Planting support vehicle and plant growth 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

Planting support vehicle and plant growing bed Cross Reference

[0001] This application claims priority based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-104024, filed on June 27, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] The present invention relates to a plant cultivation bed that has high irrigation efficiency and can produce long ridges in barren land where plant growth is difficult, and a planting support vehicle that forms these plant cultivation beds continuously in barren land.

[0003] Patent Document 1 discloses a vegetation method for arid regions in which an impermeable film is laid in a planting trench having a downwardly convex curved sidewall at the bottom and a ratio of trench depth to open trench width of less than 1. In the vegetation method of Patent Document 1, a water-collecting sheet is laid on top of the plowed soil filled with the impermeable film so as to cover the plowed soil, and condensation water and rainwater are collected by the water-collecting sheet and stored at the bottom of the plowed soil. However, the root system is hindered by the unopened impermeable film at the bottom and cannot reach the stable soil water layer present underground beyond a certain depth, forcing the plant to grow in a vegetative environment that relies on condensation water and rainwater.

[0004] Furthermore, Patent Document 2 discloses a method in which moisture-blocking isolation material is installed for a limited period of time, crops are grown for a certain period while adjusting the amount of irrigation, and then the isolation material is removed by tearing the grid-like cut perforations, allowing the crop roots to spread over the entire furrow. The isolation material is installed inside a planting furrow that has downwardly convex, sloping sidewalls that are shallower than the furrow opening width for moisture blocking and ease of installation and removal. However, the invention of Patent Document 2, in which the isolation material is shallower than the furrow opening width and has sloping sidewalls, is completely different from the intent and technical orientation of the present invention.

[0005] In agriculture and landscaping in arid regions, salt deposits, strongly acidic soils, abandoned mine sites, etc. (hereinafter collectively referred to as "barren lands"), there is a demand for techniques that can block harmful components in the soil and plant plants with a minimum amount of irrigation water. It is known that even in arid regions, a soil layer with a stable temperature and moisture content year-round exists below a certain depth (hereinafter referred to as a "stable soil water layer"). However, a large amount of irrigation water is required to extend plant root systems to the stable soil water layer, as the water diffuses and infiltrates in all directions in the soil. For example, a case has been reported in which 60 to 90 liters of water per plant was used at one time to reach a soil depth of 60 cm or more (see Non-Patent Document 1).

[0006] However, it is difficult to form deep depressions in barren areas to bring plant growth beds closer to stable soil water layers, and no technology has yet been proposed for efficiently forming long, ridged plant growth areas with high irrigation efficiency while preventing the collapse of deep depression walls.

[0007] When planting plants on barren land, one way to encourage root systems to grow downward quickly with a small amount of irrigation is to use a plant growth bed in which a film is inserted into a depression with side walls that are deeper than the maximum excavation depth to form a water-conducting and root-conducting channel underground. Furthermore, using a vertical or reverse-sloping side wall as the film insertion wall rather than a forward-sloping side wall allows for a larger amount of culture soil to be stored within the film, increasing the root growth zone and water content, improving survival and growth rates.

[0008] However, inserting a film into a recess with vertical or inverted side walls and ensuring it reaches the bottom has not been achieved due to reasons such as the film bending midway or the side walls collapsing during insertion. In barren lands, many of the plants that grow naturally or are cultivated due to the harsh climatic conditions are low shrubs and herbs. Continuous groove-shaped recesses offer superior workability for planting low shrubs and herbs compared to individual hole-shaped recesses. Therefore, there is a need for a planting support method that mechanically inserts a film into a continuous groove-shaped recess with vertical or inverted side walls without bending midway or causing the side walls to collapse, thereby forming a plant growth area within the continuous groove-shaped recess.

[0009] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-319367 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-238874

[0010] Kazuhiro Asami, "2017 Forest Regeneration Technology Promotion Project for Developing Countries: Demonstration Experiment 2: Development of Greening Technology Using Nursery Block Method in Dry Areas 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

[0011] To provide a plant growing bed that can be laid by mechanized work, can store a large amount of culture soil, and has a high square cross section ratio, thereby enabling high irrigation efficiency, and a planting support vehicle that can continuously form the plant growing bed by mechanized work and thereby support planting in vast barren land.

