Abstract: The present invention relates to an apparatus for extracting liquid from a humid mass. The apparatus comprises a cylindrical housing having a first and a second end wall and a cylindrical side wall. At least one inlet is provided for admitting said humid mass in the housing. A pumping system is also provided for forcing said humid mass into the inlet. A rotor has one or more pairs of side walls, which are joined to a bottom wall and define one or more channels open at their periphery in at least a portion thereof. One or more rotor side walls are provided with perforations. The rotor has a central shaft for rotation with respect to the housing, this shaft having a conduit extending longitudinally therethrough, and is provided with one or more draining conduits having a first portion in fluid communication with the perforations. One or more rotor side walls are moved upon rotation of the central shaft. The draining conduit has a second portion in fluid communication with the shaft conduit.

Abstract: The apparatus comprises a delumper-sifter and a mixer used to prepare a mixture of peat and water which is placed in storage; the mixture is then passed to a forming device, is extruded in the form of continuous cylinder and is covered with a sheet of degradable paper; the covered product is cut up by means of a rotating spiral cutter, the rotational speed of which is synchronized with the speed at which the mixture emerges from the forming device, thus making it possible to obtain cylindrical extrusions of a predetermined length; the cut extrusions pass to a conveyor-distributor which arranges them in rows and then allows them to fall, in a vertical position, onto a supporting conveyor above which a drum, equipped with cylindrical protuberances, produces in the extrusions cavities in which seeds are subsequently placed and covered with sand; the final operation carried out by the apparatus is to group the seedling tubes thus produced and to wrap them in packages.