GB2538229A

GB2538229A - Plant growth enhancement device

Info

Publication number: GB2538229A
Application number: GB1507794.4A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Adriaan Liebenberg Willem
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2015-05-07
Filing date: 2015-05-07
Publication date: 2016-11-16
Also published as: GB201507794D0

Abstract

The invention relates to a plant growth enhancement device comprising a sheet of semi-rigid material defining a plurality of apertures 14 to allow light therethrough and a plurality of elongate members 16 extending perpendicular to the plane of the sheet to allow the sheet to stand raised up from a surface when in use and a method for enhancing growth of a plant with the use of the device. The sheet comprises a plurality of raised domed members 12 in which one of the apertures 14 is positioned at the apex. The apertures maybe covered by a clear material to create a micro environment. The sheet maybe made from a biodegradable material and may be formed into a roll which can be cut to the desired size. The device may incorporate lighting and irrigation means.

Description

PLANT GROWTH ENHANCEMENT DEVICE

BACKGROUND

The invention relates to a plant growth enhancement device and a method of enhancing the growth of plants with the use of the device.

Crops and ornamental plants growth commercially or in privately are often adversely effected by the micro-climate in which they are growing, including light, humidity and temperature conditions. In addition, weeds and plant pathogens are a constant problem. Furthermore, commercially grown crops often grow at different rates and as a result the productivity of the farm at harvest is rarely 100% in that a percentage of the crop in the region being harvested is not ready for harvest, or is past the harvest stage. It is also generally commercially beneficial to a farmer if he or she is able to enhance the growth rate of their crops, or increase the biomass thereof. Furthermore, there may be great losses to a farmer due to hail, strong wind or cold waves.

It would be of great use to a farmer if a solution to all of these problems could be identified without requiring large-scale greenhouse or poly-tunnel greenhouse use which is costly and logistically complicated to set up.

SUMMARY

According to a first embodiment of the invention there is provided a plant growth enhancement device comprising a sheet of semi-rigid material defining a plurality of apertures to allow light therethrough and a plurality of elongate members extending perpendicular to the plane of the sheet to allow the sheet to stand raised up from a surface when in use.

In particular, the sheet may comprise: (I) a plurality of raised members extending from the sheet, wherein each raised member defines an aperture at its apex to allow light therethrough; and (ii) on an opposed side of the sheet, a plurality of elongate members extending perpendicular to the plane of the sheet in the opposite direction to the dome-shaped members to allow the sheet to stand raised up from a surface when in use.

For example, the raised members may be substantially dome-shaped.

The sheet may further comprise a collar extending perpendicular from the edges of the sheet in the same direction as the plurality of elongate members whereby the collar extends only partly to the surface when in use.

The plurality of elongate members may be substantially cone shaped thereby to direct the flow of solid or fluid material toward the surface when in use.

The apertures may be covered with a clear material to create a micro-environment whereby light is allowed therethrough, and conditions such as temperature and humidity are regulated when in use.

The apertures may be shaped to define a desired diameter, thereby to control the amount of light allowed therethrough when in use.

The elongate members may be sized to extend a desired distance from the sheet, thereby to control the height of the sheet from the surface when in use.

The semi-rigid material may be a plastic, wood-composite, or paper-composite material. -2 -

The semi-rigid material may be impermeable. Alternatively, the semi-rigid material may be permeable. -3 -

The semi-rigid material may be recyclable or reusable. For example, the semirigid material may be a plastic or polymer material.

Alternatively, the semi-rigid material may be biodegradable. For example, the biodegradable material may comprise one or more nutrients, fertilizers, herbicides, anti-microbial compounds or compositions, or pesticides or any combination thereof to facilitate growth of a plant when in use.

The sheet may be sized as desired for large-scale agricultural use, or for smaller-scale use. For example, the sheet may be formed into a roll and dispensed as required by rolling the sheet out over the surface desired to be covered and then cutting the sheet to size. The device may further comprise a means for anchoring the device to the surface, such as a weighting means or a pegging means.

The device may be adapted to comprise lighting means, such as light-emitting diode (LED) lights or another suitable source of lighting known to those skilled in the art to further enhance the plant growth. Alternatively, or in addition, the device (10) may be adapted to comprise an irrigation means.

The plant may be a monocotyledonous plant or a dicotyledonous plant. The plant may be a crop or ornamental plant or a weed.

According to a further embodiment of the invention there is provided a method for enhancing the growth of a plant with the use of the plant growth enhancement device of the invention.

