RU2102853C1 - Plant feeding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: agriculture, in particular, application of mineral macro and microfertilizer into soil. SUBSTANCE: apparatus contains solid water-soluble substance enclosed in housing with discharge opening and adapted to be brought into contact with gaseous phase containing molecules of water vapors. Solid phase contains chemical compounds having predetermined nutrient chemical macro and/or microelement and possessing moisture-absorbing capacity sufficient to form loosely falling drops and flows of solution of solid phase in moisture absorbed from gaseous phase on solid phase surface. Solid phase is screened by housing walls to prevent drops and flows of rain and irrigation water from getting onto this solid phase and is positioned above discharge opening for free discharge of newly produced solution from solid phase surface without flooding. EFFECT: increased efficiency, simplified construction and enhanced reliability in operation. 21 cl, 12 dwg

Description

 The invention relates to techniques for introducing plant nutrients into the soil and can be used for continuous controlled dosing at a slower rate of macro and micronutrient fertilizers.

 A nutrient device for plants is known, comprising a shell and a solid phase of the active substance located in the shell. A granule of mineral fertilizer is used as the solid phase of the active substance. The shell is a coating of a mixture of wax and polyethylene applied to a granule, such a composition is usually called encapsulated mineral fertilizer [1].

 The disadvantages of encapsulated fertilizers include the complex and environmentally unattractive technology for their production and the contamination of the soil with a destroyed shell, which the soil bacteria are not able to process.

 The indicated drawbacks are deprived of a device for controlled continuous dosing of substances in which water-soluble fertilizers are placed in the housing, one wall of which is replaced by a semi-impermeable membrane. For example, a plant nutrient device is known, comprising a housing having a drain hole at the bottom and a solid phase of active substance located in the housing. The body is made of polyethylene. A membrane consisting of two layers is installed in the lower part of the body: a polyethylene layer with a thickness of 15 μm of the porous layer in the form of ceramics with a thickness of 1000 μm. In addition to the drain hole in the lower part of the housing, the latter is also equipped with an additional hole in the upper wall for air to escape [2].

As the solid phase of the active substance, individual chemical compounds, for example KNO ₃ , or mixtures, for example Ca (NO ₃ ) ₂ : NH ₄ NO ₃ : K ₂ HPO ₄ , which have an osmotic pressure in the range of 80 to 350 atm, are used. In addition to macronutrients, salt mixtures can contain up to 0.12% by weight of trace elements (zinc, iron, boron, molybdenum, etc.) also in the form of salts.

 After placing the nutrient device in a functioning environment, liquid soil moisture penetrates through the membrane to the solid phase of the active substance and dissolves it. Due to the osmotic pressure that occurs inside the housing, a saturated solution of the substance is displaced through the drain hole into the soil. As soil moisture accumulates in the casing, excess air is forced out through the upper opening.

 The disadvantage of this nutrient device is the insecurity of the solid phase of the active substance from being flooded with liquid moisture from the environment through the upper hole in the housing, which violates the principle of operation of the feeder equipped with a membrane, and the duration of the feeder is reduced.

 This other disadvantage is deprived of another known and plant nutrient device of a similar principle of operation, which includes a housing having a drain hole in the lower part and a solid phase of the active substance located in the housing, shielded from above and from the sides by the walls of the housing from contact with liquid moisture of the external environment [3 ].

 The body of the device is made in the form of an overturned bowl of a material impervious to water, which is covered by a semipermeable membrane from below. The solid phase of the active substance (crystallins) is placed in the volume between the body and the membrane. At the junction with the membrane at the edges of the housing (bowl), gutters are provided that serve as drain holes. In the walls of the housing itself there are no holes, which provides shielding of the solid phase of the active substance from above and from the sides from its contact with the liquid moisture of the external environment.

