Harvesters – Miscellaneous
Reexamination Certificate
2001-08-28
2003-07-22
Pezzuto, Robert E. (Department: 3671)
Harvesters
Miscellaneous
Reexamination Certificate
active
06594977
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND
In plant genetic research operations it is often desired to grow and harvest seeds in a manner which avoids cross-fertilization of flowers and contamination with seeds from adjacent plants.
Arabidopsis thaliana
is a small flowering plant which is widely used by plant science researchers as a model organism for plant genetic research. Belgian Patent publication BE 1004098 discloses a seed harvesting device, as illustrated in
FIG. 1
, comprising a cup
1
and detachable tube
2
.
FIG. 1
also shows a plant
3
growing inside the device. A prior art seed harvesting device is available from Vivaldi bvba of Ghent, Belgium under the trade name ARACONS™ and is commonly used to grow and harvest Arabidopsis seed. The cup has a funnel-shaped base. Legs extending from the bottom of the cup can be inserted into growing medium to maintain the cup over the center of the plant leaves after bolting has occurred. The legs are rectangular in cross section and break easily when bent in use or when being cleaned for reuse. The detachable tube
2
comprises a rolled plastic sheet which is held by the cup wall and serves to isolate flowers and maturing siliques on a growing plant from neighboring plants in a flat of multiple plants and minimizes cross-pollination of flowers. The outer surface of the inverted funnel-shaped base serves to guide a growing plant stalk through the base of the cup and into the isolated space of the tube. The inner surface of the inverted funnel-shaped base serves to collect seeds falling from a mature plant. Seeds can be passively collected as they fall from a mature plant or actively harvested by manually pulling the cup up and off of the plant. In either case the base of the cup holds segregated seed from the plant.
Among the disadvantages of the prior art seed collector device is that it is difficult to insert the legs to a uniform depth in the plant growth medium when dealing with many plants. When the seed collectors are used for Arabidopsis and similar plants the cup being close to the plant growth medium presents a barrier for leaf growth. Arabidopsis plants are characterized by a set of broad leaves at the base of the plant and seed bearing stalks. The leaf growth of an Arabidopsis rosette is inhibited when the legs of a seed collector device are inserted too deeply in the growth medium. Another disadvantage of the cup being located on or close to the growth medium is that there is a tendency for condensation to form inside the collector. Since some seeds will fall off of the plant before harvesting, it is desirable to prevent condensation in the seed collector cup. Seeds that fall into a damp cup may rot, begin to germinate or become contaminated with mold. Such seeds may not be suitable for storage and/or later viable.
An object of this invention is to provide improved seed collecting devices which assist in uniform depth of leg insertion. A further object of this invention is to provide seed collectors which minimize condensation and resulting problems of harvested seed quality within the device. A further object of this invention is to provide lower cost seed dispensers that are made from low cost materials and/or more durable design. These and other objects, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art from reading the following detailed description of the invention, are provided by the various embodiments disclosed and claimed herein.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Disclosed herein are improved seed collectors adapted for harvesting segregated seed from individual plants, and methods of using the seed collectors. The various aspects of this invention are especially useful for harvesting segregated seed from small seeded-plants used in plant genetic research, e.g. seeds from
Arabidopsis thaliana
plants.
This invention provides an improved seed collector comprising a cup and extended tube. The cup has a central hole in a funnel shaped base extending into said cup. The extended tube can be either integral with or detachable from the cup. One aspect of this invention provides one or more elongated bosses on the inside wall of the cup to provide separation between the cup wall and a detachable extended tube, thereby allowing airflow between the base and tube to lessen condensation within the seed collector. Another aspect of the invention provides a leg tab to limit depth to which a leg can be inserted into plant growth medium, thereby providing (each) the cup base at a consistent distance above the plant growth medium and reduced condensation in the seed dispenser. Depth limiting tabs also allow horizontal growth of the plant under the base of the cup. Another aspect of this invention provides a seed collector cup with sturdier legs to avoid breakage during insertion or cleaning for re-use.
REFERENCES:
patent: 2406439 (1946-08-01), Pratt, Sr.
patent: 3137096 (1964-06-01), Hopkins
patent: 5852895 (1998-12-01), Sinanan
patent: 1004098 (1992-09-01), None
ARACONs User's Guide, www.arasystem.com/userguide.html, pp. 1-3. no date.
ARACONs product page, www.arasystem.com/aracon.html, p. 1 of 1.
Caron Connie M.
Kelley Thomas E.
Monsanto Technology LLC
Pezzuto Robert E.
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