GB2365739A

GB2365739A - Plant protector

Info

Publication number: GB2365739A
Application number: GB0020321A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter J Eyre
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2000-08-17
Filing date: 2000-08-17
Publication date: 2002-02-27
Also published as: GB0020321D0

Abstract

The plant protector comprises an elongate structure which is at least partially transparent. The plant protector may be provided with a transparent strip 12 so that a plant, such as a sapling, can be observed through the body of the protector. The plant protector may comprise a grid or mesh of material lined by a transparent layer.

Description

<Desc/Clms Page number 1> PLANT PROTECTOR The present invention relates to a plant protector. Such a protector is placed around a young plant, typically a tree, to protect it from browsing animals such as rabbits and deer. Trees can be valuable when grown for timber. A fully grown hardwood tree may be worth several thousand pounds. Consequently such trees are grown commercially. Young trees are vulnerable to damage, or death, resulting from being eaten by animals. Rabbits, for example, will strip the bark in a ring around the base of a tree thereby causing trees to die. Deer will do the same at a height of a metre or so from the base of the tree. It is known to protect trees from such attack by grazing animals by encircling the young tree in a elongate plastic tube or a spirally wound plastic element encircling the tree in order to dissuade and/or prevent animals from grazing on the tree. The cylindrical protective sleeve, which may have a length between I - 2 metres, is placed over a young sapling completely encircling the tree and is then secured to a stake in order to hold it in position. The tree can then grow inside the cylindrical space defined by the protective device, typically taking two years or so to grow out above the upper surface of the device. Commercial foresters have to regularly inspect the saplings in order to assess their health. This has hitherto necessitated loosening the ties holding the protective device to the stake adjacent each sapling in order that the device can be lifted to enable the tree to be inspected. This apparently trivial task is repetitive and labour intensive, especially when it is borne in mind that commercial estates may plant 20,000 trees per year. According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a plant protector comprising an elongate structure which, in use, encloses a plant, said elongate structure being wholly or partially transparent.

It is thus possible to provide a plant protector wherein the sapling or other plant enclosed therein can be visually inspected without having to release the plant protector from its restraint or move it with respect to the plant.

Preferably the protector comprises a substantially cylindrical translucent body having at least one transparent portion formed therein. Thus the body of the plant protector may be formed of a first material, for example polypropylene, selected on the basis of its durability or cost, whereas the inspection region can be formed of a second material selected predominantly for its optical properties. Additionally or alternatively inspection windows may be formed in the plant protector. Preferably the interior surface of a plant protector is smooth, has no discontinuities therein, or has no holes or apertures formed therein. This is important since the growing sapling could engage with any aperture or discontinuity formed in the inner surface and consequently lift the plant protector upwardly from the ground as the plant grows. This would then enable browsing animals to gain access to the bark of the sapling thereby giving rise to the possibility that the bark would be stripped off and the sapling killed. Where windows or other recesses are cut or punched through the body of the plant protector, these may be closed by a relatively thin plastics sheet adhered to or otherwise attached to the inner surface of the plant protector. Alternatively, transparent inserts may be inserted into the windows/apertures and held therein by adhesive or other suitable fastening means. As a further alternative the body of the protective element may be formed as a grating or sieve providing structural support for a substantially transparent material attached to the inner surface of the grating. Thus a structural plastic may be used to impart rigidity and strength into the plant protector whilst a weaker, or thinner plastic or other material serves to provide a substantially smooth surface within the interior of the plant protector such that the plant cannot catch on the structure of the body of the protector and lift it away from the ground as the plant grows. It is thus possible to provide an inexpensive plant protector in order to provide protection for a plant, such as a sapling, whilst enabling the health of the plant to be visually inspected without having to move or remove the protector.

The present invention will further be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 schematically illustrates the position of a plant protector around a sapling; and Figure 2 schematically illustrates a plant protector constituting an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 1, a plant protector 1, is placed over and around a young plant 2 such that access to the side of the plant is inhibited to grazing animals. Thus plant protector 1 is secured to a stake 3 via suitable ties, such as cable ties 4. Prior art plant protectors 1 have been translucent, thereby preventing the condition of the plant from being inspected from outside of the protector. Thus, forestry staff have had to loosen the ties 4 and lift the protector 1 from over the plant 2 in order to ascertain its health. Figure 2 schematically illustrates a plant protector constituting an embodiment of the present invention. The protector comprises an elongate tube 10 formed of a translucent body 11 and having a transparent strip 12. The translucent body 11 defines, in use, a substantially "C" shaped member. The transparent material 12 extends within the mouth of the "C" the body 11 may typically be formed of polypropylene, polyethylene, or PVC as these materials are inexpensive, easy to work with and robust. The transparent portion 12 is formed from another plastic selected for its optical properties. In order to manufacture the plant protector, a first die is used to extrude the generally C shaped body, whereas a second die is used to extrude the clear plastic 12. The dies are placed in close proximity such that the plastic of the body 11 and the clear plastic 12 can be brought into contact with each other while they are both at melt temperature and pressure in order that the plastics fuse to form a unitary structure. This ensures that there are no significant discontinuities on the internal surface of the plant protector, thereby preventing plants from lifting it off by virtue of their growth.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A plant protector comprising an elongate structure for enclosing a plant, said elongate structure being wholly or partially transparent.
2. A plant protector as claimed in claim 1, in which the plant protector, in use, is placed with it's axis substantially vertical.
3. A plant protector as claimed in claim 1 or 2, 1 which the plant protector has an elongate transparent region.
4. A plant protector as claimed in claim 3, in which the elongate transparent region is formed within an opaque or translucent body.
5. A plant protector as claimed in claim 1, in which inspection apertures are formed in the plant protector and those apertures are closed by a transparent material in such a way as to maintain a substantially smooth inner surface.
6. A plant protector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the protector comprises a grid or mesh of material lined by a transparent layer.
7. A method of forming a plant protector comprising the steps of adhering a elongate transparent element to a further elongate element, the elements being shaped such that.they co-operate to define an enclosed elongate region.
8. A method as claimed in claim 7, in which a substantially "C" shaped element is extruded, an elongate transparent element is extruded and the elements are brought together at melt temperature to band them together.
9. A plant protector substantially as described herein with reference to Figure 2 of the accompanying drawings.