[0012] A first aspect of the present invention is a planting support vehicle including a trench digger and a work vehicle coupled to the trench digger, the trench digger being a planting support vehicle having a towing vehicle and a trench digging mechanism attached to the rear of the towing vehicle. The work vehicle constituting the planting support vehicle of the first aspect has a vehicle body with a soil drop hole penetrating the bottom and a laying roll rotatably fixed in front of the soil drop hole on the bottom of the vehicle body and capable of attaching a roll of film. The planting support vehicle of the first aspect continuously excavates planting furrows in the planting area in the direction of travel of the towing vehicle, drops culture soil for plant growth onto the film that is pulled out in the reverse direction from the laying roll with the roll of film attached and laid in the planting furrow, and the gravity of the dropped culture soil folds the film in half into the planting furrow, inserting the film filled with culture soil inside, thereby continuously forming plant growth beds within the planting furrows to support planting.

[0013] A second aspect of the present invention relates to a plant growth bed in which a film folded in half and filled with culture soil is inserted into a planting furrow having a square cross-sectional area ratio of a cross section perpendicular to the ridge direction greater than 1. The plant growth bed according to this aspect is a plant growth bed in which (a) a film folded in half is inserted into the planting furrow with the folded part facing downwards, so that the upper part of the folded part is exposed to the ground surface from the planting furrow and a dashed line is formed at the lower part, and (b) the folded part of the film is filled with culture soil. Here, "square cross section" refers to a square cross section whose sides are the width of the opening furrow when the furrow is cut perpendicularly 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.

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

[0015] 2 is a schematic left side view illustrating the overall concept of a planting support vehicle according to a basic embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 3 is a left side view illustrating an outline of a work vehicle constituting the planting support vehicle according to the basic embodiment; FIG. 4 is a rear view (back view) of the work vehicle corresponding to FIG. 2; FIG. 5 is a top view (plan view) of the work vehicle corresponding to FIG. 2; FIG. 6 is a left side view illustrating an outline of a laying roll and a drilling mechanism of a work vehicle constituting the planting support vehicle according to an embodiment; FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the drilling mechanism; FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bird's-eye view of a planting trench, the bird's-eye view of a planting trench having a square cross-section; FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating another example of a bird's-eye view of a planting trench, the bird's-eye view of a planting trench having a downwardly convex, normally inclined cross-section; FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of a bird's-eye view of a planting trench, the bird's-eye view of a planting trench having a vertical cross-section with a high aspect ratio; FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating another example of a bird's-eye view of a planting trench, the bird's-eye view of a planting trench having an upwardly convex, normally inclined cross-section; and FIG. 12 is a bird's-eye view illustrating the structure of a plant cultivation bed. 1 is a bird's-eye view of a planting area. FIG. 1 is a bird's-eye view of a planting trench formed in the planting area. FIG. 1 is a bird's-eye view of a film with a broken line formed on the planting trench laid. FIG. 2 is a bird's-eye view of excavated soil dumped onto the laid film. FIG. 3 is a bird's-eye view of a planting bed filled with culture soil and formed by folding the laid film in half due to the gravity of the excavated soil and inserting it into the planting trench. FIG. 4 is a side view schematically illustrating the formation of a plant growth bed and the sowing process through the excavation stage, film laying stage, culture soil dumping stage, and sowing stage performed by a planting support vehicle. FIG. 5 is a side view schematically illustrating the formation of a plant growth bed and the sowing process through the excavation stage, film laying stage, culture soil dumping stage, and sowing stage performed by a planting support vehicle with a trench digging mechanism equipped with a retaining plate. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a trench digging mechanism equipped with a retaining plate. FIG. 7 is a left side view illustrating a soil discharge mechanism installed in front of a towing vehicle. FIG. 8 is a top view illustrating a soil discharge mechanism installed in front of a towing vehicle. It is a figure for demonstrating the modified example of the trench digging mechanism. It is a figure for demonstrating the modified example of the trench digging mechanism. It is a figure showing the planting support vehicle based on Embodiment 2.

