Abstract: A reforestation and nourishing practice by the use of a lighter-than-air airship system, for dispersing and planting tree saplings, primarily in remote regions which may have been devastated by fire, where access to such regions by personnel and ground equipment is difficult. The airship system comprises an aerodynamically configured structure having a semi-rigid keel or skeleton, where lift is provided by helium, with the keel mounting a liquid management mechanism consisting of a reservoir open to the outside for resupply of liquid or water, a conduit leading to a holding tank, and a piping distribution and nozzle assembly below the airship system to spray or dispense the liquid or water over selected areas to water or nourish the newly planted trees. The mechanism for temporarily storing and eventually dispensing the tree saplings is a rack mounting at least one cylindrical canister containing plural compartments.

Abstract: A planting module for planting a seed or a bulb in the earth includes the seed or bulb disposed in a dissoluble capsule so that after the module has been placed in the earth and water is supplied, the capsule disintegrates and the seed or bulb sprouts.

Abstract: Treatment agents are provided for cell seedlings. Each treatment agent comprises water, a dispersant, and activated carbon finely dispersed with the dispersant in the water. Potted seedlings can be treated by dipping them in the treatment agent and/or by irrigating them with the treatment agent. In this manner, cell seedlings can be pre-treated before planting. The thus-planted seedlings may be irrigated with the treatment agent.

Abstract: With the present invention, sand storm disasters will no longer occur in Beijin and the Hubui province in China and the water of the Yellow River will be clear; soil erosion due to flood in the United States and Europe will decrease. The invention utilizes the sand, soil and gravel of the earth to cure its illness. Such normally useless natural materials are filled in plastic bags to form flexible soft sand bricks, and they are laid on the ground to stabilize sand for growing vegetation or to prevent soil depletion due to water erosion. With the present method, sand and soil are stabilized to the condition similar to that grass has already grown on them for five years and trees have already grown in them for ten years. It can thus be used surely for carrying out forestation all over the world; forestation may even be carried out in barren area in the United States so as to have rich forests throughout the country; and the area around the Wufoo water dam will recover to its past beauty.

Abstract: Inhibition of forest damage exerts by ultraviolet rays. By selecting species having triploid or tetraploid of chromosomes and afforestating to form the ultraviolet resistant forest by forming the artificial forest.

Abstract: An automated transplanter has been designed for seedlings previously loaded and correctly spaced on a low tensile-strength, biodegradable tape wound on a spool. The transplanter design allowed for rapid planting of the tape with the attached seedlings while minimizing the tension placed on the tape. The design linked the unspooling of the tape directly to the ground speed of the tractor and provides for an anti-backlash mechanism to prevent the spool from free-wheeling when the tractor speed slowed quickly. Using this design, synthetic seedlings attached to a low tensile-strength tape were successfully planted at speeds up to 7.5 mph.

Abstract: A device for transplanting trees or bushes having at least two spades that can be adjusted against each other. These spades can be set between an open and closed position by means of a pair of attached servo-drives. When in the open position, the spades are removed from each other by a space corresponding at least with a diameter of the tree or the bush to be transplanted. When the spades are in their closed position, they complement each other, forming a partial spherical cup. To reduce the resistance of the spades as they penetrate the soil, the cutting blade of the spade has the shape of a corrugated ground edging. These corrugated ground edges have alternating elevations and recesses, whereby the elevations of the cutting blade provide sufficient stability and safety against breakage. The ground surfaces that oppose each other on these spades are disposed on alternating sides to allow the cutting blades to overlap.

Abstract: An apparatus for producing grass sprigs from bulk sod, evenly distributing the grass sprigs on the ground to be planted, and thereafter planting the grass sprigs. The apparatus comprises a rigid frame member having a driven conveyor assembly, a bulk sod shredding assembly, and a planting assembly. The driven conveyor transports bulk sod to the shredder assembly at a rate proportional to the ground speed of the apparatus, thus providing the proper sprig output rate from the shredder. The shredding assembly utilizes a rotating shaft having a plurality of shredding members extending therefrom for shredding the bulk sod cooperatively with a shredder bar. The planting assembly comprises a sizable chute for guiding the sprigs from the shredder to the ground to be planted without clogging, a plurality of coulters for pressing the sprigs into the ground, and a plurality of press wheels for firming the soil planted subsequent to the coulters.

