U.S. patent application number 10/785884 was filed with the patent office on 2004-10-07 for non-woody fiber mulching mat and production method thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to Yuen Foong Yu Paper MFG Co. Ltd.. Invention is credited to Huang, Jenn-Wen, Peng, Yu-Hsiang.
Application Number | 20040194370 10/785884 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 33096099 |
Filed Date | 2004-10-07 |
United States Patent
Application |
20040194370 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Huang, Jenn-Wen ; et
al. |
October 7, 2004 |
Non-woody fiber mulching mat and production method thereof
Abstract
A liquid fiber mulching mat of a non-woody fiber and the
production method thereof are disclosed. The production method of a
liquid fiber mulching mat for a non-woody fiber includes steps of
providing a biopulp of a non-woody fiber plant, a polymer and
water, mixing the biopulp, the polymer and water well for preparing
a liquid fiber pulp of the non-woody fiber plant, and applying the
liquid fiber pulp of the non-woody fiber plant on a surface of an
article for forming the liquid fiber mulching mat. Besides, a solid
fiber mulching mat of a non-woody fiber is disclosed. The fiber
mulching mat can be used in farms for protecting the weeds and used
in mountainside land for preventing soil collapse. Also the fiber
mulching mat can be used in arid area for decreasing water
evaporation and preventing desertification and dust storm.
Inventors: |
Huang, Jenn-Wen; (Taiping
City, TW) ; Peng, Yu-Hsiang; (Taipei, TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
VOLPE AND KOENIG, P.C.
UNITED PLAZA, SUITE 1600
30 SOUTH 17TH STREET
PHILADELPHIA
PA
19103
US
|
Assignee: |
Yuen Foong Yu Paper MFG Co.
Ltd.
Taipei
TW
|
Family ID: |
33096099 |
Appl. No.: |
10/785884 |
Filed: |
February 23, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
47/9 |
Current CPC
Class: |
C09K 17/52 20130101;
A01G 13/0262 20130101; A01G 2013/004 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
047/009 |
International
Class: |
A01G 007/00; D21C
003/00; D21F 001/00 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Feb 26, 2003 |
TW |
092104113 |
Claims
1. A production method of a liquid fiber mulching mat for a
non-woody fiber, comprising steps of: (a) providing a biopulp of a
non-woody fiber plant, a polymer and a water; (b) mixing said
biopulp, said polymer and said water well for preparing a liquid
fiber pulp of said non-woody fiber plant; and (c) applying said
liquid fiber pulp of said non-woody fiber plant on a surface of an
article for forming said liquid fiber mulching mat.
2. The production method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
biopulp is provided by steps of: (a) providing a culture solution
with a non-woody fiber plant therein; (b) adding a suspension of a
microorganism into said culture solution; (c) fermentatively
culturing said culture solution for preparing a pulp solution; (d)
boiling said pulp solution; (e) pulping said pulp solution; and (f)
screening said pulp solution for isolating said biopulp from said
pulp solution.
3. The production method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
polymer is added into said biopulp at a concentration of 2500
ppm.
4. The production method as claimed in claim 3 wherein said polymer
is one selected from a group consisting of an alginic acid, an
alginic salt, a polyelectrolyte, a corn wheat bran and a
starch.
5. The production method as claimed in claim 4 wherein said corn
wheat bran has a concentration ranged from 0.5 to 1.0% (w/v).
6. The production method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said water
is added into said biopulp by a volume of 2.about.10 times of said
biopulp.
7. The production method as claimed in claim 1 further comprising a
step of adding a seed for grass vegetation into said liquid fiber
pulp.
8. The production method as claimed in claim 7, wherein said seed
for grass vegetation is one selected from a group consisting of a
Paspalum notatum Flugge seed, a Digitaria decumbens Stent seed, a
Brachiaria mutica (Forsk.) Stapf seed, a Cynodon dactylon seed and
a Stenotaphrum secundatum (walt) kvntze.
9. The production method as claimed in claim 1, wherein said
article is a soil.
10. A production method of a liquid fiber mulching mat, comprising
steps of: (a) providing a biopulp of a fiber plant, a polymer and a
water; (b) mixing said biopulp, said polymer and said water well
for preparing a liquid fiber pulp of said fiber plant; and (c)
applying said liquid fiber pulp of said fiber plant on a surface of
an article for forming said liquid fiber mulching mat.