[0016] 1...planting support vehicle, 2...trench digger, 3...work vehicle, 4...connecting arm, 6...film, 6r...laying roll, 7...dashed line, 11...plant cultivation bed, 12...planting area, 13...planting trench, 14...produced root mass, 15...cultivation soil, 16...excavated soil, 19...dolly wheel, 20...vehicle body, 21...cultivation soil drop hole, 22...seed injection mechanism, 23...seed, 24...retaining plate, 24a...left retaining plate, 24b...right retaining plate, 25...soil discharge mechanism, 25p1...front blade, 25p2...blade support 26...Housing, 27...Traction vehicle, 28...Rear coupling stand, 29...Opening, 30...Furrow digging mechanism, 30a...Screw blade, 31p...Drilling mechanism, 61R, 62R, 61L...Starting end auxiliary piece, 79R, 79L...Overlapping closing surface, 91...Inclined wall, 92...Soil storage area, 321...Roller rotation shaft, 322...Mechanism rotation shaft, 323...Axle, 331, 332...Stay, 334...Drilling actuator

[0017] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, a first embodiment and a second embodiment of the present invention will be described by way of example. In the following description of the drawings of each embodiment, the same or similar parts are designated 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 size ratio of each component, and the like may differ from the actual ones. Therefore, specific thicknesses, dimensions, and the like should be determined in a more flexible manner, taking into consideration the gist of the technical idea that can be understood from the following description. Furthermore, it goes without saying that the drawings may include parts with different dimensional relationships and ratios.

[0018] The following embodiments exemplify a method for embodying the technical concept of the present invention and an apparatus used in the method. However, the technical concept of the present invention does not limit the materials, shapes, structures, and arrangements of component parts, the procedure of the method, etc., to those described below. The technical concept of the present invention is not limited to the content described in Embodiments 1 and 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, when an object is rotated 90 degrees and observed, "up" and "down" are converted to "left" and "right" and are read as reversed, of course, when an object is rotated 180 degrees and observed, "up," "down," "left," and "right" are read in reverse. Furthermore, unless otherwise specified, "a" and "b" attached to the numbers of mechanisms and parts constituting the planting support vehicle in the drawings indicate the numbers of the mechanisms and parts as viewed from the left or right side of the side view. In the description of the embodiments, numbers without "a" and "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 of embodiment 1 is a planting support vehicle 1 equipped with a trench digger 2 and a work vehicle 3 connected to the trench digger 2, and the trench digger 2 has a towing vehicle 27 and a trench digging mechanism 30 provided at the rear of the towing vehicle 27.

[0020] The trench digger 2 and the work vehicle 3 are connected by inserting a kingpin (not shown) into the rear connecting platform 28 of the trench digger 2 and the connecting arms 4a, 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 when the two vehicles are coupled.

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

[0022] The housing 26 of the trench digging mechanism 30 is cylindrical and covers the upper part of the screw blade 30a. An opening 29 is provided at the upper rear surface of the housing 26, sloping downward and extending to a length that reaches the soil storage area 92 provided in the work vehicle 3.

[0023] As shown in Figure 5, the trench digging mechanism 30 moves the towing vehicle 27 in the direction of the arrow while rotating a 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 lifted by the screw blade 30a up to the upper opening 29 and carried out into the soil storage area 92 of the vehicle 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, 4b mounted in front of the vehicle body 20 and connecting the vehicle body 20 to the trench digger 2. As shown in Figure 3, a laying roll 6r is attached to the front underside of the vehicle body 20 of the work vehicle 3 via a stay 331, and a perforation mechanism 31p is attached via a stay 332. The roller rotation shaft 321 constituting the laying roll 6r can be used to load or wind up a roll of film. The roller rotation shaft 321 and perforation mechanism 31P are rotatably supported by bearings built into the stay 331 or 332. The spacing between the dolly wheels 19 is set wider than the width of the film 6.

