In the CIS countries, the majority of forestry enterprises use LPL-5.5 for planting seedlings of various trees manually on an industrial scale in territories where it is not possible to use machinery. The abbreviation is deciphered as a forest shovel weighing 5.5 kg. But this name is rare, the “Kolesov sword” is much more common. Currently, the use of forest shovels is the most convenient and fastest manual method of forest planting.
About the invention process
Forest shovel was invented in 1883 by Alexander Andreevich Kolesov. He was the director of the Kharkov Agricultural College. A forest nursery was founded at the school, and for the convenience of planting it with young trees, Kolesov invented LPL-5.5. His attempts to find a simple and convenient tool for planting pine seedlings more than once ended in failure. The first shovel (Kolesov’s sword) weighed only about 2 kg, was half the size of the LPL-5.5, and its service life lasted only a year.
And the life of today's version of the Kolesov sword is about a dozen years. So the agronomist,
by trial and error, having tried and redone dozens of shovels for planting, still found the only option of shape, weight and size, which could facilitate and accelerate the process of planting pine seedlings.
Description of forest shovel
As mentioned above, Kolesov’s sword was created for the convenience of planting forests. Therefore, looking at the shape of the shovel, we can definitely say that the narrow bayonet below (from 3 to 7 cm) and extended upward (up to 38 cm) is necessary for better dissection of the soil. A rod with a height of about 60 cm with an increasing diameter of 2.5 to 13 cm is attached to such a plate. The bayonet itself also grows thicker from bottom to top, and the thickness of the cross section of the blade is 2.5 cm. The lower edge of the bayonet blade is shifted forward relative to the part where a metal rod is attached. The main distinguishing feature is the bayonet, which is a wedge-shaped plate about 40 cm long. At the top of the rod, a hollow sleeve sits in which a transverse handle 35-40 cm long is placed.
Landing under the sword of Kolesov
Consider process technology. Landing under the sword of Kolesov seedlings must be produced with the participation of two people.
The one who manages the shovel is called a swordsman (comes from the name of the shovel), and the one who directly lowers the seedlings of trees into the hole is a planter. Most often, a man is a swordsman, since the forest shovel is quite heavy, and the process of making a hole is not easy, but a woman becomes a plantter, respectively.
So, the work begins with the fact that the swordsman drives a shovel into the ground to the full height of the bayonet. Then he swings the sword back and forth, thus forming a hole for the seedling, and very carefully removes a shovel from the ground, so as not to damage the prepared hole. The next stage of planting is the plumber immersing the root of the finished seedling in the hole. The planter needs to ensure that the root is by no means twisted, entangled or bent in the pit. The seedling should be located so that the neck of the root is at the top of the hole. The planter, having arranged the tree, throws several handfuls of soil into the hole and then holds the seedling. Meanwhile, the swordsman, at a distance of up to 10 cm from the hole, again immerses Kolesov’s sword in the ground and, slightly pulling the handle of the shovel on himself, compacts the bottom of the hole, thus fixing the lower part of the root. And to fix the upper part - pushes the handle away from you.
Then the sword is removed, and the hole is trampled underfoot. Thus, the root is tightly clamped by the soil and faster accepted into growth.
Occupational safety when working with a forest shovel
The first thing workers should know is that seedlings are planted only in pairs. Before starting work, each of the participants should familiarize themselves with the technological map. The distance between the links (pairs of workers) should be at least 2.5 m. The feet of the worker who holds the Kolesov sword should not be in the path of the shovel. If there is an obstacle in the form of a stone or a root on the path of a planting shovel, the place for planting must be shifted. The main rule of labor protection is a careful study of the process.
Make it yourself
To date, the forest planting shovel LPL-5.5 can be purchased at any household equipment store or in an online store with such specialization. But prices, of course, may not be available to everyone. For needleworkers make a Kolesov sword with their own hands not a big problem. The dimensions of the shovel are in many books, but here we give its design on the drawing.
The main thing is to find a suitable plate for the shovel itself and a pipe of a suitable diameter and desired length. Then from the plate it is necessary to form a bayonet and tightly weld the handle from the pipe. With all the materials and the ability to use welding, the manufacture of LPL-5.5 will be very simple and fast. And this will provide an excellent opportunity to save money.