Planting – Plant setting – Plant containing receptacle impressed into soil
Reexamination Certificate
2000-02-17
2001-07-24
Novosad, Christopher J. (Department: 3671)
Planting
Plant setting
Plant containing receptacle impressed into soil
C111S200000, C111S900000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06263810
ABSTRACT:
The present invention relates to a new method for planting and harvesting root crops such as potatoes, turnips or the like. The invention also relates to new agricultural machinery for use in the new method.
The agricultural industry is facing ever increasing demands for higher productivity, improved crop quality, better yield rates, and more quality control while at the same time facing demands for reduced use of fertilizers and pesticides, and for lower costs. This is particularly the case in the potato growing industry which is increasingly being faced with such demands from large operators in the potato processing industry who are fast becoming the largest buyers of potato crops. The traditional methods for planting and harvesting potatoes can only be improved upon in small degrees and offer only limited solutions to the problems faced by farmers seeking to meet these new demands.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a new method of planting and harvesting potatoes which addresses one or more of the foregoing problems.
According to the present invention we provide a method of planting tubers comprising the steps of:
(a) lifting soil from the surface of a planting area in which tubers are to be planted;
(b) inserting the lifted soil into elongate tubing in order to at least partially fill, preferably substantially fill, the tubing;
(c) laying the soil-filled tubing on the surface of the planting area; and
(d) inserting seed tubers into the soil-filled tubing.
Preferably, step (a) comprises lifting a top layer of soil from the planting area which is, preferably, a ploughed field.
Preferably, the method further includes the step of separating out stones, clods and/or other debris from the lifted soil, prior to filling the tubing with the soil. Nevertheless, in field conditions where the soil is substantially stone-free (and clod-free) it may not be necessary to perform this stone separating step.
The method may also include the step of treating the lifted soil prior to inserting it into the elongate tubing. The treatment may, for example, take the form of steam or heat treatment to kill pests and/or diseases which may be present in the soil. Alternatively, or additionally, the soil could be treated with a pesticide, if desired, prior to inserting it into the tubing.
The tubing preferably comprises several separate elongate tubes. Step (c) preferably comprises laying the elongate tubes substantially in parallel along the surface of the field. Step (d) preferably comprises inserting the tubers individually, at regular spaced intervals along the length of each tube. Step (d) preferably further includes dispensing, or otherwise inserting, water and/or fertilizer into the tubes. This may be done by, for example, dispensing a predetermined amount of fertilizer and/or water into the tubes with each tuber which is planted in the tubes.
The elongate tubes into which the potatoes are planted are preferably made of a flexible plastics material, which may be a bio-degradable plastics material. The tubing will preferably also be air permeable, or at least oxygen and nitrogen permeable, to at least some extent. This enables oxygen and nitrogen to reach the seed tubers during the growing process. The tubing is though preferably not water permeable. This means that the seed tubers are effectively held in a contained environment inside the elongate tubes, no water or water-borne contaminants or pests present in the field itself, being allowed to enter the tubes.
The seed tubers which are planted into the tubes are preferably very small tubers which would not normally be used as potato seed. We refer to these as “mini-tubers”. These mini-tubers can be used as seed in the planting method of the invention due to the fact that they will be contained in the controlled environment of the filled tube throughout the growing process and are therefore less susceptible to adverse environmental and growing conditions than they would be if they were planted in an open field in the traditional potato growing method.
According to another aspect of the invention we provide a new tuber harvesting method, for use in harvesting tubers planted according to the afore-described planting method, the method comprising the steps of:
(e) lifting the elongate tubing off the ground;
(f) removing haulm from the grown potato plants;
(g) removing the tubing, for example by cutting or splitting the tubing, in order to gain access to the potato crop held therein;
(h) separating off the soil (for example by sifting) which is, preferably, returned to the surface of the planting area; and
(i) collecting the harvested potatoes in a container means.
The haulm is preferably removed prior to the tubing being cut away. This may be done either before or after the tubing is lifted off the ground. Alternatively, though generally not preferred, the haulm may be left on the potato plants and may be separated off with the soil, during step (h).
It will be appreciated that the harvested crop of tubers may also be graded before being collected in one or more containers.
The above-described planting method offers significant advantages over traditional tuber planting methods, particularly in the potato industry. For example, by containing the growing potatoes inside the elongate tubes throughout the full growing process, no weeds can obtain access to the inside of the tubes, where the potatoes are growing. This eliminates weed control requirements, including both mechanical and chemical weed control. Moreover, worms, pests and other disease infiltrating the planting area after the planting of the tubers in the tubes can have little or no effect on the growing tubers which are contained in their own controlled environment. Where soil treatment is used prior to filling the tubes, disease and pests can be effectively eliminated from the growing environment of the potatoes before they even start to grow. An added advantage is that only the soil which is lifted up into the machinery need be treated in this way: it is not necessary to treat the whole field.
Another advantage of the method is that it offers easy soil testing and quality control for supermarkets/potato processors. Since the potatoes are grown entirely inside the tubes
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, soil quality in the tubes can be easily tested to give an accurate indication of mineral/chemical content etc.
So-called “greening” of the potato crop is also substantially avoided using this new planting technique, since the tubers are contained and shielded by the tubes throughout the growing process.
The invention also offers reduced requirements for fertilizer and water, since the exact predetermined amount of each which is needed to grow each seed tuber can be pre-calculated and injected into the elongate tubes. The water and fertilizer is thus targeted directly on each seed tuber: there is no need to water and fertilize the entire field.
The above-described harvesting method for harvesting the tubers from the elongate tubes, once growing is complete, also has the advantage of minimising mechanical damage to the crop during the harvesting process. Damage to the potato crop inflicted during harvesting is one of the main causes of loss of yield. Even one slightly damaged or bruised potato can lead to significant numbers of “bad” potatoes which are of no use to potato processors or end consumers. Much damage can be inflicted upon potatoes during the traditional harvesting methods where the tubers must be ploughed up out of the ground and conveyed into the harvester before they can be separated and graded. In the new method of the present invention, the tubes can be easily lifted into the harvester and the loose soil (from which the stones have already been removed) only needs to be sifted off the tubers once the tubing is cut away.
Further advantages of the new planting and harvesting methods of the invention include reduced problems experienced during harvesting, such as problems often experienced in traditional harvesting methods where weather conditions are bad and the soil is wet, heavy and d
Novosad Christopher J.
Reekie Manufacturing Ltd.
Young & Basile
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