11. The production method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said
fiber plant is a non-woody fiber plant.
12. The production method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said
polymer is added into said biopulp at a concentration of 2500
ppm.
13. The production method as claimed in claim 12, wherein said
polymer is one selected from a group consisting of an alginic acid,
an alginic salt, a polyelectrolyte, a corn wheat bran and a
starch.
14. The production method as claimed in claim 13, wherein said corn
wheat bran has a concentration ranged from 0.5 to 1.0% (w/v).
15. The production method as claimed in claim 10, wherein said
water is added into said biopulp by a volume of 2 to 10 times of
said biopulp.
16. The production method as claimed in claim 10 further comprising
a step of adding a seed for grass vegetation into said liquid fiber
pulp.
17. The production method as claimed in claim 16, wherein said seed
for grass vegetation is one selected from a group consisting of a
Paspalum notatum Flugge seed, a Digitaria decumbens Stent seed, a
Brachiaria mutica (Forsk.) Stapf seed, a Cynodon dactylon seed and
a Stenotaphrum secundatum (walt) kvntze.
18. A liquid fiber mulching mat of a non-woody fiber, comprising: a
liquid fiber pulp, comprising: a biopulp of a non-woody fiber
plant; a polymer; and a water, wherein said liquid fiber pulp is
well mixed to be applied on a surface of an article so as to form
said liquid fiber mulching mat.
19. The liquid fiber mulching mat as claimed in claim 18, wherein
said polymer is one selected from a group consisting of an alginic
acid, an alginic salt, a polyelectrolyte, a corn wheat bran and a
starch.
20. The liquid fiber mulching mat as claimed in claim 18, wherein
said liquid fiber pulp further comprises a seed for grass
vegetation.
21. A production method of a solid fiber mulching mat for a
non-woody fiber, comprising steps of: (a) providing a biopulp of a
non-woody fiber plant, a polymer and a water; (b) mixing said
biopulp, said polymer and said water well for preparing a liquid
fiber pulp of said non-woody fiber plant; (c) spreading said liquid
fiber pulp of said non-woody fiber plant; (d) extruding and
dehydrating said liquid fiber pulp; and (e) drying said liquid
fiber pulp so as to form said solid fiber mulching mat.
22. The production method as claimed in claim 21, wherein said
polymer is added into said biopulp at a concentration of 2500
ppm.
23. The production method as claimed in claim 22, wherein said
polymer is one selected from a group consisting of an alginic acid,
an alginic salt, a polyelectrolyte, a corn wheat bran and a
starch.
24. The production method as claimed in claim 23, wherein said corn
wheat bran has a concentration ranged from 0.5 to 1.0% (w/v).
Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] The present invention relates to a plant fiber mulching mat,
and more particularly to a non-woody fiber mulching mat and the
production method thereof.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] Generally, the agricultural production includes the steps of
land-preparation, sowing, fertilization, hand weeding and
harvesting. Each step requires a huge amount of manpower.
Particularly, the step of hand weeding requires a huge amount of
manpower, which always delays the organic farming for a period of
time. In order to proceed the step of weed removal, the farmers
conventionally cover the land with the black plastic film for
preventing the weeds from growing. Although the plastic film is
cheap and convenient, it is non-biodegradable. After the crops are
harvested, the farmers don't know how to deal with the useless
black plastic film. Besides, because the black plastic film can't
be decomposed naturally, it thus results in environmental pollution
once the black plastic film is discarded. However, in order to
protect our environment, the usage of plastic should be limited.
Thus, it is important to provide a biodegradable material for
agricultural production. Therefore, a new method for satisfying the
requirement of weed removal and preventing the problem of
environmental pollution draws a large number of researchers'
attention.
[0003] Furthermore, there are other problems in the natural
environment. For example, the water and soil conservation on the
mountainside land is not easy to carry out. Many countries have
paid close attention to mobilizing the initiation of the people to
control the soil erosion. Also, the problems of desertification and
dust storm are serious because the water is greatly
evapotranspirated in arid area. These problems become more and more
serious and are in an urgent need to be solved.