The method may comprise the steps of: (i) planting seeds in a growth medium; (ii) positioning the device on top of the seeds in the growth medium whereby light is allowed therethrough; and (iii) growing the seeds into plants. -4 -

The method may comprise a step of replacing a first device positioned on top of the seeds with a second device whereby the elongate members of the second device extend further from the sheet relative to the elongate members of the first device, thereby increasing the height of the device from the growth medium surface to accommodate growth of the seeds into plants.

The method may further comprise a step of removing the first or second device from the plants once grown thereby to allow pollination of the plants. Alternatively, the device may be biodegradable and may decompose over time into the growth medium.

The method may further comprise a step of anchoring the device to the growth medium by way of the anchoring means. For example, the device may be anchored by driving a plurality of pegs through the device into the growth medium.

The method may be used for enhancing the growth of a monocotyledonous plant or a dicotyledonous plant. The plant may be a crop, an ornamental plant or a weed.

The method may be used to provide for homogenous growth of plants to which the device is applied. The method may be used to increase the biomass of the plants to which it is applied relative to plants grown without the method. The method may be used to increase the growth rate of the plants to which it is applied relative to plants grown without the method.

DRAWINGS

Figure 1: shows a perspective view of one embodiment of a plant growth enhancement device according to the present invention; Figure 2: shows a top view of one embodiment of a plant growth enhancement device according to the present invention; -5 -Figure 3: shows a graphical representation of the enhanced growth of grass plants with the use of the plant growth enhancement device (A) according to the present invention compared to without use of the device (B).

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention provides a plant growth enhancement device and a method of enhancing the growth of plants with the use of the device.

Growers of crops and ornamental plants, whether commercially or privately grown, are often adversely effected by the micro-climate in which the plants are growing. Factors such as light intensity and duration, humidity and temperature conditions all play a role in the growth of a plant. Furthermore, weeds, plant pests and plant pathogens are a constant problem. Farmers may also suffer huge losses should their crops be damaged by hail, strong wind or cold waves.

Commercially grown crops will often grow at different rates and so a block of land for harvest may comprise plants at varying stages of development. Although the farmer will attempt to regulate the crop to be at the same stage of development to ensure an optimal harvest, this is difficult to achieve and so a portion of the harvest will be lost due to plants that are either not harvest-ready, or are past the harvest stage.

Presently, growers may address these problems with the use greenhouses or mini-greenhouses, such as poly-tunnels in which to grow their plants, but the use of such systems are constrained by cost and the logistics of setting them up.

The applicant has developed a much simpler solution to the problem in the form of the plant growth enhancing device and method of the present invention, which can be scaled up for use commercially in farms or can be used on a smaller scale in private gardens. Surprisingly, the applicant has found that by means of a simple device created to produce a pattern of shifting-shade over plantlets during growth, their growth is significantly enhanced over plantlets where no such -6 -device is used. The device may be further modified to include additional advantageous features and is simple and cheap to manufacture and install.

The plant growth enhancing device comprises a sheet of semi-rigid material defining a plurality of apertures to allow light therethrough and a plurality of elongate members extending perpendicular to the plane of the sheet to allow the sheet to stand raised up from a surface when in use. Typically, the surface would be a plant growth material such as soil, compost, nutrients, fertilizers and the like into which plant seeds are distributed in accordance with usual planting practices for that particular plant. The semi-rigid material may be a plastic, wood-composite, or paper-composite material.

It is possible to form the plant growth enhancing device from an impermeable semi-rigid plastic material, for example by plastic or polymer molding. There are many different methods of molding plastics or polymers such as nylons, polyethylene, polypropylene, polyvinylchloride (PVC) and the like known to those skilled in the art, including but not limited to blow molding, injection molding, compression molding, thermoforming, and the like. When produced from plastic or polymer materials, the device could be re-used in multiple seasons by the grower, or alternatively, may be recycled. As an alternative, the device may be made of any permeable semi-rigid material such as wood-composite, paper-composite or any other permeable semi-rigid materials known to those skilled in the art. In this case, the material would typically be biodegradable, and may also be formulated to comprise one or more nutrients, fertilizers, herbicides, antimicrobial compounds or compositions, or pesticides or any combination thereof to facilitate growth of a plant when in use.

In a particular embodiment of the invention as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the plant growth enhancing device (10) is formed from a sheet comprising: (i) a plurality of raised, typically dome-shaped, members (12) extending from the sheet, wherein each raised member defines an aperture (14) at its apex to allow light therethrough; and -7 - (ii) on an opposed side of the sheet, a plurality of elongate members (16) extending perpendicular to the plane of the sheet in the opposite direction to the dome-shaped members (12) to allow the sheet to stand raised up from a surface when in use.