Abstract: This invention relates to a system and method for automatically selecting viable seedlings or plants from a nursery tray for transplant into a field by an automatic transplant device. An automatic plant selector according to the present invention functions as an attachment to an automatic transplant device such as a rotary cup transplant machine. The plant selector eliminates the requirement of human labor while significantly reducing the percentage of non-viable or “blank” transplants when using an automatic transplant device to plant seedlings. This reduction is accomplished through use of primary and secondary nursery trays that are addressed by primary and secondary plant removal devices, or “plant pullers,” respectively, which automatically provide viable seedlings to the automatic transplant device.

Abstract: A process and apparatus for planting aquatic plants underwater on the bottom of estuaries whereby an aquatic plant which is ready for transplanting is positioned in a planting nipple having an angular groove in its upper portion. When the planting nipple is brought into contact with the estuary bottom, sea grass plants which are positioned on the angular groove, are planted on the estuary bottom. A plurality of planting nipples are incorporated on the periphery of a planting wheel. A watercraft is used to position the planting wheel with its planting nipples over an area to be planted is provided for. With the process and apparatus of this invention, sea grass plants can be planted on the bottom of an estuary in a semiautomated fashion.

Abstract: An apparatus for excavating and transplanting a tree having an elongate trunk and a plurality of roots extending downwardly into a ground location. The apparatus includes a wheeled frame supporting a chassis, an elongated trailer hitch portion extending from a first end of the chassis and a tree excavating portion extending from a second end of the chassis. First, second and third guide assemblies are arranged in triangular fashion around a periphery of the tree excavating portion and each receive a selected spade element. A hammer is provided and is engageable with the spade elements in successive fashion so as to drive the spade elements in inwardly and downwardly angled fashion within the selected ground location. The elongated trailer hitch portion is pivotally deflected in a downward fashion so as to exert an upward pivoting force upon the tree excavating portion and to forcibly remove the selected tree from the ground location.

Abstract: A seedling with soil selecting and transporting apparatus for a transplanting machine which can steadily and certainly discriminate good seedlings with soil and no good seedlings with soil without causing operation failure by deposition of a clump of earth even if external vibration and/or slight disturbance is caused in transporting attitude of the seedling with soil. The seedling with soil selecting and transporting apparatus for a transplanting machine transports good seedlings having leaf portions grown into a normal length and no good seedlings having leaf portions not grown into a normal length. The apparatus comprises a strip form transporting belt transporting good and no good seedlings with soil in an attitude wherein they are fallen sideways and have concentrically mounted soil depositing portions on one outer side edge portion of the strip form transporting belt.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a device for rapidly pricking out plants. It is comprised of a positioning element comprising an internal vertical passage wherein the plant together with its ball of earth, introduced through the top or through the bottom, may be immobilized momentarily by appropriate device, before it is driven from top to bottom towards the planting area by use of rods penetrating sideways into the positioning device through slots provide to this effect so as to bear directly to the earth ball without touching the foliage. It relates to the industrial field of agriculture machines and is intended to the automatic high speed transfer of earth ball-borne plantlets.

Abstract: A method of rapidly propagating grass and other living plant materials using a sod slurry. The method includes mechanically mixing sod having the desired species of grass or other living plant material with water, fertilizer and a slicking agent to produce a sod slurry which may be sprayed onto a prepared section of land using a conventional pump, hose and nozzle or other types of commercially available spraying equipment. Alternatively, the sod slurry may be poured from a bucket or other suitable container onto the prepared area of land. Mulch and other materials may be added to the mixing tank as appropriate for the selected species of grass or other living plant material. The soil portion of the sod cooperates with other portions of the slurry such as fertilizer or mulch to encourage rapid growth of the selected species of grass or other living plant material on the prepared area of land.

Abstract: A mechanical transplanter device for transplanting seedlings along a path includes a frame, a furrow opening shoe mounted on the frame and engaging the ground for opening a furrow in the ground, and seedling delivery means including a reciprocating stabilizing arm mounted on the frame. The transplanter of the present invention delivers seedlings to the furrow at specific predetermined distance intervals input by the operator into the electronic control system, which utilizes a variable speed electric drive motor that isolates the speed or frequency of the transplanter from variations in ground speed or engine speed of the tractor towing the transplanter along the ground.