[0004] Owing to the naturally decomposed feature of paper products,
after the agricultural purpose is achieved, the paper products will
be automatically returned to the nature and become organic
materials in soil, thereby eliminating the drawbacks of recycling
the discard or causing environmental pollution. Hence, to research
and develop paper products to replace these plastic weed-proof
materials are a foresighted object in the considerations of
economical effect and environmental protection.
[0005] The papermaking material typically comes from the natural
organic wood fibers, which are also excellent carriers for
microorganisms. Therefore, if the functional components can be
added and adjusted in the papermaking material during the
manufacturing process of making the paper product, it can be
sufficiently applied in agriculture and natural environment for
solving the problems described above. However, the waste liquid is
discharged from factory in the traditional chemical paper-making
process. It also results in environmental pollution. Nowadays,
people in the whole world pay full attention to environmental
protection. The managers of paper-making industry is obligated to
spend money for improving the environmental quality. The production
costs are therefore raised. Those problems really strike against
the paper-making industry.
[0006] Accordingly, it is known that how to develop a method for
providing paper material with multiple functions has become a major
problem waited to be solved. Thus, the invention has the utility
for the agricultural industry.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is therefore an object of the present invention to
provide a fiber mulching mat and the production method thereof for
being applied in agricultural planting and cultivating to solve the
problems resulted from weed control, paper-making process, manpower
costs, water and soil loss on the mountainside land,
desertification and dust storm, thereby the agricultural producing
is possibly becoming a permanent industry.
[0008] It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid
fiber mulching mat of a non-woody fiber and the production method
thereof. The present invention utilizes a non-woody fiber plant
which is decomposed by a microorganism and cooked with the cooking
liquid of 1% (w/v) CaO for preparing a fiber pulp, to produce a
liquid and a solid fiber mulching mat. The present invention not
only is contributive to the recycling of a non-woody fiber plant
but also has the advantage of not causing any environmental
pollution thereby the agricultural producing is possibly becoming a
permanent industry.
[0009] In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a
production method of a liquid fiber mulching mat for a non-woody
fiber is provided. The method includes steps of providing a biopulp
of a non-woody fiber plant, a polymer and a water, mixing the
biopulp, the polymer and the water well for preparing a liquid
fiber pulp of the non-woody fiber plant, and applying the liquid
fiber pulp of the non-woody fiber plant on a surface of an article
for forming the liquid fiber mulching mat.
[0010] Preferably, the biopulp is provided by steps of providing a
culture solution with a non-woody fiber plant therein, adding a
suspension of a microorganism into the culture solution,
fermentatively culturing the culture solution for preparing a pulp
solution, boiling the pulp solution, pulping the pulp solution, and
screening the pulp solution for isolating the biopulp from the pulp
solution.
[0011] Preferably, the polymer is added into the biopulp at a
concentration of 2500 ppm.
[0012] Preferably, the polymer is one selected from a group
consisting of an alginic acid, an alginic salt, a polyelectrolyte,
a corn wheat bran and a starch.
[0013] Preferably, the corn wheat bran has a concentration ranged
from 0.5 to 1.0% (w/v).
[0014] Preferably, water is added into the biopulp by a volume of
2.about.10 times of the biopulp.
[0015] Preferably, the production method further includes a step of
adding a seed for grass vegetation into the liquid fiber pulp.
[0016] Preferably, the seed for grass vegetation is one selected
from a group consisting of a Paspalum notatum Flugge seed, a
Digitaria decumbens Stent seed, a Brachiaria mutica (Forsk.) Stapf
seed, a Cynodon dactylon seed and a Stenotaphrum secvndatum (walt)
kvntze.
[0017] Preferably, the article is a soil.
[0018] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention,
a production method of a liquid fiber mulching mat is provided. The
method includes steps of providing a biopulp of a fiber plant, a
polymer and a water, mixing the biopulp, the polymer and the water
well for preparing a liquid fiber pulp of the fiber plant and
applying the liquid fiber pulp of the fiber plant on a surface of
an article for forming the liquid fiber mulching mat.
[0019] Preferably, the fiber plant is a non-woody fiber plant.
[0020] Preferably, the polymer is added into the biopulp at a
concentration of 2500 ppm
[0021] Preferably, the polymer is one selected from a group
consisting of an alginic acid, an alginic salt, a polyelectrolyte,
a corn wheat bran and a starch.