Although the raised members (12) may be dome-shaped, it is to be appreciated that any raised structure may be used.

In a particular embodiment of the invention, the sheet further comprises a collar (18) extending perpendicular from the edges of the sheet in the same direction as the plurality of elongate members (16) whereby the collar extends only partly to the surface when in use.

The plurality of elongate members (16) are substantially cone shaped thereby to direct the flow of solid or fluid material toward the surface when in use. However, it is to be understood that this is not an essential feature of the invention and the elongate members may merely be solid projections extending perpendicular to the plane of the sheet, from the sheet to the surface when in use.

Similarly, it is to be understood that the apertures (14) may be defined by a flat sheet without being raised as the apex of a dome-shaped member (12).

In one embodiment of the invention, the apertures (14) are covered with a clear material to create a micro-environment whereby light is allowed therethrough, and conditions such as temperature and humidity are regulated within the device (10) when in use.

The device (10) may also be adapted to comprise lighting means, such as LED lights or another suitable source of lighting known to those skilled in the art to further enhance the plant growth. Alternatively, or in addition, the device (10) may be adapted to comprise an irrigation means.

The apertures (14) may be shaped to define a desired diameter, thereby to control the amount of light allowed therethrough when in use. Factors that may -8 -be taken into account when selecting the desired diameter of the apertures (14) include the season, the type and size of plant and the plant's requirements in terms of light, humidity and air flow, the time or phase of growth at which the device is introduced to the plant, the need to additional features that may be included into the device such as LED lights and/or irrigation devices, and the presence or absence of animals or other environmental factors.

Additionally, the elongate members (16) may be sized to extend a desired distance from the sheet, thereby to control the height of the sheet from the surface when in use. Factors that a grower might take into consideration in regard to the selection of the length of the elongate members (16) would include: the likely height of the plants that are being grown at the stage of flower development, whether or not the sheet is made from biodegradable material or plastic, the likely height of the plants at the stage when the device would typically be removed (assuming the device is not biodegradable and left to decompose into the soil), irregularity and or type of the surface that the device is to be placed on, and other environmental factors relevant to the area in which the device is to be used.

In one particular example for the growth of commercial lawn grass species, the diameter of the apertures (14) can range from about 2 cm to about 5 cm. The length of the elongate members (16) can range from 5 cm to about 8 cm.

It is also possible for a first device (10a) to be used to grow the plants to a first desired stage of development and height and then for the first device to be removed and for a second device to be placed over the plants, where the second device (10b) has elongate members (16b) that are greater in length relative to the elongate members (16a) of the first device (10a), thereby allowing additional growth of the plant to a greater height.

Typically, the device (10) would be removed from plants at the flower stage, thereby to allow pollination to be facilitated where this is desired. Should the device be comprised of biodegradable material, this may not be necessary. -9 -

The device (10) may be produced large-scale for commercial farms, or smaller scale for private or trial use. For example, the device (10) may be produced as a sheet and stacked in packs comprising layers of sheets, or may be produced and processed into a roll that can then be dispensed as required by rolling the sheet out over the surface desired to be covered and then cutting the sheet to size.

In order to prevent the device (10) from becoming dislodged from the soil when in use, the device (10) may further comprise a means for anchoring the device (10) to the soil surface. This might comprise a weighting means or a means of pegging the device (10) into the soil.

The device (10) according to the invention may be used for any type of plant, either monocotyledonous or dicotyledonous. Furthermore, the plant may be a crop or ornamental plant or a weed.

For example, the device (10) may be used prior to a farmer planting commercial crops in soil to encourage rapid growth of weeds, whereafter the weeds may be sprayed with a herbicide to kill them. Once the weeds have been eradicated, the farmer may then plant his or her commercial crop, either with or without the use of the device (10) according to the invention. Alternatively, the farmer may use the device (10) to increase the speed of growth of his or her crop, thereby allowing earlier harvest or multiple harvests in a season and increasing profits. Similarly, the farmer may use the device (10) to increase biomass of his or her crop, thereby increasing profits.

The device (10) may also be used by a farmer to grow his or her plants at a homogeneous rate across the entire field to be harvested. In this way each plant in a field will reach maturity at the same time and reduce losses in harvest due to differential growth of the crop resulting in certain plants being premature for harvest and others being too late for harvest.

The invention will be described by way of the following example which is not to be construed as limiting in any way the scope of the invention.

EXAMPLE

The applicant devised the device of the invention based on his observation of the growth of plants when exposed to shifting shade under a tree. The device was then tested on growth of commercially available lawn grass seeds. Figure 3 provides a graphical representation of the results from this experiment.