[0025] In the first embodiment, the rolled film 7 is attached to the laying roll 6r with the dashed line 7 already formed, so the perforation mechanism 31p is unnecessary. However, if the rolled film does not have the dashed line 7 already formed, the perforation mechanism 31p will form the dashed line. The rolled film 7 is formed using a rotary blade with an intermittent blade on the outer periphery. Alternatively, the rolled film 7 may be a broader type of film in which the long ends of two films are joined together in advance with degradable thread, a stapler, or the like.

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

[0027] As shown in Figure 3, the vehicle body 20 is configured with a V-shaped soil storage area 92 consisting of inclined walls 91 that slope downward from the side to the inside, and a soil drop hole 21 (see Figure 4) that penetrates the vehicle body at the lowest part of the V. Excavated soil 16 for planting furrows and transported to the soil storage area 92 through opening 29 is continuously dropped from the soil drop hole 21 onto a film 6 laid over the planting furrow 13. The gravity of the dropped excavated soil causes the laid film 6 over the planting furrow to fold in half at the recess of the planting furrow 13 and insert it into the planting furrow 13, forming a plant growth bed 11 made of the folded film with the excavated soil 16 filled inside as soil 15 (see Figure 9) in the planting furrow 13.

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

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

[0030] The opening 29 at the top of the housing 26 can be turned to face rearward or left or right. When the excavated soil 16 is to be used as the mulch 15, the opening 29 is provided at the rear. When the excavated soil 16 is not to be used as the mulch 15, the opening 29 is turned to face laterally, perpendicular to the ridge direction, to discharge the excavated soil onto the side of the planting furrow 13, and mulch 15 from another location 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 daylilies, and in the second group, plants whose tubers grow shallowly such as sweet potatoes.

[0032] The film folded in half by the planting support vehicle 1 of the first embodiment is inserted into the planting furrow 13 by the gravity of the culture soil inside or separately dropped culture soil, so it reaches the bottom of the planting furrow 13 without bending or getting stuck, regardless of the shape of the furrow. The culture soil 15 in the folded film inserted into the planting furrow 13 expands to fit into the furrow, regardless of the shape, due to the culture soil itself or rainwater or irrigation. The expanding soil pressure of the culture soil and the soil pressure on the planting furrow wall are balanced across the film 6, and the film alone does not support soil pressure on either side, reducing the risk of breakage of the film 6 that constitutes the plant growth bed. Furthermore, the position of the dashed line 7 of the film 6 is positioned to coincide with the widthwise middle of the screw blade 30a that excavates the planting furrow, so the folded film dashed line 7 is reliably positioned at the bottom of the planting furrow 13. Therefore, rainwater or irrigation water for plant growth bed 11 does not flow out the sides of the film in all directions, but collects and remains at the bottom, temporarily seeping back into the soil before being discharged over time through dashed line 7. As a result, the rate at which water permeates the soil improves, achieving high irrigation efficiency by reducing the number of irrigation times.

[0033] <Variant 1 of planting support vehicle> In the planting support vehicle of variant 1, a perforation mechanism 31p is arranged immediately after the laying roll 6r on the bottom surface of the vehicle body 20, and the perforation mechanism 31p forms continuous dashed lines 7 in the film 6 pulled out from the roll-shaped film attached to the laying roll 6r.

[0034] As shown in Figure 6, the perforation mechanism 31p is provided immediately behind the laying roll 6r at the bottom of the vehicle body 20, and forms continuous dashed lines in the longitudinal direction of the film 6 as it is pulled out from the laying roll 6r. As shown in Figure 3, the perforation mechanism 31P can freely change the dashed line formation area of ​​the film 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 periphery of the truncated pyramidal perforation punch. Square cylindrical cutting blades 32m-1, 32m, 32m+1, ... penetrate the pulling film 6 while rotating, continuously forming dashed lines 7j-1, 7j, 7j+1, ....