[0022] Preferably, the corn wheat bran has a concentration ranged
from 0.5 to 1.0% (w/v).
[0023] Preferably, the water is added into the biopulp by a volume
of 2 to 10 times of the biopulp.
[0024] Preferably, the production method further includes a step of
adding a seed for grass vegetation into the liquid fiber pulp.
[0025] Preferably, the seed for grass vegetation is one selected
from a group consisting of a Paspalum notatum Flugge seed, a
Digitaria decumbens Stent seed, a Brachiaria mutica (Forsk.) Stapf
seed, a Cynodon dactylon seed and a Stenotaphrum secvndatum (walt)
kvntze.
[0026] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention,
a liquid fiber mulching mat of a non-woody fiber is provided. The
liquid fiber mulching mat includes a liquid fiber pulp, including a
biopulp of a non-woody fiber plant, a polymer and a water, wherein
the liquid fiber pulp is well mixed to be applied on a surface of
an article so as to form the liquid fiber mulching mat.
[0027] Preferably, the polymer is one selected from a group
consisting of an alginic acid, an alginic salt, a polyelectrolyte,
a corn wheat bran and a starch.
[0028] Preferably, the liquid fiber pulp further includes a seed
for grass vegetation.
[0029] In accordance with another aspect of the present invention,
a production method of a solid fiber mulching mat for a non-woody
fiber. The method includes steps of providing a biopulp of a
non-woody fiber plant, a polymer and a water, mixing the biopulp,
the polymer and water well for preparing a liquid fiber pulp of the
non-woody fiber plant, spreading the liquid fiber pulp of the
non-woody fiber plant, extruding and dehydrating the liquid fiber
pulp, and drying the liquid fiber pulp so as to form the solid
fiber mulching mat.
[0030] Preferably, the polymer is added into the biopulp at a
concentration of 2500 ppm.
[0031] Preferably, the polymer is one selected from a group
consisting of an alginic acid, an alginic salt, a polyelectrolyte,
a corn wheat bran and a starch.
[0032] Preferably, the corn wheat bran has a concentration ranged
from 0.5 to 1.0% (w/v).
[0033] The above objects and advantages of the present invention
will become more readily apparent to those ordinarily skilled in
the art after reviewing the following detailed descriptions and
accompanying drawings, in which:
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0034] FIG. 1 shows the ability of various strains to decompose the
rice straw of Japonica rice; and
[0035] FIG. 2 is a profile of according to a preferred embodiment
of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
[0036] The present invention will now be described more
specifically with reference to the following embodiments. The
present invention relates to a fiber mulching mat and the
production method thereof, and more particularly, to a fiber
mulching mat of a non-woody fiber and the production method
thereof. The detailed steps of the production method are described
as follows.
[0037] 1. The steps for producing a biopulp fiber:
[0038] (1) The rice straws are cut into small fragments having the
length of 2-3 cm.
[0039] The waste rice straws of an Indica rice (Oryza sativa L.
subsp. indica) and Japonica rice are provided. The variety of the
Indica rice is Taichung Sheng No. 10 and that of the Japonica rice
is Tai Keng No. 9. The rice straws are sun-dried, cut into small
segments of 2-3 cm length.
[0040] (2) The selection of bacterial strains having decomposition
ability:
[0041] The microorganism strains are obtained by the following
method according to a preferred embodiment. First, 10 g of the rice
straws and 10 g of livestock excrements are prepared and added into
90 ml of sterile water containing agar (0.1%, w/v). The materials
are well mixed and a serious dilution is made. Then, 0.1 ml of
10.sup.3.times. and 10.sup.4.times. diluted solution are uniformly
spread on Nutrient Agar plate, pH 8 (NA, purchased Nutrient Agar
from Difco company) and Potato Dextrose Agar plate, pH 8 (PDA,
purchased Potato Dextrose Agar from Difco company) respectively.
Next, the plates are placed in the incubators under 30.degree. C.
and 50.degree. C. for 24 hours and 48 hours respectively. Single
colonies grown on plates are picked and isolated for obtaining the
microorganism strains. The number of microorganisms isolated from
the rice straws and the livestock excrements having the
decomposition ability is more than 200 strains. Finally, the
microorganisms are identified by the Gram stain. It is found that
most of the microorganisms are Gram-positive bacteria.