 When planting plants, nutrient devices are laid with the membrane down into the substrate next to the plants. Liquid moisture from the substrate passes through a semipermeable membrane into the body and after some estimated time all the salts that form the active substance pass into crystalline hydrate. Water fills all capillaries, pores and voids in the mass of the active substance. Further water flow through the membrane causes the formation of a saturated solution of the active substance, which flows into the substrate through the sewage holes adjacent to the membrane. During the operation of the nutrient device, the active substance is constantly updated in the membrane layer due to the gradual lowering of the solid phase under the action of its own weight.

 The main disadvantage of the devices [2, 3] is their complexity, due to the presence of a semipermeable membrane in the lower part of the body, which, moreover, can become clogged with soil particles. Another disadvantage of membrane-type nutrient devices is the inconvenience of recharging them with an active substance. Feeders of this type are installed below the surface of the soil, while their location remains hidden from view. This makes it difficult to subsequently remove the nutrient device from the soil for recharging it.

 In addition, only chemical compounds having an osmotic pressure in the range of 80 - 350 atm can be used as the active substance.

 The main objective of the present invention is to simplify and cheapen the nutritional device for plants. Improving its reliability, simplifying its recharging and replenishing the range of substances used in the feeder are auxiliary tasks of the present invention.

 In FIG. 1 shows a general view of a plant nutrient device with a body in the form of a flask with an elongated neck placed in water; in FIG. 2 is a general view of a plant nutrient device with a housing made of a domestic glass jar and mounted on the soil surface; in FIG. 3 is a general view of a nutritional device with a body made of an empty shell of a chicken egg and set deep in the soil under a fertilized plant; in FIG. 4 is a general view of a nutrient device for irrigated crops (rice, etc.) with a cylindrical body having an expanded neck and intended for installation in irrigated soil; in FIG. 5 is a general view of a nutrient device, additionally equipped with means for sealing the internal volume of the housing during storage of the device in the warehouse and a support element for installing the housing above the surface of the soil or water; in FIG. 6 is a general view of a nutrient device with a housing made in the form of an open annular container with two concentric sides, oriented downward by the inlet annular opening and divided by internal partitions into separate compartments; in FIG. 7 is a General view of the nutritional device with a housing made in the form of a curved tubular element, with means for sealing the internal volume of the housing during storage of the device in a warehouse; in FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a feeding device with a housing made in the form of a hollow coil with an open lower end and a blanked upper end, bent in the shape of a hook and used as a support element when installing the housing above the surface of soil or water; in FIG. 9 is a general view of a mobile (rolling over the ground) nutrient device with a horizontal body in the form of two conical shells joined together by narrow bases; in FIG. 10 is a general view of a nutrient device with a housing made in the form of a cover worn on the upper end of the pin, covered with a solid phase of a water-soluble substance; in FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a nutrient device equipped with a funnel connected to the housing and having a solid phase drain to the lower portion of the housing; in FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a nutrient device equipped with a funnel and a flow chamber connected to it, used to store water.

 The plant nutrient device contains a solid phase 1 of a water-soluble substance, comprising a predetermined nutrient chemical macro- and / or microelement and enclosed in a housing 2 provided with a drain hole 3, with the possibility of its contact with a gas phase containing water vapor molecules. For this, the open surface of the solid phase 1 is brought into contact with the gas phase either due to incomplete solid phase 1 filling of the internal cavity of the housing 2 (Figs. 1–6, 9–12), or due to direct contact of the solid phase 1 with atmospheric air through the drain hole 3 (Figs. 7-8). As the gas phase, not only air can be used, but also other gases, for example, helium, argon, ammonia, carbon dioxide, depending on the water-soluble substance used to form the solid phase 1. The gas phase adjacent to solid phase 1, in the working A nutritional device usually contains water vapor molecules. The latter enter the housing 2 from the environment - atmospheric air (Fig. 6-10), water (Fig. 1), moist soil (Fig. 2-4, 11, 12) or from an internal source (Fig. 12). The presence of water vapor molecules in the gas phase is necessary to implement the principle of action of the nutrient device - the formation of a nutrient solution only due to hygroscopic moisture.

