Query: cultivation plants in space

title: Vegetative and reproductive growth of Arabidopsis under microgravity conditions in space
abstract: We have performed a seed to seed experiment in the cell biology experiment facility (CBEF) installed in the Kibo (Japanese Experiment Module) in the International Space Station. The CBEF has a 1 x g compartment on a centrifuge and a microgravity compartment, to investigate the effects of microgravity on the vegetative and reproductive growth of Arabidopsis thaliana (L. Heynh. Seeds germinated irrespective of gravitational conditions after water supply on board. Thereafter, seedlings developed rosette leaves. The time of bolting was slightly earlier under microgravity than under space 1 x g Microgravity enhanced the growth rate of peduncles as compared with space 1 x g or ground control. Plants developed flowers, siliques and seeds, completing their entire life cycle during 62 days cultivation. Although the flowering time was not significantly affected under microgravity, the number of flowers in a bolted plant significantly increased under microgravity as compared with space 1 x g or ground control. Microscopic analysis of reproductive organs revealed that the longitudinal length of anthers was significantly shorter under microgravity when compared with space 1 x g while the length of pistils and filaments was not influenced by the gravitational conditions. Seed mass significantly increased under microgravity when compared with space 1 x g In addition, seeds produced in space were found not to germinate on the ground. These results indicate that microgravity significantly influenced the reproductive development of Arabidopsis plants even though Earth's gravitational environment is not absolutely necessary for them to complete their life cycle.

title: COMPARISON OF DRIP AND SPRINKLER IRRIGATION SYSTEM FOR THE CULTIVATION PLANTS VERTICALLY
abstract: Growing vegetables for own consumption in a household contributed to people living in the city could be more self reliant in food factors. Studies in many countries have shown that urban farming could help bring food security, poverty reduction and promote a healthy mind and body healthy as well. This research study aims to evaluate the approach to drip and sprinkler irrigation of crops that were of cultivated plants vertically and relationship of water usage of both systems to yield per planted area. The vertical area was constructed that the fields were 4 floors in condo form to save space. On each floor cultivation was up to 10 square meters, it was divided into two parts which used different types of watering plants i.e. drip irrigation system and sprinkler irrigation system. Sprinkler irrigation system has been watering using the amount of water as the program. The drip irrigation system reduced the water consumption to 50% The drip irrigation system has major advantages that were watering high efficiency, use less water pressure, high yield, saving water. It provides higher crop yields when compared to the sprinkler irrigation system to the same of planting areas and quantity of water. The drip irrigation system could provide better performance than the sprinkler irrigation system. The drip irrigation was analyzed of economic value showed that PI values has greater than 1.0 and less than 2 year of payback period on the assessment of risk and depreciation for one year. The results also showed the analysis of IRR was 23.28% in the first year. This project was a worthwhile investment.

title: CubeSat Life Ground Test Facility: Ground Facility to Simulate a CubeSat Environment for the Cultivation of Ideotype Tomato Plants
abstract: This paper is aimed at demonstrating the possibility of growing a tomato ideotype, fortified in anti oxidant content (derived from Micro Tom, a model cultivar for tomato research overexpressing anthocyanins) and specifically developed for spatial environment, in a seed to seed cycle (70 90 days) on a CubeSat. To reach this goal, a dedicated micro satellite equivalent to 12 U will be developed to be sent into low orbit. Growing plants in space is a prerequisite to sustain long term human exploration of the solar system. Plants can increase the independence of a space mission providing astronauts with food, oxygen, waste recycling, water purification increasing quality of life. Preliminary experimental results to simulate the low orbit conditions are here described, together with all the devices used during the test activities.

title: Acceptance of biogas plants taking into account space and place
abstract: As part of Germany's energy transition, enormous efforts are being made to transform the German energy supply to renewable energies. While much of the energy supply from renewables is wind and solar power, biogas contributes on third position a considerable share due to substantial state subsidies. The transformation to renewable energies leads to notable landscape changes that should be taken into consideration when studying the acceptance of renewable energy plants. We do this by adding spatial information to data from an online survey (N 942) questioning the acceptance of biogas plants. The density of and proximity to existing biogas plants as well as the intensity of maize cultivation in the vicinity of respondents is integrated into the analysis together with more conventional influencing factors such as place attachment and attitudes. Results show that attitudes have the strongest explanatory power but spatial variables, particularly maize intensity, contribute significantly, too. Place attachment does not show reliable effects. The results demonstrate that spatial data can be useful in the analysis of survey data, for instance, in an environmental context. They also show that diversification of the raw materials used for fermentation in biogas plants might be an important factor in improving their acceptance.

