect and accumulate at the bottom, temporarily re-permeating into the soil before being discharged from the dashed line 7 over time. Consequently, the soil permeability of water is improved, and high irrigation efficiency, such as a reduction in the number of waterings, can be achieved.

[0033] <Example 1 of a planting support vehicle> In the planting support vehicle according to Modification 1, a perforating mechanism 31p is positioned immediately behind the laying roll 6r on the bottom surface of the vehicle body 20, and a continuous dashed line 7 is formed on the film 6 pulled out from the roll-shaped film attached to the laying roll 6r by the perforating mechanism 31p.

[0034] As shown in Figure 6, the perforation mechanism 31p is located immediately after the laying roll 6r at the bottom of the vehicle body 20 and continuously forms dashed lines in the longitudinal direction of the film 6 pulled out from the laying roll 6r. As shown in Figure 3, the perforation mechanism 31P allows the area in which the dashed lines are formed on the film to be arbitrarily changed by moving the supporting perforation actuator 334 in the width direction.

[0035] As shown in Figure 7, the perforation mechanism 31p is a rotary perforation device in which perforation punches are arranged circumferentially around a hub. Cutting blades 32 are intermittently provided on the outer circumference of the truncated pyramidal perforation punches. The rectangular tubular cutting blades 32m-1, 32m, 32m+1, ... pass through the pull-out film 6 while rotating, and dashed lines 7j-1, 7j, 7j+1, ... are continuously formed.

[0036] The film roll is mounted on the laying roll 6r such that the dashed line formation area w of the film roll, which has a width of 2h + w + 2d, fits within the width obtained by virtually extending the cutting blade width of the grooving mechanism backward. Here, the dashed line formation area w is the remaining width w after virtually cutting off a width of d + h from both ends of the long side of the film.

[0037] Before the towing vehicle 27 begins to move, a roll of film is pulled out from the laying roll 6r in the reverse direction, and the starting end of the pulled-out film 6 is fixed to the planned planting furrow. As the towing vehicle 27 moves in the direction of travel and the furrow digging mechanism 30 excavates, a planting furrow is formed, and the film 6 is continuously pulled out from the laying roll 6r installed behind the excavation mechanism 30. The pulled-out film 6 has a dotted line formed on it by the perforation mechanism 31, and the film 6 is laid to cover the planting furrow 13 so that the dotted line of the film 6 is on the width of the planting furrow 13. Excavated soil is filled inside the folded film in the planting furrow 13, and a plant growing bed 11 is formed with the width d of the film 6 exposed on the ground surface. The effect of the plant growing bed is the same as described in paragraph (0029) above, so it is omitted here.

[0038] <Modified example 2 of a planting support vehicle> In the planting support vehicle according to Modification 2, a pair of soil retaining plates 24a and 24b are installed parallel to each other, in contact with both walls of the planting furrow, between the position immediately behind the maximum diameter of the furrow digging mechanism and the foremost end of the soil pouring hole.

[0039] As shown in Figures 12 and 13, the work vehicle has left and right retaining plates 24a and 24b attached in parallel to the left and right connecting arms 4a and 4b immediately behind the trenching mechanism 30, via left and right stays 330, so as to be approximately the same excavation width as the trenching mechanism 30. The left and right stays 330a and 330b have the function of raising and lowering the retaining plates 24a and 24b respectively (not shown).

[0040] The bottom of each retaining plate 24a, 24b is preferably at the same height as the planting furrow 13, and the upper end is preferably exposed from the planting furrow. The foremost end of each retaining plate 24a, 24b is preferably at the position defined by the fold line where the rotational circle of the screw blade 30a of the furrowing mechanism 30 contacts both walls of the planting furrow 13, that is, immediately after the position of the maximum diameter of the furrowing mechanism 30a. On the other hand, the rearmost end of each retaining plate 24a, 24b is positioned behind the foremost end of the soil pouring hole 21.