The solid phase 1 is prepared from individual chemical compounds or mixtures that together contain a given chemical element and give the solid phase hygroscopicity sufficient for the formation of freely flowing drops or jets of a solution of the substance in the absorbed moisture absorbed from the gas phase on its surface. Individual chemical compounds or mixtures that form solid phase 1 of a water-soluble substance are selected based on the need to ensure that for the solid phase at a temperature of 20 ^o C a hygroscopic point of not more than 70% and a water solubility of not less than 100 g of an anhydrous part of a water-soluble substance in 100 ml of water.

 For this purpose, as a water-soluble substance containing nitrogen, a formulation containing from 0 to 100% urea, from 0 to 100% ammonium nitrate and from 0 to 20 wt.% Water can be used, to which impurities of trace elements - nitric acid can be added cobalt (up to 0.1 wt.%), ammonium molybdenum acid (up to 0.03 wt.%), boric acid (up to 0.2 wt.%). Ammonium sulfate may be added to the formulation as a sulfur carrier.

 As individual chemical compounds containing other macro- and microelements and possessing the necessary hygroscopicity and water solubility, potassium carbonate, calcium, magnesium, zinc, manganese nitrates can be used in anhydrous form or in the form of crystalline hydrates.

 The solid phase 1 is shielded by the walls of the housing 2 from the ingress of drops and jets of rain and irrigation water, which eliminates premature flushing of the water-soluble substance into the external environment.

 The solid phase 1 is installed above the drain hole 3. This prevents it from being flooded with soil water or with the solution of the substance in adsorbed moisture flowing from the surface of the solid phase 1 through the drain hole 3 into the external environment.

 If the solid phase 1 consists of pieces or granules of a water-soluble substance, its position above the drain hole 3 can be ensured by the internal protrusions of the housing 2 or other parts of the nutrient device (Fig. 11 - 12).

 The solid phase 1 of the water-soluble substance can be attached directly to the solid walls of the nutrient device above the drain hole 3 in the form of a monolithic mass from a solidified melt or from compacted crystals of a water-soluble substance. To hold solid phase 1 on the walls in a "suspended" state, adhesion or friction forces are used.

 In the same housing 2 of the device can be placed several uneven solid phases that differ in their chemical composition (Fig. 6, 7).

 Case 2 can be made of materials that do not clog the environment (clay unburnt), from natural natural formations (empty shells of mollusks, shells and peel of the fruit, eggshells), from materials that improve soil (peat, peat, limestone, phosphogypsum and etc.). In FIG. 3 shows a nutritional device with a housing 2 made of an empty egg shell.

 The plant nutrient device may be further provided with a support element 4 for mounting the housing 2 above the surface of the soil or water, for example, in the form of a hook (Fig. 5, 8), in the form of a bend in the housing (Fig. 7, 8), in the form of a pin ( Fig. 10).

 In addition, the feeding device may be further provided with means 5 for sealing the internal volume of the housing 2, for example, in the form of a rubber stopper (Fig. 5), an elastic tube (Fig. 7), in the form of elongated edges of the cover used as a housing (Fig. . ten). The drain hole 3 of the housing 2 can be temporarily filled with paraffin (Fig. 8). When installing the device in the operating position, the sealing means 5 should be eliminated.

 The housing 2 of the nutrient device is made of a transparent material and the flow rate of the solid phase 1 of the water-soluble substance is easily controlled visually during the operation of the device (Fig. 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 8).

 The housing 2 of the nutrient device is made in the form of a vessel oriented with the neck down (Fig. 1-5), and the inlet of the neck is used as a drain hole 3 of the housing 2 for receiving water vapor molecules from the external environment.

 If the vessel has the shape of a bulb with a long neck (Fig. 1), the nutrient device can be lowered into the water and kept afloat with the neck down due to the air filling the free cavity of the housing 2.

 If the vessel has a small height and a shortened neck, the nutrient device can be installed directly on the soil surface with the neck down (Fig. 2).