[0036] The film roll is attached to the laying roll 6r so that the dashed line formation region w of the film roll, which is 2h+w+2d wide, fits within the imaginary rearward extension of the cutting blade width of the groove digging mechanism. Here, the dashed line formation region w is the remaining width w after imaginarily cutting off the width d+h from both ends of the long sides of the film.

[0037] Before the towing vehicle 27 begins to move, the rolled film 6 is pulled out in the reverse direction from the laying roll 6r, and the beginning of the pulled film 6 is fixed in the planned planting trench. The towing vehicle 27 moves in the forward direction and the trench digging mechanism 30 excavates the planting trench. The film 6 is continuously pulled out from the laying roll 6r installed behind the excavation mechanism 30. A dashed line is formed in the pulled film 6 by the perforation mechanism 31. The film 6 is laid over the planting trench 13 so that the dashed line is aligned with the width of the planting trench 13. The excavated soil is then filled into the double-folded film, forming a plant growth bed 11 with the width d of the film 6 exposed at the surface. The effects of the plant growth bed are similar to those described in paragraph (0029) above, and will not be described further.

[0038] <Variant 2 of planting support vehicle> In the planting support vehicle relating to variant 2, a pair of retaining walls 24a, 24b are attached in parallel between just after the maximum diameter position of the trench digging mechanism and the front end of the soil dropping hole, contacting both walls of the planting trench.

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

[0040] The bottom of each retaining plate 24a, 24b is preferably at the same height as the planting trench 13, and the upper end is preferably at a height that is exposed from the planting trench. The front end of each retaining plate 24a, 24b is preferably located at the position defined by the fold line where the rotation circle of the screw blade 30a of the trench digging mechanism 30 contacts both walls of the planting trench 13, i.e., immediately after the maximum diameter position of the trench digging mechanism 30a. On the other hand, the rearmost end of each retaining plate 24a, 24b is located rearward of the front end of the culture soil dropping hole 21.

[0041] In conjunction with the formation of a continuous planting trench 13 by excavation by the trench digging mechanism 30, the lower ends of the retaining plates 24a, 24b are inserted into the planting trench 13 up to the bottom of the planting trench 13 to a depth h. The retaining plates 24a, 24b are lowered by the lifting function of the stays 330, and the retaining effect of the retaining plates 24a, 24b prevents the excavation wall from collapsing.

[0042] As the towing vehicle 27 advances, each retaining plate 24a, 24b also moves horizontally, and just before it reaches the rear end of each retaining plate 24a, 24b and loses its wall collapse prevention function, a double-folded film 6 filled with soil inside is inserted, the filled soil 15 spreads toward the wall surface, and the soil pressure of the filled soil and the soil pressure on the side wall of the planting trench 13 are balanced, preventing the wall of the planting trench 13 from collapsing.

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

[0044] <Variant example 3 of planting support vehicle> In the planting support vehicle relating to variant example 3, as shown in Figure 11, a seed dropping mechanism 22 that penetrates the bottom is provided at the rear of the widthwise center line of the soil dropping hole 21, and seeds 23 stored in the seed dropping mechanism 22 are dropped into the soil 15 inside the folded film 6 inserted into the planting trench 13, allowing simultaneous sowing.

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

[0046] As the towing vehicle 27 advances, the seed-adding mechanism 22 drops seeds 23 from its bottom and sows them into the cultivation soil 15 at regular intervals. This modification enables planting support by continuously sowing seeds 23 into the cultivation soil 15 in the plant growing bed 11, which is continuously formed into a long ridge length Lr, with a minimum amount of work. Note that Figure 12 differs from Figure 11 in that it shows a state in which a retaining plate 24a (24b) is attached to the trench digging mechanism. Note that a portion of the retaining plate 24a (24b) overlaps a portion of the film 6.