On day 0, garden variety lawn grass seed was planted by gently spreading the seeds through commercially available potting soil placed into a commercial plastic seed planter studded with standard drainage holes.

The plant growth enhancement device of the invention was placed gently on top of one half of the planter and the second half of the planter was left uncovered (the control half). The one side of the planter thus had the benefit of shifting shade and the other side did not.

The planter of seeds was watered equally on both halves of the planter twice a day. Growth of the grass seeds beneath the device was detected at Day 3, although no growth was yet evident in the control half of the planter. At Day 9 the grass beneath the device had significant growth of an average height of about 80 mm compared with the control half of the planter where there was only minimal growth at an average height of about 5 mm of the grass seeds.

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Claims

CLAIMS1. A plant growth enhancement device comprising a sheet of semi-rigid material defining a plurality of apertures to allow light therethrough, and a plurality of elongate members extending perpendicular to the plane of the sheet to allow the sheet to stand raised up from a surface when in use.
2. The plant growth enhancement device according to claim 1, wherein the sheet comprises: (i) a plurality of raised members extending from the sheet, wherein each raised member defines an aperture at its apex to allow light therethrough; and (ii) on an opposed side of the sheet to the dome-shaped members, a plurality of elongate members extending perpendicular to the plane of the sheet in the opposite direction to the dome-shaped members to allow the sheet to stand raised up from a surface when in use.
3. The plant growth enhancement device according to either claim 1 or 2, further comprising a collar extending perpendicular from the edges of the sheet in the same direction as the plurality of elongate members whereby the collar extends only partly to the surface when in use.
4. The plant growth enhancement device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of elongate members are substantially cone shaped thereby to direct the flow of solid or fluid material toward the surface when in use.
5. The plant growth enhancement device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the apertures are covered with a clear material to create a -12 -micro-environment whereby light is allowed therethrough, and micro-climatic conditions are regulated when in use.
6. The plant growth enhancement device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the semi-rigid material is a plastic, wood-composite, or paper-composite material.
7. The plant growth enhancement device according to claim 6, wherein the semi-rigid material is an impermeable material, including a plastic or polymer material.
8. The plant growth enhancement device according to claim 6, wherein the semi-rigid material is a permeable material or a bidegradable material or both.
9. The plant growth enhancement device according to claim 8, wherein the permeable material or bidegradable material comprises one or more nutrients, fertilizers, herbicides, anti-microbial compounds or compositions, or pesticides or any combination thereof to facilitate growth of a plant when in use.
10. The plant growth enhancement device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the sheet is formed into a roll that can be cut to the desired size for use.
11. The plant growth enhancement device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the device further comprises a means for anchoring the device to the surface, including a weighting means or a pegging means.
12. The plant growth enhancement device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the device further comprises a lighting means, including light-emitting diode (LED) lights to further enhance the plant growth.

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13 - 13. The plant growth enhancement device according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the device further comprises an irrigation means.
14. The plant growth enhancement device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the plant is a monocotyledonous plant or a dicotyledonous plant, including a crop, agricultural, or ornamental plant, fruit or vegetable, or a weed.
15. A method for enhancing the growth of a plant with the use of the plant growth enhancement device of any one of claims 1 to 14, comprising the steps of: (i) providing planted seeds, plantlets or plants in a growth medium; (ii) positioning the device on top of the seeds, plantlets or plants in the growth medium whereby light is allowed therethrough; and (iii) allowing growth of the seeds, plantlets or plants.
16. The method according to claim 15, wherein the method comprises a step of replacing a first device positioned on top of the seeds, plantlets or plants with a second device whereby the elongate members of the second device extend further from the sheet relative to the elongate members of the first device, thereby increasing the height of the device from the growth medium surface to accommodate growth of the seeds, plantlets or plants.
17. The method according to either claim 15 or 16, further comprising a step of removing the first or second device from the plants once grown, thereby to allow pollination of the plants.
18. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 17, wherein the method further comprises a step of anchoring the device to the growth medium by way of the anchoring means, including by driving a plurality of pegs through the device into the growth medium.

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19. The method according to any one of claims 15 to 18, which is used for enhancing the growth of a monocotyledonous plant or a dicotyledonous plant, including a crop, agricultural, or ornamental plant, fruit or vegetable, or a weed.
20. The plant growth enhancement device or method according to any one of claims 1 to 19, which is used for any one or more of: (i) encouraging homogenous growth of plants to which the device is applied; (ii) to increase the biomass of the plants to which it is applied relative to plants grown without the device; and/or (iii) to increase the growth rate of the plants to which the device is applied relative to plants grown without the device.