 The execution of the housing 2 in the form of a vessel simplifies the design of the nutrient device as a whole. Moreover, the housing 2 itself can be made of materials used to improve soil and / or plant nutrition (peat, peat, limestone, phosphogypsum).

 In FIG. Figure 3 shows a nutrient device, the shell of which is made of eggshell and is intended for installation in the soil under water level.

 If the nutrient device should be placed in the working position after planting and watering the soil, the casing 2 is shaped like a tube with an expanded neck (Fig. 4).

 At the top of the casing 2 has a connector sealed with a rubber ring to simplify the recharging of the nutrient device with a new dose of solid phase 1.

 The housing 2 of the nutrient device operating using water vapor molecules contained in the air should be installed in the working position so that its drain hole 3 is above the surface of the soil or water (Fig. 5). The device is additionally equipped with a supporting element 4 in the form of a hook mounted on top of the housing 2, made in the form of a conical vessel, lowered neck down. The solid phase 1 is attached internally to the upper walls of the casing 2 in the form of a monolithic mass of solidified melt of a water-soluble substance, while the solid phase 1 is retained on the walls of the casing 2 not only due to adhesion, but also due to the wedging action of the casing walls 2 converging downward.

 The housing 2 of the nutrient device can be made in the form of an open bottom and closed on top of the annular tank with two concentric sides (Fig. 6). The solid phase 1 of the water-soluble substance is fixed between the concentric sides, and the inlet annular opening of the vessel is used as a drain hole 3 and for receiving water vapor molecules from the environment. The housing 2 is divided by internal vertical annular partitions 6 into separate compartments open from below. In this case, water-soluble substances of various nature can be placed in various compartments.

 The housing 2 of the nutrient device can also be made in the form of a curved tubular element with both open and downward oriented ends, which are used as drain holes 3 of the housing 2 and for receiving water vapor molecules from the external environment into the housing (Fig. 7). The solid phase 1, located in the housing 2, may have a different chemical composition in different compartments of the housing.

 The housing 2 of the feeding device can also be made in the form of a hollow coil open from below, while the lower open end of the coil is used as a drain hole 3 of the housing 2 and for receiving water vapor molecules from the external environment, and the walls of the housing 2 are used as a screen blocking solid phase 1 from falling on it drops and jets of rain and irrigation water (Fig. 8).

 In FIG. 9 shows a nutrient device that can be rolled on the ground without disturbing its performance.

 The housing 2 of the device is made in the form of two conical shells joined together by narrow bases. The solid phase 1 is located in the middle of the housing 2 at the junction of the shells. The wide open bases of the conical shells are used as drain holes 3 of the housing 2 and for receiving water vapor molecules from the surrounding air atmosphere. In the left and right compartments of the housing 2 can be placed unequal solid phases 1, differing in chemical composition. In order to separate the solid phases 1 of different composition between themselves, an internal vertical partition 6 may be provided in the housing 2. FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of a nutrient device in which the support element 4 is made in the form of a pin with a solid phase 1 of a water-soluble substance deposited on its upper end. The housing 2 is made in the form of a cover worn on top of the solid phase. As a means of sealing 5 of the internal volume of the housing 2 during storage of the device in stock, the elongated lower edges of the cover (housing 2) are used. In the working position of the nutrient device, these edges are bent upwards to allow atmospheric air to enter the housing 2. In the non-working position of the device, the lower edges of the cover (housing 2) are lowered and closed around the solid phase 1 and support element 4 (pin).