[0041] In conjunction with the formation of continuous planting trenches 13 by the excavation of the trenching mechanism 30, the lower ends of each retaining plate 24a, 24b are inserted into the planting trench 13 down to the bottom of the trench 13, which is at a depth of h. Each retaining plate 24a, 24b is lowered by the lifting function of the stay 330, and the soil-retaining effect of each retaining plate 24a, 24b prevents the collapse of the excavation wall.

[0042] As the towing vehicle 27 moves, each retaining plate 24a, 24b also moves horizontally, and just before the retaining plates 24a, 24b reach their rearmost ends and their wall collapse prevention function is interrupted, a folded film 6 filled with soil is inserted, causing the filled soil 15 to spread toward the wall, balancing the soil pressure of the filled soil and the soil pressure of the side wall of the planting furrow 13, thereby preventing the collapse of the planting furrow 13 wall.

[0043] After the predetermined work is completed in the planting furrow 13 having continuously excavated vertical side walls, each retaining plate 24a, 24b is removed from the planting furrow 13 by the lifting and lowering function of the supporting stay 330. After the predetermined work is completed, the furrowing mechanism 30 is removed from the planting furrow 13 by lifting and lowering or rotating, and a plant growing bed is formed in the continuously excavated planting furrow 13.

[0044] <Modification 3 of the planting support vehicle> In the planting support vehicle according to Modification 3, as shown in Figure 11, a seed loading mechanism 22 is provided at the rear of the center line in the width direction of the soil loading hole 21, penetrating the bottom. Seeds 23 stored in the seed loading mechanism 22 are dropped into the soil 15 inside the folded film 6 inserted into the planting furrow 13, enabling simultaneous sowing.

[0045] As shown in Figure 11, the work vehicle 3 is provided with a seed loading mechanism 22 that penetrates the bottom of the vehicle body 20, behind the soil loading hole 21 in the center of the width direction. The seed loading mechanism 22 is constructed by attaching a watering can-shaped seed storage container to the vehicle body 20, and through holes (not shown) are formed in the bottom of the seed storage container, which also penetrate the bottom of the vehicle body 20, allowing the stored seeds 23 to pass through sequentially. If necessary, an opening and closing shutter (not shown) may be provided at the bottom of the seed storage container.

[0046] The seed loading mechanism 22 sows seeds 23, which are dropped from the bottom of the seed loading mechanism 22 as the towing vehicle 27 moves, at regular intervals onto the growing medium 15. According to this modified version, it becomes possible to support planting by continuously sowing seeds 23 in the growing medium 15 within the plant cultivation bed 11, which is formed continuously along a long furrow length Lr, with minimal work. Note that Figure 12 differs from Figure 11 in that it shows the ditch digging mechanism with the retaining plate 24a (24b) attached. Note that a portion of the retaining plate 24a (24b) and a portion of the film 6 overlap.

[0047] <Modification 4 of the planting support vehicle> In the planting support vehicle according to Modification 4, a soil removal mechanism 25 (see Figure 15) capable of removing surface soil that is wider than the width of the planting furrow 13 but shallower than the depth of the planting furrow is attached to the front lower part of the towing vehicle 27. Note that the soil removal mechanism 25a in Figure 14 is the same as the soil removal mechanism 25 in Figure 15, but the symbols have been changed for convenience.

[0048] As shown in Figure 14, a soil removal mechanism 25a consisting of a front blade 25p1 and a blade support 25p2 is attached to the lower front of the towing vehicle 27. As shown in Figure 15, the blade width Bw of the forward-convex blade 25p1 is greater than the planting furrow width w. The lower end of the blade 25p1 is below the ground surface by Bh.

[0049] As the towing vehicle 27 moves forward, the front blade 25p1 scrapes off surface soil with a depth Bh and width Bw, forming a shallow depression wider than the planting furrow width w and depth h, with embankments made of the scraped soil on both sides. The soil 16 deeper than the depth Bh excavated by the furrow digging mechanism 30 is continuously dropped as growing medium 15 onto the film 6, which is pulled out in the reverse direction to cover the planting furrow 13, via the opening 29 and the growing medium storage area 92. In areas affected by salt damage, there are salt deposits shallower than Bh that are unsuitable for use as growing medium. By removing the layer shallower than Bh using the soil removal mechanism 25 and excavating and utilizing the soil deeper than Bh using the trench digging mechanism 30, it becomes possible to achieve both effective use of local growing medium and elimination of growing medium that inhibits plant growth.