[0047] <Fourth Modification of Planting Support Vehicle> The fourth modification of the planting support vehicle is a planting support vehicle in which a soil removal mechanism 25 (see FIG. 15) capable of scraping off surface soil wider than the width of the planting furrow 13 and shallower than the depth of the planting furrow is attached to the lower front part of the towing vehicle 27. Note that the soil removal mechanism 25a in FIG. 14 is the same as the soil removal mechanism 25 in FIG. 15, but the reference numeral has 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 front lower part of the body 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 located Bh below the ground surface.

[0049] As the towing vehicle 27 advances, the front blade 25p1 scrapes off a depth Bh and width Bw of soil from the surface soil, forming a shallow recess wider than the planting furrow width w and depth h, with embankments of scraped soil on both sides. The soil 16 excavated by the trench digging mechanism 30 at a depth of Bh or greater is continuously dumped as mulching soil 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 mulching soil storage area 92. In areas affected by salt damage, there is a salt deposit layer shallower than Bh that is unsuitable for use as mulching soil. By removing the layer shallower than Bh with the soil removal mechanism 25 and excavating and utilizing the soil deeper than Bh with the trench digging mechanism 30, it is possible to both effectively utilize the local mulching soil and eliminate mulching soil that inhibits plant growth.

[0050] <Plant growth bed> Plant growth bed 11 is placed inside a planting trench 13 whose cross-sectional area ratio perpendicular to the ridge direction is greater than 1. As shown in Figure 9, plant growth bed 11 includes a film 6 folded in half and inserted into the planting trench with the folded portion facing downwards, with its top exposed to the ground surface and outside the planting trench, and a dashed line 7 at the bottom of the folded film 6, and culture 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 of a planting trench cut perpendicularly 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 trench by the square cross-sectional area.

[0051] Here, we will explain the meaning of "the square cross-sectional area ratio is greater than 1." Figure 8A shows a square cross section So, with each side being the groove width Wo of the opening, obtained by cutting a groove with a ridge length Lr perpendicular to the ridge direction. The cross-sectional area of ​​the square cross section So is Wo × ho. Figure 8B shows a downwardly convex cross section Sb, obtained by cutting a groove with a ridge length Lr perpendicular to the ridge direction. The cross-sectional area Sb, consisting of the opening groove width Wo, bottom width Wo-2Wb, and depth ho, is (Wo + Wo-2Wb) × 1 / 2 × ho. Figure 8C shows a vertical cross-sectional wall Sc with a high aspect ratio, obtained by cutting a groove with a ridge length Lr perpendicular to the ridge direction. The cross-sectional area Sc, consisting of the opening groove width Wo, bottom side Wo, and depth ho+hc, is Wo × (ho+hc). Figure 8D shows an upwardly convex cross section Sd of a furrow with a ridge length Lr cut perpendicularly to the ridge direction. The cross-sectional area Sd, consisting of the opening furrow width Wo, the bottom furrow width Wo + 2Wd, and the 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 upwardly convex cross-sectional area Sd shown in Figure 8D, and the value when both Sc and Sd are divided by the square cross section So is greater than 1.

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

[0053] The plant growth bed of this embodiment can be formed by the following steps: (1) Pulling film 6 from a roll attached to laying roll 6r in the direction opposite to the travel of towing vehicle 27, and securing the beginning of the film to the planned planting area; (2) As shown in Figures 1 and 10B, forming planting furrows 13 with furrow digger 2 in the direction of travel of towing vehicle 27; (3) As shown in Figure 5, the excavated soil is lifted by screw blade 30a, transported through opening 29 to culture soil storage area 92, and dropped through culture soil drop hole 21 located in the center of culture soil transport area 92; (4) As shown in Figures 5, 6, and 10C, while the work vehicle is traveling along the ridge direction, film 6 is continuously pulled in the opposite direction from laying roll 6r attached to roller rotation shaft 321 at the front lower part of the work vehicle, and laid so that dashed line 7 of film 6 aligns with and covers the center line of planting furrow 13 in the width direction. (5) As shown in Figure 10D, the fallen soil falls onto a film 6 laid over the planting furrow, and the gravity of the fallen soil causes the film 6 to be folded in half and inserted into the planting furrow 13, with the excavated soil 16 filling the interior as mulch 15. The film at both ends of the planting furrow 13 is cut widthwise to a length that extends beyond both ends of the planting furrow. As a result, a plant growth bed is formed in the planting furrow 13, with an underground depth h, underground width w, and exposed distance d to the ground surface, as shown in Figure 10E. If the excavated soil is not to be used as mulch, the opening 29 is turned laterally, perpendicular to the ridge direction, to discharge the excavated soil onto the side of the planting furrow 13, and mulch 15 from elsewhere is dropped onto the laid film 6.

