Planting – Liquid or gas soil treatment – Drilling machines
Patent
1993-04-15
1995-11-21
Ricci, John A.
Planting
Liquid or gas soil treatment
Drilling machines
111118, 111121, A01C 2300
Patent
active
054677238
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a combined cultivator and fluid injector and a method of use thereof.
REVIEW OF MOST RELEVANT ART KNOWN TO THE APPLICANT
The application of agrochemicals, such as pesticides and herbicides, to agricultural land is most commonly achieved by aerial or ground-based spraying. The agrochemicals are delivered generally in aqueous solution under pressures of 3-4 bars to achieve effective high rates of application. Whilst this system can be particularly suitable for application of insecticides, it does not provide optimal targeting for pesticides against subterranean plant pathogens and those herbicides and other agrochemicals, such as systemic insecticides, which act only after being taken up by the roots of plants. This poor targeting efficiency is not only wasteful of the agrochemicals and water, it also exacerbates the hazards posed to the user and to the environment by the agrochemicals.
Cultivator machines for vertical gravity-fed delivery of agrochemicals into the ground are known of. Such machines generally comprise a chassis bearing a number of tines, each tine having a pipe running down its rearward, in use, face for vertical delivery of the agrochemicals into the furrow directly behind the tine. These machines are essentially capable only of treatment of a field before or during sowing or planting of a crop and cannot subsequently be used to provide further doses of agrochemicals to the growing crop.
It is a general objective of the present invention to provide a combined cultivator-injector which overcome this profound problem and in so-doing offers a number of significant further advantages over conventional apparatus and techniques.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a cultivator-injector machine for sub-surface application of a fluid pesticide to a field which machine comprises; a chassis carrying one or more tines, each said tine having one or more fluid delivery pipe(s) mounted extending longitudinally down a rearward, in use, face thereof, each said delivery pipe having a closed lower end and one or more lateral apertures therein facing rearwardly, in use, at an angle to the axis or ploughing motion, said chassis further carrying one or more free-turning cutting discs, each mounted closely in front of a substantially aligned with and substantially aligned with a respective tine along the axis of ploughing motion of the machine, characterised in that the machine is adapted for repeated passage through a field of root crop as the crop grows, the tines being substantially straight and the machine being mounted to the front of a powered vehicle, in use.
Preferably each said lateral aperture is located at predetermined height on the delivery pipe relative to the tip of the corresponding tine.
Preferably each said lateral aperture is located facing rearwardly, in use, on the delivery pipe at an angle of between 45 degrees and 75 degrees to the axis of ploughing motion.
Preferably each tine is a vertical tine (i.e extends substantially perpendicular to the ground, in use).
Preferably the delivery pipe fitted to the tine is no more than 25 mm in diameter.
Suitably the lateral apertures of the delivery pipe are less than 2 mm in diameter.
Each cutting disc is preferably planar.
Most suitably the mounting of the cutting disc to the chassis enables the disc to be adjustably positioned relative to the respective tine.
Suitably the disc is adjustably biased into the ground, in use.
According to a second aspect of the present invention thee is provided a method of sub-surface application of fluid to a field which method comprises: invention. obstructive vegetation/detritus ahead of the tine(s) with the tine(s) ploughing the soil and with the delivery pipe(s), via the lateral apertures therein, injecting fluid into the soil ridges.
Preferably in step 3 of the method the tine(s) are set to a predetermined depth in the ground to optimise targeting of the fluid.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRA
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patent: 4998488 (1991-03-01), Hansson
Groom Murree
McIvor-Dean Alan
Christopher Robin Knights
Ricci John A.
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