Assembly line grow pods, watering stations, and seeder components that include robotic applicators are disclosed. An assembly line grow pod includes a tray held by a cart supported on a track. The tray includes a plurality of sections. The assembly line grow pod further includes a watering component providing fluid and a robotic applicator including an articulating robot arm having one or more outlets that selectively dispense the fluid therefrom. The articulating robot arm is positioned to align the one or more outlets with a corresponding one or more of the plurality of sections such that the fluid is dispensable into each of the plurality of sections independently.

A belt conveyor system for the transporting of plant containers over a cultivation floor including an endless belt on which the plant containers are adapted to be placed, a mobile unit, provided with a buffer which is adapted to buffer the endless belt, and a drive unit to place the endless belt in operation, a reversal device provided with a reversal member, which reversal device is adapted to be placed on the field of the cultivation floor at a distance from the mobile unit; and a temporarily arranged belt guide which is adapted to be placed between the mobile unit and the reversal device on the field of the cultivation floor; wherein the reversal device turns the belt, and wherein the belt runs between the mobile unit and the reversal device across the belt guide.

A planting system is provided for use with a vertical hydroponic tower. The planting system includes a payload transport system and a planter. The payload transport system, which is configured to be positioned at a location adjacent to the hydroponic tower, includes a base and a lift tower, the lift tower including a motorized lift system configured to move the planter upward and downward. The planter is configured to insert plant containers containing seedlings into the hydroponic tower as the motorized payload lift system moves the planter upwards along the face of the tower.

A method for operating a greenhouse system with block storage, at least one block storage container and at least one vehicle. Each block storage container has a carrier frame and a plant receptacle, the plant receptacle being detachably engaged with the carrier frame, the block storage having at least one first zone and one second zone, and at least one first carrier frame and at least one second carrier frame, the plant receptacle in the first zone being detachably engaged with the first carrier frame; and the plant receptacle being subsequently transferred into the second zone, the plant receptacle being transferred from the first carrier frame to the second carrier frame as part of the transferal from the first zone into the second zone, the plant receptacle in the second zone being detachably engaged with the second carrier frame.

A use of an application mode of Trichoderma harzianum (T. harzianum) in growth and induced resistance of Nicotiana tabacum (N. tabacum) includes the following specific operation steps: S1. experimental materials: preparation of test media and bacterial solutions; S2. experimental treatments: S2.1 control treatment; S2.2 seed soaking treatment; S2.3 root irrigation treatment; and S2.4 foliar inoculation treatment; S3. test determination indexes and methods: S3.1 determination of biological traits; S3.2 determination of physiological and biochemical indexes; and S3.3 determination of disease resistance and induced resistance indexes; and S4. data processing: subjecting data to a difference significance test. Different application modes of T. harzianum all can promote the growth of N. tabacum plants and reduce the occurrence of tobacco black shank (TBS), among which a root irrigation treatment at a transplanting stage leads to an optimal effect.

A garden seed planter that displays a color for identifying the type of garden product that will be produced by a plant from a seed contained in a capsule of the garden seed planter. In a preferred lollipop form embodiment at least a portion of the garden seed planter capsule has a colored coating that is substantially the same color as the garden product produced by the plant to be grown from the seed, and there is a planter stake attached to the seed capsule having a portion that also displays substantially the same color as the garden product.

An object of the present invention is to propose cultivation equipment that can curb complication and upsizing of the equipment even when the number of cultivation stages is increased. Cultivation equipment includes a storage shelf (1) and a plurality of cultivation tanks (3) that are stored in the storage shelf (1) and hold plants (P1) and a cultivation liquid (L1). The cultivation equipment further includes a discharge device (50) and a supply device (51). The discharge device (50) is movable among a plurality of cultivation tanks (3), and discharges the cultivation liquid (L1) from each of the plurality of cultivation tanks (3). The supply device (51) is movable among the plurality of cultivation tanks (3), and supplies the cultivation liquid (L1) to each of the plurality of cultivation tanks (3).

A sowing unit is provided including water-absorbing material, an enclosure and a seed. The water-absorbing material is vermiculite, which is a hygroscopic negatively-charged material capable of binding a positively charged nutrient ion selected from NH4+, L-arginine, L-lysine and L-histidine. Further, there is least one hole in the water-absorbing material arranged to hold one or more seeds.

The invention presents technology for elevated cultivation comprising an automatic paver and man-machine collaboration matrix control method in the field of agricultural equipment. The substrate auto-paver for the table-top culture machine is mainly composed of a moving car, a matrix and a matrix-packing mechanism, the substrate material in the cabinet, an evenly paving mechanism that realizes double-sided blanking, and a remote control. The manual push-pull arm is employed to ensure that the return wheel touches the ground, using the matrix agencies to van automatically. The remote control is used to move the car into the elevated inter-row cultivation bed, and then, the double-sided blanking and evenly paving mechanism is automatically activated until the track wheel falls into the slot on the skeleton. By means of the bending type of chain transmission mechanism, the soilless culture substrates are automatically conveyed owing to the bilateral symmetry of blanking trough. A moving trolley drives the stirring device along the elevated bed. Thus, an evenly mixed matrix is obtained for cultivation in the tank. A rubber band, which is fixed on the back board of the stirring device, makes the matrix flat and level. The challenges of substrate packing, transportation, and mobile paving are being solved through collaboration between many institutions and by means of some artificial automatic intervention, which can help realize good adaptability and convenient handling.

Provided are methods of inserting seedlings into soil plugs. The method includes: a) automatically identifying a target seedling located in a pick-up area using seedling detection apparatus; b) pick-up up the target seedling with an automated seedling handling apparatus; c) transporting the target seedling to an insertion area; d) providing a first soil plug in the insertion area to receive the target seedling, the first soil plug having a first plug end, a second plug end longitudinally spaced apart from the first plug end and a longitudinal slit extending from the first plug end toward the second plug end; e) spreading the slit in the first soil plug; f) inserting a root portion of the seedling into the slit while a stem portion of the seedling is positioned outside the first soil plug; and g) stripping the target seedling from the handling apparatus whereby the seedling remains received within the slit in the first soil plug.

Also provided are apparatuses and systems for inserting seedlings into soil plugs.