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

[0055] In the planting cultivation bed 11 having the overlapping closing surface 79, the start auxiliary pieces 61R and 62R and 61L and 62L that make up the overlapping closing surface 79 slide against each other to reduce the overlapping closing surface 79 so as to increase the capacity of the plant cultivation bed in response to an increase in the volume of the culture soil due to water absorption and root growth, thereby reducing the risk of breakage of the film 6. Note that in the case of a planting furrow 13 with a long ridge length, the inflow and outflow of water and the like from the openings at both ends is within an acceptable range, so the formation of the overlapping closing surface at the start (end) ends may be omitted.

[0056] There are no particular limitations on the film 6, as long as it is made of a hydrophobic material that can block water, salts, etc. The film thickness is 10 to 200 microns, preferably 30 to 100 microns. In the plant growth bed 11 shown in Figures 9 and 10E, where the soil pressures of the culture soil 13 and the planting groove 13 are balanced across the folded film, the film thickness is ignored, and the widths and depths of the plant growth bed 11 and the planting groove 13 are the same, w and h, respectively.

[0057] The plant growth beds that can be formed in this embodiment with a square cross-sectional area ratio greater than 1 have a larger soil filling volume than plant growth beds with a downward convex cross-sectional area, which allows for the development of the root growth zone and an increase in the amount of water and fertilizer in the soil.Irrigation water flows out over time from the dashed line at the bottom of the plant growth bed, making it possible to form a plant growth 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 growth bed 11. As shown in FIG. 18 , the planting support vehicle 1 has a pair of trench digging mechanisms 30 equipped with screw blades 30a, 30b attached to a rear coupling platform 28a. Each trench digging mechanism 30a, 30b is attached in a position that allows it to descend and simultaneously excavate the soil on both sides of the ridges of the plant growth bed. The openings 29a, 29b of the trench digging mechanisms 30a, 30b are positioned in a direction that allows the excavated soil to be discharged to the outside of both sides of the ridges of the plant growth bed. A rotary motor (not shown) is built into the roller rotation shaft 321 that constitutes the laying roll 6r. After digging, the planting support vehicle 1 winds the beginning of the film 6 excavated from the plant growth bed onto a laying roll 6r, and then uses a pair of trench digging mechanisms 30a and 30b to excavate the soil on both sides of the plant growth bed, removing the soil on both sides of the plant growth bed, making it easy to recover the film and harvest the plant root masses.

[0059] 18, Q1 in the first row of plant growth beds 11 indicates a harvesting row in which the film 6 constituting the plant growth bed has been removed and the produced root nodules 14 have floated to the ground surface, Q2 in the second row indicates a harvesting row in progress, and Q3 in the third row and Q4 in the fourth row indicate rows in which the root nodules 14 in the plant growth beds 11 remain in the culture soil as they are. Before work begins, the above-ground parts of the harvested root nodules have been cut and removed using a harvester or the like.

[0060] A pair of trench digging mechanisms 30 are attached to the rear connecting platform 28a of the trench digger 2. Each trench digging mechanism 30a, 30b is attached in a position that allows it to descend into the soil on both sides of the ridges of the plant growth bed and excavate, with each opening of the trench digging mechanism 30 oriented to discharge material onto both sides of the ridges of the plant growth bed. It is preferable to remove the drilling mechanism 31p at the bottom of the work vehicle 3 beforehand.