 The feed device may be additionally equipped with a funnel for collecting rainwater droplets connected to the housing 2 and having a solid phase 1 drain to the lower part of the housing (Fig. 11), which should facilitate the washing of sewage holes 3. This helps to prevent clogging of the hole 3 with soil particles when this hole has a small cross section and is immersed in the soil. In this case, it is necessary to exclude the ingress of rainwater onto solid phase 1 of a water-soluble substance. The upper wall of the housing 2 is made in the form of a funnel 7 with a drain end 8 located above the drain hole 3. The solid phase 1 is marked out in the annular gap between the side walls of the housing 2 and the funnel 7 used as a screen blocking the solid phase 1 from raindrops. The funnel 7 is mounted on top of the housing 2 with its outer edges. While the pieces (granules) of the solid phase 1 are laid in the annular gap between the housing and the funnel 7 during the assembly of the nutrient device. The lower part of the housing 2 has a reduced diameter. The narrow gap 9 between the drain end 8 of the funnel 7 and the housing 2, on the one hand, does not allow the solid phase 1 to fall down and, on the other hand, provides a drain of the resulting solution, as well as access of water vapor molecules from the external environment (through funnel 7) to the surface of the solid phase 1. The purpose of the funnel 7 is to collect rain and irrigation water and discharge it into the lower part of the housing 2 under the solid phase 1 above the drain hole 3, which should generally improve the distribution of the nutrient solution in the soil. In addition, the funnel 7 allows access of atmospheric air containing water molecules into the housing 2, since the sewage holes 3 of the housing 2, due to their small size, cannot guarantee the penetration of water vapor molecules into the housing 2 from moist soil.

 In the embodiment of the nutritional device shown in FIG. 12, in the housing 2, under the funnel 7, a flow drip chamber 10 is installed, communicating with the drain end 8 of the funnel 7 and provided with drain holes at the top 11. A narrow gap 9 between the walls of the flow chamber 10 and the housing 2 provides access of water vapor molecules from the chamber 10 through the openings 11 to solid phase 1. The same gap 9 provides a drain of the resulting solution of solid phase 1 in absorbent moisture into the lower part of the housing 2. Moreover, the gap 9 is narrow enough to prevent the solid phase 1 from falling into the lower part of the housing 2, which ensures the location of the solid phase 1 in the housing 2 above its drain hole 3, the diameter of which is taken to be equal to the diameter of the housing 2 itself.

 A nutrient device for plants is used as follows.

 If the nutrient device was in storage in a packaged form before use, it must first be depressurized - remove the plug 5 (Fig. 5), remove the rubber tube 5 (Fig. 7), break the paraffin plug 5 (Fig. 8), bend the edges 5 cover, i.e. case 2 (Fig. 10), etc.

 After that, the nutrient device is installed in the working position: either immersed in water (Fig. 1), or placed on the surface of the soil (Fig. 2, 6, 12), or buried in the soil under seedlings (Fig. 3), or dug the bottom case 2 into the soil (Fig. 4, 11), either hang the case 2 over the soil or water (Fig. 5, 7, 8), or pin 4 is stuck into the soil (Fig. 10), or the case 2 is placed on the soil surface and rolled to the right place (Fig. 9).

 The nutritional device operates as follows.

 Molecules of water vapor from the external or internal environment, either from water (Fig. 1), or from moist soil (Fig. 2, 3, 4, 11, 12), or from atmospheric air (Fig. 6 - 12), or from the flow chamber 10 inside the housing 2 (Fig. 12) diffuse to the surface of the solid phase 1 of the water-soluble substance and are adsorbed by the solid phase 1. At the same time, a saturated aqueous solution of a substance containing the necessary nutritional chemical macro- or microelement is formed on the surface of the solid phase 1. This solution in the form of drops and jets under the action of gravity flows into the lower part of the housing 2 and through its drain hole 3 goes out into the environment of functioning.

 Funnel 7 (Fig. 11, 12) picks up drops of rain and irrigation water, which collect and then flow through the drain end 8 of funnel 7 into the lower part of the housing 2, washing its drain hole 3. A level accumulates in the flow chamber 10 (Fig. 12) water. Its excess flows through the holes 11 into the lower part of the housing 2. During the operation of the device, the water in the flow chamber 10 gradually evaporates. In this case, water molecules transferred to the gas phase diffuse to the surface of the solid phase 1. The resulting saturated aqueous solution of a water-soluble substance of the solid phase 1 flows through the narrow annular gap 9 into the lower part of the housing 2, from where it enters the operating environment through its drain hole 3.