[0042] The isolated microorganisms are further selected by the
following steps for selecting the microorganism strains having the
decomposition ability for rice straws. (a) 19 strains of the
isolated strains, named PMBP-m1, PMBP-m2, PMBP-m3, PMBP-m4,
PMBP-m5, PMBP-m6, PMBP-m7, PMBP-O1, PMBP-O2, PMBP-O3, PMBP-O4,
PMBP-e1, PMBP-e2, PMBP-e3, PMBP-e4, PMBP-H1, PMBP-H2, PMBP-H3 and
PMBP-H4 (as shown in Table 1), are divided into 9 strains groups,
including PMBP-I, PMBP-II, PMBP-III, PMBP-IV, PMBP-V, PMBP-VI,
PMBP-O, PMBP-E and PMBP-H. Please refer to Table 1, which shows the
bacterial strains of different strain groups and the
characteristics thereof. (b) The strains groups are cultured with
NA plates respectively and then a suspension of microorganism is
prepared at the concentration of 10.sup.8 cfu/ml. (c) 100 ml of
solution containing rice straws of Japonica rice (5%, w/v) is
prepared. (d) 1 ml of the microorganism suspension is added into
the sterile solution prepared in step (c) and then cultured under
50.degree. C. and 200 rpm shaking for a week. Each strain is set up
in duplicate. (f) The decomposition percentage of rice straws is
calculated.
[0043] (3) The LBY (Lactose Beef extract Yeast extract) culture
media containing 10.sup.6 cfu/ml PMBPIII bacterium strains
[including Bacillus licheniformis (PMBP-m5), B. subtilis (PMBP-m6)
and B. amyloloquefaciens (PMBP-m7) respectively] are provided. The
formula of the LBY medium consists of 0.25% (w/v) lactose, 0.2%
(w/v) beef extract and 0.05% (w/v) Yeast extract.
1 TABLE 1 Characteristics Isolate Temp. 50.degree. C. pH8 Gram
stain (+/-) PMBP-m1 ++ + + PMBP-m2 ++ + + PMBP-m3 ++ + + PMBP-m4 ++
+ + PMBP-m5 ++ + + PMBP-m6 ++ + + PMBP-m7 ++ + + PMBP-O1 ++ + +
PMBP-O2 ++ + + PMBP-O3 ++ + + PMBP-O4 ++ + + PMBP-e1 ++ + + PMBP-e2
++ + + PMBP-e3 ++ + + PMBP-e4 ++ + + PMBP-H1 ++ + + PMBP-H2 ++ + +
PMBP-H3 ++ + + PMBP-H4 ++ + +
[0044] Please refer to FIG. 1, which shows the ability of various
strains to decompose the rice straw of Japonica Rice. The Japonica
rice straws treated with shaking culturing for a week are
classified, dried and weighted. The decomposition percentage of
rice straws treated with different microorganisms is calculated by
the following formula. 1 Decomposition % = ( Total dry weight of
fermentative rice straws - Dry weight of intact rice straws ) (
Total dry weight of fermentative rice straws ) .times. 100
[0045] As shown in FIG. 1, the PMBIII strain group has the best
decomposition ability than the others. The decomposition percentage
of rice straws is about 10.38%. The PMBIII consists of Bacillus
licheniformis (PMBP-m5), B. subtilis (PMBP-m6) and B.
amyloloquefaciens (PMBP-m7).
[0046] (4) The rice straws are added into the LBY medium containing
10.sup.6 cfu/ml PMBPIII bacterium strain at a concentration of
0.05% (w/v). All the materials described above are put into a
flask.
[0047] (5) The flask is fermentatively cultured at 50.degree. C.
and shaked at 200 rpm for 4 days.
[0048] (6) After the fermentation culturing, carbon oxide (CaO) is
added into the fermentative culture solution and then the solution
is boiled under 140.degree. C. for 30 min for forming a biopulp
solution.
[0049] (7) The biopulp solution is screened by sieves with 18, 200
and 270 meshes respectively for producing the biopulp fiber
solution.
[0050] 2. The production and utilization of the liquid fiber
mulching mat of waste rice straws are described as follows.