[0050] <Plant growing bed> The plant growing bed 11 is positioned inside a planting furrow 13 whose square cross-sectional area ratio in a cross-section perpendicular to the ridge direction is greater than 1. As shown in Figure 9, the plant growing bed 11 comprises a folded film 6 inserted into the planting furrow with the folded portion facing downwards, the upper part of which is exposed to the ground surface and outside the planting furrow, and a dashed line 7 provided at the bottom of the folded film 6, and growing soil 15 inside the folded film 6. Here, "square cross-section" refers to a square cross-section whose sides are the width of the opening furrow obtained by cutting the planting furrow perpendicular to the ridge direction, and "square cross-sectional area ratio" refers to the value obtained by dividing the cross-sectional area of ​​the target furrow by the square cross-sectional area.

[0051] This section explains the description of "square cross-sectional area ratio being greater than 1". Figure 8A shows a square cross-section So with sides equal to the width of the furrow opening, obtained by cutting a furrow of length Lr perpendicular to the furrow direction. The cross-sectional area of ​​the square cross-section So is Wo × ho. Figure 8B shows a downward-convex cross-section Sb obtained by cutting a furrow of length Lr perpendicular to the furrow direction. The cross-sectional area Sb, consisting of the opening furrow width Wo, base width Wo - 2Wb, and depth ho, is (Wo + Wo - 2Wb) × 1 / 2 × ho. Figure 8C shows a high aspect ratio vertical cross-sectional wall Sc obtained by cutting a furrow of length Lr perpendicular to the furrow direction. The cross-sectional area Sc, consisting of the opening furrow width Wo, bottom side Wo, and depth ho + hc, is Wo × (ho + hc). Figure 8D shows the convex cross section Sd obtained by cutting a furrow of furrow length Lr perpendicular to the furrow direction. The cross-sectional area Sd, consisting of an opening furrow width Wo, a base furrow width Wo + 2Wd, and a depth ho, is (Wo + Wo + 2Wd) × 1 / 2 × ho. The cross-sectional area of ​​the planting furrow corresponding to this embodiment is the high aspect ratio vertical cross-sectional wall Sc shown in Figure 8C and the upward convex cross-sectional area Sd shown in Figure 8D, and the value obtained by dividing both Sc and Sd by the square cross-sectional area So is greater than 1.

[0052] The planting furrow, consisting of the reverse cross-section Sd shown in Figure 8D, can be obtained by a furrowing machine 2 having a furrowing mechanism 30 consisting of two screw blades 30s and 30t, as shown in Figures 16 and 17, which are spaced apart and intersect at angles θ1 and θ2.

[0053] The plant growing bed in this embodiment can be formed by the following steps. (1) The film 6 is pulled out from the roll of film attached to the laying roll 6r in the reverse direction of the towing vehicle 27 and the starting end of the film is fixed to the planting site. (2) As shown in Figures 1 and 10B, the planting furrow 13 is formed by the furrow digging machine 2 in the direction of travel of the towing vehicle 27. (3) As shown in Figure 5, the excavated soil is raised by the screw blade 30a and transported out through the opening 29 to the soil storage area 92, and falls out through the soil dropping hole 21 located in the center of the soil transport area 92. (4) As shown in Figures 5, 6 and 10C, the work vehicle moves along the direction of the furrow, and the film 6 is continuously pulled out in the reverse direction from the laying roll 6r attached to the roller rotation shaft 321 at the front lower part of the work vehicle, and the film 6 is laid so that the dashed line 7 of the film 6 coincides with the midline of the planting furrow 13 in the width direction and covers it. (5) As shown in Figure 10D, the fallen soil falls onto the film 6 laid on the planting furrow, and the film 6 is folded in half and inserted into the planting furrow 13, with the excavated soil 16 filling the inside as growing medium 15 due to the gravity of the fallen soil. The films located at both ends of the planting furrow 13 are cut in the width direction of the film to a length that extends beyond both ends in the length direction of the planting furrow. As a result, a plant growing bed is formed in the planting furrow 13, with a subsurface depth h, subsurface width w, and exposure distance d to the ground surface, as shown in Figure 10E. If the excavated soil is not to be used as growing medium, the opening 29 is turned to a lateral direction perpendicular to the ridge direction to discharge the excavated soil to the side of the planting furrow 13, and growing medium 15 from elsewhere is dropped onto the laid film 6.