Claims (21)

 1. Nutrient device for plants, comprising a housing having a drain hole in the lower part and a solid phase of a water-soluble substance located in the housing, shielded from above and from the sides by the walls of the housing from contact with liquid moisture of the external environment, characterized in that the solid phase of the water-soluble substance is located in the housing above the drain hole with the possibility of contact with molecules of water vapor located in a gaseous medium filling the space between the solid phase and the drain hole, while the solid phase It is composed of individual chemical compounds or mixtures that, upon its contact with water vapor molecules, cause the formation of a nutrient solution that flows freely from the surface of the solid phase. 2. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the individual chemical compounds or mixtures, solid phase forming a water-soluble substance chosen based on the need to provide a solid phase at 20 ^o C hygroscopic point of not higher than 70% and water solubility of not lower than 100 g of anhydrous portion active substance in 100 ml of water.  3. The device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that as a separate chemical compounds or mixtures, in the aggregate containing a macrocell nitrogen, a formulation containing 0 to 100 wt. urea, 0 100 wt. ammonium nitrate and 0 to 20 wt. water.  4. The device according to claim 3, characterized in that the formulation containing 30 to 70 wt. carbamide, 15-60 wt. ammonium nitrate and 0 to 20 wt. water, added impurities of chemical compounds that provide a solids content of up to 0.1 wt. cobalt nitrate, and / or up to 0.03 wt. ammonium molybdenum acid, and / or up to 0.2 wt. boric acid.  5. The device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that as separate chemical compounds or mixtures forming the solid phase of a water-soluble substance and in combination containing in addition to nitrogen also any other chemical elements, nitrates of the corresponding chemical elements are used in anhydrous form or in the form of crystalline hydrates.  6. The device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that as a chemical compound containing a potassium nutrient, anhydrous potassium carbonate is used in the form of crystalline hydrates.  7. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the solid phase is attached in the form of a monolithic mass of solidified melt or tamped crystals of a water-soluble substance directly to the solid walls of the nutrient device, towering above the drain hole.  8. The device according to p. 1, characterized in that in the same housing of the nutrient device are separated two or more unequal solid phases that differ in the chemical composition of the water-soluble substances forming them.  9. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing of the device is made of natural formations that do not clog the environment, or from materials that improve the agrochemical properties of the soil.  10. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is additionally equipped with means for sealing the internal volume of the housing, used when storing the device in an idle position.  11. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing is made of transparent material.  12. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that it is additionally equipped with a support element for installing the cramp above the surface of the substrate, i.e. soil or water.  13. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that its casing is made in the form of an open annular container with concentric sides oriented downward by the inlet ring opening, while the solid phase of the water-soluble substance is fixed between the concentric sides.  14. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that its body is made in the form of a curved tubular element with open and downward oriented ends.  15. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that the housing of the device is made in the form of a hollow coil with an open lower end.  16. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that its body is made in the form of two open conical shells joined by narrow bases and oriented horizontally, while the solid phase of the water-soluble substance is placed in the narrowed part of the body.  17. The device according to claim 1, characterized in that its housing is divided by internal partitions into separate compartments.  18. The device according to p. 12, characterized in that a pin is inserted as a support element, inserted into the housing from below and supporting it from the inside.  19. The device according to p. 18, characterized in that the solid phase of water-soluble broadcasting is applied to the upper portion of the pin inserted into the housing, while the housing is made in the form of a cover and is worn on top of the solid phase.  20. The device according to claim 1, or 2, or 6, characterized in that it is additionally equipped with a funnel connected to the housing of the device and having a drain for the solid phase in the lower part of the housing.  21. The device according to claim 20, characterized in that the upper wall of the housing is made in the form of a funnel and a flow chamber is installed in the housing under the funnel, communicating with the funnel, provided with an overflow hole at the top and designed to accumulate water used as an internal source of water vapor molecules .

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