[0051] (1) The production of the liquid fiber pulp:
[0052] The alginic salt (a kind of polymer) is added into the
biopulp fiber solution of waste rice straws at the concentration of
2500 ppm. Water is added into the biopulp fiber solution by the
volume of five times of the biopulp. The biopulp fiber solution,
the alginic salt and water are mixed well for forming a liquid
fiber pulp. The other kinds of polymer can be used, for example,
alginic acid and polyelectrolytes, etc. Also, the corn wheat bran
or starch can be used to replace the polymer at a concentration
ranged from 0.5-1.0% (w/v). Also, the quantity of water added into
the biopulp fiber solution can be a volume of 2 to 10 times of the
biopulp fiber solution.
[0053] (2) The utilization of the liquid fiber mulching mat of
waste rice straws on the mountainside land for water and soil
conservation.
[0054] The Para grass seeds for grass vegetation are added into the
liquid fiber pulp. The seeds for grass vegetation can be other
species such as the Bahiagrass [Paspalum notatum Flugge], the
Pangola grass [Digitaria decumbens Stent], the Para grass
[Brachiaria mutica (Forsk.) Stapf], Bermuda grass [Cynodon
dactylon] and the Augustine grass [Stenotaphrum secvndatum (walt)
kvntze.], etc. The seeds are mixed with the liquid fiber pulp well
to form a well-mixed liquid fiber pulp containing the seeds for
grass vegetation. And then the mixed liquid fiber pulp containing
the seeds for grass vegetation is sprayed on the soil surface of
the mountainside land. Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a soil
profile according to the preferred embodiment of the present
invention. The soil profile shown in FIG. 2 includes the liquid
mulching mat 11, the topsoil 13 and the rock stratum 14, wherein
the seeds 12 for grass vegetation are well distributed in the
liquid mulching mat 11. One to two weeks later, the fiber mulching
mat will be formed on the soil surface. If the liquid fiber pulp
containing the seeds for grass vegetation is used in mountainside
land, the seeds will germinate after a period of time. This will be
helpful to the maintenance of the trees and vegetative cover for
preventing soil collapse. So, the water and soil conservation is
achieved.
[0055] (3) The utilization of the liquid fiber mulching mat of
waste rice straws in the arid area for preventing desertification
and dust storm:
[0056] The starch powder is added into the biopulp fiber solution
of waste rice straws at the concentration of 0.6% (w/v) according
to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Water is added
into the biopulp fiber solution by the volume of ten times of the
biopulp fiber solution. The biopulp fiber solution, the alginic
salt and water are mixed well for forming a liquid fiber pulp. And
then the mixed substrate of the liquid fiber mulching mat
containing the seeds for grass vegetation is directly applied on
the soil surface of a desert or a arid area to form a liquid fiber
mulching mat. One or two weeks later, the liquid fiber mulching mat
will dry and the fiber mulching mat will be formed on the soil
surface. By means of the fiber mulching mat, it can decrease the
water evaporation and prevent desertification and dust storm.
[0057] (4) The utilization of the liquid fiber mulching mat of
waste rice straws in the agricultural cultivation for preventing
weeds:
[0058] According to a preferred embodiment of the present
invention, the corn wheat bran is added into the biopulp fiber
solution at a concentration of 0.7% (w/v). The water is added into
the biopulp fiber solution by a volume of 10 times of the biopulp
fiber solution and then the materials are mixed well. The mixed
liquid fiber pulp is sprayed uniformly on the soil surface of a
farm. After one to two weeks the fiber mulching mat is formed on
the soil surface. The weed seeds in the soil do not germinate
because the sunlight is isolated from the soil by the fiber
mulching mat. Therefore, the weed control is achieved. The fiber
mulching mat having the property of air-permeability will not
result in poor water-permeability and air-permeability or influence
the ecological environment of soil microorganisms, root system of
cultivated seedling, and the growth of crops. The fiber mulching
mat is excellent carriers for microorganisms. After achieving the
purpose of agricultural producing, the fiber mulching mat has the
advantage of being decomposable in natural environment easily to be
the organic matters of the soil and does not result in
pollution.
[0059] In the extensive-cultivation area, the crop seeds are widely
seeded. The crop seeds can be mixed with the liquid fiber pulp. And
then the liquid fiber pulp containing crop seeds is applied on the
farm surface. Therefore, the seeding and the weed prevention are
accomplished at the same time. This not only mitigates the
painstaking of the farmer but also increases the work efficiency.