[0054] The end and end of the plant growing bed 1 preferably have overlapping closed surfaces 79R and 79L as shown in Figure 9. The overlapping closed surface 79 is formed by making cuts in the dashed lines at the bottom of the opposing end auxiliary pieces 61R and 62R and 61L and 62L of the film, and folding each end auxiliary piece 61R and 62R and 61L and 62L toward the opposing surface.

[0055] In the planting bed 11 having an overlapping closed surface 79, the starting auxiliary pieces 61R and 62R and 61L and 62L that constitute the overlapping closed surface 79 slide against each other to reduce the overlapping closed surface 79, thereby increasing the capacity of the plant growing bed in response to the increase in volume of the growing medium due to water content and root growth. This reduces the risk of the film 6 breaking. However, if the planting furrow 13 has a long furrow length, the inflow and outflow of water, etc. from the openings at both ends is within an acceptable range, so the formation of the starting (ending) overlapping surface closure may be omitted.

[0056] The film 6 is not particularly limited as long as it is made of a hydrophobic material capable of blocking water, salts, etc. The film thickness is 10 to 200 microns, preferably 30 to 100 microns. In the plant growing bed 11 shown in Figures 9 and 10E, where the soil pressure of the growing medium 13 and the planting furrow 13 are balanced with a folded film in between, the film thickness is within the abstraction range, and the width and depth of the plant growing bed 11 and the planting furrow 13 are the same, w and h respectively.

[0057] In this embodiment, a plant growing bed with a possible square cross-sectional area ratio greater than 1 has a larger soil-filling volume compared to a plant growing bed with a downward-convex cross-sectional area, which allows for the development of the root system growth zone and increases the content of water and fertilizer in the soil. Since irrigation water flows out slowly from the dashed line at the bottom of the plant growing bed, it is possible to form a plant growing bed with high irrigation efficiency.

[0058] [Embodiment 2] The planting support vehicle 1 according to Embodiment 2 is a planting support vehicle for harvesting root tubers of root tuber-producing plants grown in a plant cultivation bed 11. As shown in Figure 18, the planting support vehicle 1 has a pair of ditching mechanisms 30 equipped with screw blades 30a and 30b attached to the rear connecting base 28a. Each ditching mechanism 30a and 30b is positioned to simultaneously excavate the soil on both sides of the ridges of the plant growing bed. The openings 29a and 29b of the ditching mechanisms 30a and 30b are positioned to discharge the excavated soil to the outside on both sides of the ridges of the plant growing bed. A rotary motor (not shown) is built into the roller rotation shaft 321 that constitutes the laying roll 6r. After excavation, the planting support vehicle 1 wraps the starting end of the film 6 excavated from the plant growing bed around the laying roll 6r, and uses the pair of ditching mechanisms 30a and 30b to excavate the soil on both sides of the plant growing bed, removing the soil on both sides of the plant growing bed and facilitating the recovery of the film and harvesting of plant root tubers.

[0059] In Figure 18, Q1 in the first row of the plant growing bed 11 indicates a harvesting row where the film 6 constituting the plant growing bed has been collected and the produced root tubers 14 have floated to the surface; Q2 in the second row indicates a row where collection is underway; and Q3 in the third row and Q4 in the fourth row indicate rows where the root tubers 14 in the plant growing bed 11 remain in the growing medium in their natural state. The above-ground parts of the root tubers harvested before the start of work have been cut and removed beforehand using a mowing machine or the like.