Abstract: A conical tree transplanter is formed of first and second pairs of opposed tapered blades loosely connected sequentially side by side to form a cone having a narrow end and a wide end. The first pair of opposed tapered blades is removable from the second pair of opposed tapered blades by movement in the direction from the narrow end towards the wide end of the cone and is supported by the second pair of opposed tapered blades against movement from the wide end to the narrow end of the cone. A connector is located on each of the tapered blades at the wide end of the cone for connection to a lifting apparatus.

Abstract: A seedling planter mounted on a trailer is provided with means to sense the side walls of ridges of earth and a means to position the planter over ridges of earth in response to the ridge side wall sensing means by transporting the planter sideways from the for/aft center line of the trailer irrespective of the track of the trailer.

Abstract: A garden tool tool to assist a gardener in planting plants in previously cultivated soil. The garden tool allows a gardener to plant plants such as vegetables, flowers, and tree seedlings in cultivated soil with a minimum of effort and without kneeling or bending over. Also, once the plant is inserted into the soil, the garden tool provides a simple and effective mechanism for a gardener to provide the newly planted plant with a quantity of water and/or fertilizer. The garden tool includes an elongated planting member having a bore formed therethrough connecting an upper open end of the planting member to a lower open end of the planting member. A plant carrying tray is connected to the upper open end of the planting member and provides a surface for supporting a plurality of plants to be planted using the tool. The tool may include one or more tanks to be filled with water, fertilizer and the like such that each newly planted plant can be watered immediately upon planting.

Abstract: An apparatus for unloading a tray full of seedlings and transporting them one at a time to another location for further handling, e.g., for planting. The apparatus is arranged to be towed behind a prime mover, and all operations are powered by the movement of the apparatus on wheels and/or by compressed air generated on the prime mover.

Abstract: A transplanter is disclosed which provides uniform planting without damaging plants. The transplanter includes a rotating cup assembly having two-piece clam shell cups, one of which opens by lateral movement by the cup halves of the cup. The transplanter also includes a chute and kick plate which move together to position the plants received from the rotating cup assembly in the planting position. A unique means is provided for opening the cup halves at a position immediately above the chute to minimize any hang-up of the plants. A polymer furrow opening shoe is also disclosed which includes a protective member which prevents soil damage to the polymeric surface. Also novel packing wheels are disclosed.

Abstract: A transplanting apparatus for transplanting plants from free draining matrix trays in which each plant containing cell of each matrix tray is provided with a drainage hole at the bottom of a cell. The transplanting apparatus has a matrix tray rotary supply device, an expulsion/indexing device, a plant catching device, and a planter device. The matrix tray rotary supply device vertically holds and supplies matrix trays to the expulsion/indexing device, and rotates to supply a new matrix tray. The explusion/indexing device moves a supply matrix tray in a row by row movement and expulses one row of plants after the other. The plant catching device catches the expulsed plants and aligns the expulsed plants root end down, and the planter device plants the expulsed aligned plants.

Abstract: A plug seedling extractor for use with a plurality of variously-sized plug seedling trays is disclosed. The extractor has a base plate assembly with a plurality of extractor pins and an extraction table assembly with a plurality of holes aligned with the extractor pins. A plurality of threaded bolts having lock nuts mate with coupling nuts on the base plate assembly to slidingly connect and vary the height between the extraction table assembly and the base plate assembly. Each of a pair of hand-actuated levers are connected to the extraction table assembly and the base plate assembly on one side to cause relative motion between the extraction table assembly and the base plate assembly. The plug seedling tray slides over the extraction table assembly and is held in position by the cooperation of vertical restraining bars directly over the tray with rear and side alignment bars.

Abstract: A machine for cutting large pieces of sod into smaller, generally square blocks suitable for planting, comprising a cutting mechanism for cutting the large pieces of sod into smaller, generally square pieces of sod which are of generally equivalent size and shape, a discharging means for discharging the smaller pieces of sod onto the ground, and a weighted means to plant the sod into the ground.

Abstract: The invention is a method for treating a plant growth medium containing a plant so that the growth medium remains intact around the roots during transplanting operations. This involves treating the growth medium shortly before transplanting with an adhesive-forming substance which will bond the particles of the growth medium to form an intact plug. The adhesive-forming substance must be physiologically innocuous. Materials such as warmed solution of agar or soluble alginates have been found to be very suitable. When an alginate is used, it is rendered into an insoluble gel by secondary application of a chemical salt such as calcium nitrate. The method is particularly useful for growing seedlings or cuttings which must be transplanted while the root structure is still delicate and subject to damage from handling.