Cutting tool and a method for plants grafting

Abstract

Grafting tools for use in agriculture, nurseries, or horticulture, that ensure the sterile cutting of the plant during grafting operations and that prevent the spreading of diseases through the blade, are described.

Claims

1. A cutting tool for grafting plants, comprising: a substantially rectangular body including a rear surface being substantially flat, the body further including a front surface having a medial flat portion tapering laterally towards the rear surface at a first lateral side to provide a first major lateral cutting edge, the medial flat portion tapering laterally towards the rear surface at a second lateral side to provide a second major lateral cutting edge opposite the first major lateral cutting edge, and the medial flat portion tapering towards the rear surface at a front side to provide a minor cutting edge between the first major lateral cutting edge and the second major lateral cutting edge; and an elongated rod having a first side with an arcuate shape and a second side being substantially flat, the rod further having a first rod end and a second rod end positioned at a rear side of the medial flat portion being opposite the front side of the medial flat portion and between the first major lateral cutting edge and the second major lateral cutting edge, wherein a recess is formed at a back side of the body being opposite to the front side of the body and between the first major lateral cutting edge and the second major lateral cutting edge, the recess being configured to provide a removable connection between the body and the second rod end, and wherein the second side of the rod is flush with the rear surface of the body.

2. The cutting tool according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and second major lateral cutting edges is in the form of a smooth, undulated or jagged cutting edge, and the minor cutting edge is in the form of a jagged cutting edge.

3. The cutting tool according to claim 1, wherein the second rod end is removably connected to the body by snap-fit at the back side of the body.

4. A method for grafting plants, comprising: providing the cutting tool of claim 1; cutting portions of plants using one of the first major lateral cutting edge, the second major lateral cutting edge or the minor cutting edge; and removing the rod from the body.

5. The method according to claim 4, further including placing the rod so as to support a grafted plant formed from the portions of plants.

6. The method according to claim 4, wherein the cutting portions of plants is conducted by cutting a scion and a rootstock to be joined to form the grafted plant using one or more of the first major lateral cutting edge, the second major lateral cutting edge and the minor cutting edge.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) The characteristics and the advantages of the tool according to the present invention shall become clearer from the following description of an embodiment thereof, given as an example and not for limiting purposes, with reference to the attached drawings in which:

(2) FIGS. 1a and 1b schematically show the tool of the invention, in a perspective view from above and from below, respectively.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

(3) With reference to the above said FIGURE, the present invention lies in the particular configuration of the present tool 1, in which a body 2 is removably connected to a substantially cylindrical rod 3, through its end 31, the other end 32 of the rod being free.

(4) At least a portion 21 of the edge of the body 2 is a cutting portion, or it is in any case provided with a blade that is suitable for cutting plants for grafting them. Such a cutting edge can be smooth, undulated or jagged. Preferably, according to the invention, two distinct cutting portions of the edge of the body 2 are present, one intended for cutting the scion and the other the rootstock. According to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, illustrated in FIGS. 1a and 1b, the body 2 has a substantially rectangular flat shape, with the two major lateral edges in the form of smooth cutting edge respectively for cutting the scion and the rootstock to be grafted to one another so as to create the new grafted plant; again with reference to the FIGURES the minor edge, opposite to the rod, can be in the form of a jagged cutting edge.

(5) According to a particular embodiment of the invention, the end 31 of the rod 3 is connected to the body 2 with which it forms a single body in plastic material that is obtained by extrusion, and the removable connection is achieved by means of a pre-breaking cut. This particular embodiment allows the worker to carry out the separation between the body with the cutting edges and the rod in an extremely simple and quick manner. As illustrated in FIG. 1b, the body 2 has a rear surface 22 that is substantially flat, whereas the front surface has at least a bevelled edge so as to form the cutting edge for cutting the plant to be grafted.

(6) Alternative embodiments of the invention, like for example the one represented in FIGS. 1a and 1b, can on the other hand foresee the rod 3 being connected to the body 2 through snap-fitting of the rod in an appropriate housing 4 obtained in the body 2 in a central position on the non-cutting edge, so that the rod can be easily gripped by the worker who must carry out the grafting leaving the cutting edges free on the body 2 for cutting the plant. Once the two portions of the plant have been cut and grafted, the rod 3 is removed from the housing 4 or they are in any case separated from the body 2 with the cutting edges, which is thrown away. The rod 3, thus separated from the body 2, is inserted in the ground adjacent to the plant that has just been grafted, thus acting as a signal for the worker that the grafting procedure has finished. The rod 3 can moreover be placed so as to also carry out a support stake function for the grafted plant during the following steps of rooting and cultivation in a vase before it is transferred for the final phase of cultivation in the field.

(7) It is evident that, thanks to the present grafting procedure with the tool described above, plants that have already been grafted but do not have a rod must be eliminated from the cultivation since it is highly probable that they have been grafted with a blade that has already been used for another plant. On the other hand, plants that have already been grafted and have a rod inserted in the adjacent ground will offer greater guarantee of having been cut with a blade that was not previously used.

(8) The present invention thus provides a solution that is effective for the technical problems outlined above, related to the usual grafting procedure with conventional tools, by providing a tool that is technically very simple to use and to make, also having low costs, which makes it possible to actuate a grafting procedure that is extremely safer than those carried out today with known tools, preventing in particular diseases from being spread from one plant to another.

(9) The tool according to the invention can be made in different materials as long as they are suitable for the use described above, and in particular it is made in extrudable plastic material. In the present tool there can be a variety of shapes of the body 2 provided with cutting edges so long as it is suitable for the use as a blade for cutting plants, whereas the rod 3 has an elongated shape, for example substantially cylindrical, suitable for being gripped by a worker while cutting with the body having cutting edges, and for its subsequent use as a tutor for the grafted plant.

(10) The present invention has been described so far with reference to its preferred embodiments. It should be understood that there can be other embodiments that belong to the same inventive core, all covered in the scope of protection of the following claims.