[0060] A pair of ditching mechanisms 30 are attached to the rear connecting base 28a of the ditching machine 2. Each ditching mechanism 30a, 30b is mounted in a position that allows it to descend into the soil on both sides of the ridges of the plant growing bed and excavate, and each opening of the ditching mechanism 30 is positioned to discharge to the sides of the ridges of the plant growing bed. It is preferable that the drilling mechanism 31p at the bottom of the work vehicle 3 be removed in advance.

[0061] The trenching mechanism 30 of the trenching machine 2 is positioned on both sides of the starting end of the plant growing bed 11, and the pair of screw blades 30a and 30b that make up the trenching mechanism 30 are rotated to lower the soil of the planting area 12 to a depth below the bottom level of the planting furrow 13. The towing vehicle 27 is advanced in the direction of the rows of the plant growing bed, and the pair of screw blades 30a and 30b of the trenching mechanism 30 excavate the soil on both outer sides of the plant growing bed, and the pair of screw blades 30a and 30b raise the excavated soil 16 inside the housings 26a and 26b, and the excavated soil 16 is transported out through the openings 29a and 29b to the far outer sides of the plant growing bed 11, exposing both outer parts of the plant growing bed 11. The starting end of the film of the plant growing bed, whose sides are now exposed, is wrapped around the laying roll 6r on the underside of the pull-out work vehicle 3 and secured. The towing vehicle 27 is continuously advanced in the direction of the plant growing bed's ridges, and while the screw blade 30a at the front removes the soil on both sides of the plant growing bed, the built-in motor of the laying roll 6r at the rear rotates to wind the pulled-out film onto the laying roll 6r, thereby recovering the film that makes up the plant growing bed.

[0062] When the film is retrieved, the growing medium inside the film that makes up the plant growing bed is excavated by the tension of the film during retrieval, causing the growing root tubers in the medium to float to the surface and become easily harvestable.

Claims

1. A planting support vehicle comprising a trenching machine and a work vehicle connected to the trenching machine, The trenching machine has a towing vehicle and a trenching mechanism provided at the rear of the towing vehicle. The aforementioned work vehicle has a body having a soil-laying hole that penetrates the bottom, The vehicle body bottom is provided with a laying roll on which a roll of film can be attached in front of the soil-laying hole, The trench-digging mechanism of the moving tow vehicle continuously excavates planting trenches in the planting area, and soil is pulled out from the roll-shaped film attached to the laying roll in the reverse direction of the tow vehicle and laid on the planting trench. Soil is then dropped onto the film from the soil-dropping hole, and the film, which has been folded in half and filled with soil, is inserted into the planting trench by gravity, thereby continuously forming plant growing beds inside the planting trench and supporting planting. A planting support vehicle characterized by the following features.

2. A drilling mechanism is positioned immediately after the laying roll on the underside of the vehicle body. The planting support vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that a continuous dotted line is formed on the film pulled out from the roll-shaped film mounted on the laying roll by the perforation mechanism.

3. The planting support vehicle according to claim 2, characterized in that a pair of soil-retaining plates are installed parallel to each other, in contact with both walls of the planting furrow, between immediately after the maximum diameter position of the furrow digging mechanism and the foremost end of the soil-laying hole.

4. The planting support vehicle according to claim 3, characterized in that a seed loading mechanism is provided on the rear extension of the center line in the width direction of the soil loading hole of the vehicle body, and the seed is dropped from the seed loading mechanism into the soil in the plant growing bed.

5. The planting support vehicle according to claim 1, characterized in that it is equipped with a soil removal mechanism at the front of the towing vehicle for broadly and shallowly removing the soil of the planting area, and the soil removed by the soil removal mechanism is discharged to the outside on both sides of the soil removal mechanism.

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