Nowadays, the production costs of agriculture increase with time.
The present invention provides a way to decrease the production
costs.
[0060] The liquid fiber mulching mat of waste rice straws can be
applied to the large area field, the farm site, the home garden,
the golf course, the three-dimensional cultivating box containing
organic soil and medium, the indoor planting system with
light-control and temperature-control apparatus, and the organic
farming for planting various crops according to a preferred
embodiment. The liquid fiber mulching mat is directly sprayed on
the soil surface after a polymer being added into the biopulp fiber
solution. The work of spraying the liquid fiber mulching mat on a
large field can be proceeded by using a motorised sprayer. This is
not only rapid but also convenient to apply the liquid fiber pulp
in a large area. If the liquid fiber pulp is applied in a small
area, such as a small farm and garden, a spraying apparatus for
spraying insecticide or a household sprayer can be used to spray
the liquid fiber pulp on the soil surface for forming the liquid
fiber mulching mat. Thus, the liquid fiber mulching mat of waste
straws of the present invention is a convenient and effective
invention.
[0061] (5) The production and utilization of the solid fiber
mulching mat of waste rice straws in the agricultural cultivation
for preventing weeds:
[0062] The biopulp fiber solution of waste rice straws can be used
to produce a solid fiber mulching mat by a paper producing process.
The steps of producing a solid fiber mulching mat are described as
follows. First, the biopulp fiber solution of waste rice straws is
spread to form a thin layer. Second, the spread thin-layer fiber
pulp is extruded and dehydrated. Third, a drying process is
proceeded for forming the solid mulching mat. The solid fiber
mulching mat of waste rice straws can be rolled up, and cut into a
specific shape in use. The solid fiber mulching mats of waste rice
straws can be used in a rice paddy. After soil preparation of the
paddy field, the steps are as follows. (1) The solid fiber mulching
mat of waste rice straws is cut into a square of 1.5 m.times.1.5 m.
(2) The solid fiber mulching mat of waste rice straws is cut by
razor blade to form cultivation holes. (3) The solid fiber mulching
mat of waste rice straws is evenly paved on the soil and the rice
seedlings are transplanted in the cultivation holes. The paving of
the paper mat can be performed manually or by machine, but it is to
be noted that the field water should be lessened as little as
possible to render the junction between the soil and solid fiber
mulching mat of waste rice straws hermetic so as to prevent the
formation of gaps and thus the solid fiber mulching mat of waste
rice straws will not be easily turned up or worn out. As using the
solid fiber mulching mat of waste rice straws, it should be noted
that the surface of soil have to be kept even in order to avoid
forming a hollow beneath the solid fiber mulching mat of waste rice
straws or forming bubbles, which might ruin the solid fiber
mulching mat of waste rice straws. It is easy to achieve the
prevention of weeds while transplanting the seedlings in the
cultivation holes having proper planting distance therebetween.
Using a solid fiber mulching mat of waste rice straws in a paddy
field can isolate the surface of the soil from being exposed
directly under the sunshine, thereby the growth of weed germinating
is restrained and the purpose of weed prevention is achieved.
Because the solid fiber mulching mat of waste rice straws is easy
to be naturally decomposed in natural environment, the mat is
completely decomposed into tiny fiber to be mixed with the soil and
no more paper pieces are suspended in the field while harvesting.
Moreover, the following agricultural activity will not be affected
and the secondary pollution will not occur.
[0063] As described above, the purposes of the present invention
can be generalized as follows: (1) In agricultural cultivation, the
fiber mulching mat can be used to prevent the weeds. (2) In
mountainside land, the fiber mulching mat can be used to aid the
maintenance of the trees and vegetative cover for preventing soil
collapse. (3) In arid area, the fiber mulching mat can be used to
decrease water evaporation and prevent desertification and dust
storm.
[0064] While the invention has been described in terms of what is
presently considered to be the most practical and preferred
embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention needs not be
limited to the disclosed embodiment. On the contrary, it is
intended to cover various modifications and similar arrangements
included within the spirit and scope of the appended claims which
are to be accorded with the broadest interpretation so as to
encompass all such modifications and similar structures.
* * * * *