[0061] The trench digging mechanism 30 of the trench digger 2 is positioned on both sides of the beginning of the plant growth bed 11, and the pair of screw blades 30a, 30b that make up the trench digging 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 moved in the direction of the ridges of the plant growth bed, and the pair of screw blades 30a, 30b of the trench digging mechanism 30 excavate the soil on both outside edges of the plant growth bed. The pair of screw blades 30a, 30b then raise the excavated soil 16 inside the housings 26a, 26b and transport it through openings 29a, 29b to the far sides of the plant growth bed 11, exposing both outer edges of the plant growth bed 11. The beginning of the film for the plant growth bed, with both sides now exposed, is pulled out and wrapped around and secured to the laying roll 6r under the body of the work vehicle 3. The towing vehicle 27 is continuously advanced in the direction of the ridges of the plant growth bed, and the soil on both sides of the plant growth bed is removed with the front screw blade 30a, while the built-in motor of the rear laying roll 6r is rotated to wind the drawn film onto the laying roll 6r, and the film that makes up the plant growth bed is recovered.

[0062] When the film is removed, the soil inside the film that makes up the plant growth bed is dug up by the tension of the film, and the growing root masses in the soil rise to the surface and can be easily harvested.

Claims

1. A planting support vehicle comprising a trench digger and a work vehicle connected to the trench digger, wherein the trench digger has a towing vehicle and a trench digging mechanism attached to the rear of the towing vehicle, the work vehicle has a vehicle body with a culture soil drop hole penetrating the bottom, and a laying roll onto which a roll of film can be attached in front of the culture soil drop hole on the bottom of the vehicle, the trench digging mechanism of the towing vehicle moving forward continuously digs planting furrows in the planting area, culture soil is dropped from the roll of film attached to the laying roll in the reverse direction of travel of the towing vehicle onto the film laid on the planting furrow, the film filled with the culture soil is inserted into the planting furrow by the gravity of the culture soil, and plant growth beds are continuously formed inside the planting furrows to support planting.

2. A planting support vehicle as described in claim 1, characterized in that a perforation mechanism is arranged immediately behind the laying roll on the bottom of the vehicle body, and the perforation mechanism forms continuous dashed lines in the film pulled out from the roll-shaped film attached to the laying roll.

3. A planting support vehicle as described in claim 2, characterized in that a pair of retaining plates are attached in parallel to both walls of the planting trench between immediately after the maximum diameter position of the trench digging mechanism and the front end of the soil dropping hole.

4. A planting support vehicle as described in claim 3, characterized in that a seed injection mechanism penetrating the bottom is provided on the rear extension of the center line of the width direction of the soil injection hole of the vehicle body, and seeds are dropped from the seed injection mechanism into the soil in the plant growth bed.

5. A planting support vehicle as described in claim 1, characterized in that it is equipped with a soil discharge mechanism in front of the towing vehicle that scrapes off a wide and shallow amount of soil from the planting area, and the soil scraped off by the soil discharge mechanism is discharged outside on both sides of the soil discharge mechanism.

6. A plant cultivation bed placed inside a planting trench having a square cross-sectional area ratio of a cross section perpendicular to the ridge direction that is greater than 1, characterized by comprising: a film that is folded in half and inserted into the planting trench with the folded part facing downwards, with the upper part of the folded part exposed to the ground surface outside the planting trench, and a broken line on the lower part of the folded part; and the inside of the folded film is filled with culture soil.

7. A planting support vehicle for harvesting plants grown in the plant growth beds described in claim 6, wherein a pair of trench digging mechanisms are attached to the rear connecting platform in positions that allow excavation of the soil on both sides of the plant growth bed, each opening of the trench digging mechanisms is positioned in a direction that discharges the film far out to the outside on both sides of the plant growth bed, a rotary motor is built into the inside of the roller rotation shaft that constitutes the laying roll on which the film can be attached, the starting end of the film excavated from the excavated plant growth bed is fixed and wound around the laying roll, and the film is wound around the laying roll in parallel with the trench digging mechanisms progressively digging the soil on both sides of the plant growth bed, thereby recovering the film and harvesting the plant root masses.