title: Biology and crop production in Space environments: Challenges and opportunities.
abstract: Long term manned space exploration missions and the permanence of human colonies on orbital stations or planetary habitats will require the regeneration of resources onboard or in situ. Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSSs) are artificial environments where different compartments, involving both living organisms and physical chemical processes, are integrated to achieve a safe, self regulating, and chemically balanced Earth like environment to support human life. Higher plants are key elements of such systems and Space greenhouses represent the producers' compartment. Growing plants in Space requires the knowledge of their growth responses not only to all environmental factors acting on Earth, but also to specific Space constraints such as altered gravity, ionizing radiations and confined volume. Moreover, cultivation techniques need to be adjusted considering such limitations. The type and intensity of environmental factors to be taken into account depend on the mission scenarios. Here, we summarize constraints and opportunities of cultivating higher plants in Space to regenerate resources and produce fresh food onboard. Both biological and agro technological issues are considered briefly going through experiments both ground based on Earth and in Space.

title: CultCube: Experiments in autonomous in orbit cultivation on board a 12 Units CubeSat platform.
abstract: The feasibility and design of the CultCube 12U CubeSat hosting a small Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) for the autonomous cultivation of a small plant in orbit is described. The satellite is aimed at running experiments in fruit plants growing for applications in crewed vehicles for long term missions in space. CultCube is mainly composed of a pressurized vessel, constituting the outer shell of the ECLSS, and by various environmental controls (water, nutrients, air composition and pressure, light, etc. aimed at maintaining a survivable habitat for the fruit plants to grow. The plant health status and growth performances is monitored using hyperspectral cameras installed within the vessel, able to sense leaves' chlorophyll content and temperature, and allowing the estimation of plant volume in all its life cycle phases. The paper study case is addressed to the in orbit experimental cultivation of a dwarf tomato plant (MicroTom) which was modified for enhancing the anti oxidants production and for growing in stressful environments. While simulated microgravity tests have been passed by the MicroTom plant, the organism behaviour in a real microgravity environment for a full seed to seed cycle needs to be tested. The CultCube 12U CubeSat mission presents no particular requirements on the kind of orbit, whereas its minimum significative duration corresponds to one seed to seed cycle for the plant, which is 90 days for the paper study case. In the paper, after an introduction on the importance of an autonomous testbed for plant cultivation, in the perspective of the implementation of bioregenerative systems on board future manned long term missions, the satellite design and the MicroTom engineered plant for in orbit growth are described. In addition to the description of the whole set of subsystems, with focus on the payload and its controllers and instrumentation, the system budgets are presented. Finally, the first tests conducted by the authors are briefly reported.

title: HYDROPONICS (SOILLESS CULTIVATION OF PLANTS) FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
abstract: Hydroponics is a system of agriculture that utilizes nutrient laden water rather than soil for plant growth.Because it does not require natural precipitation or fertile land in order to be effective, it presents people who are living in rural, urban even arid regions with a means to grow food for themselves and for profit. Aeroponic and hydroponic systems do not require pesticides. They require less water and space compared to traditional agricultural systems, and it can also be stacked (vertical farming) in order to limit space use This makes them optimal for use in cities, where space is particularly limited and populations are high self sustaining city based food systems. This results in reduced strain on distant agriculture farms, transportation costs and fewer carbon emissions. Optimization of land area and the preservation of biodiversity has become the need of the hour in both developing as well as developed countries Hydroponics helps to limit terrestrial biodiversity loss through the reversion of large tracts of current farmland into sustainable and fundamentally natural environments. In short Hydroponic gardens produce the healthiest organic, pesticide free crops with high yields and are consistently reliable. Hydroponic growing is the best way to overcome global food and water shortages and produce the highest quality, nutritious produce in any type of climate. It is a precise scientific growing method developed from experiment, experience and observation. The hydroponic growing method provides for reliable, predictable and repeatable, safe food production.  Hydroponics, Aeroponics, Biodiversity Conservation, sustainable agriculture drip and flow style, Nutrient Film Technique (NFT),DutchBucket Method, Raft Method, Nutrients, Substratum _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

title: Mars Regolith Simulant Ameliorated by Compost as in situ Cultivation Substrate Improves Lettuce Growth and Nutritional Aspects
abstract: Heavy payloads in future shuttle journeys to Mars present limiting factors, making self sustenance essential for future colonies. Therefore, in situ resources utilization (ISRU) is the path to successful and feasible space voyages. This research frames the concept of planting leafy vegetables on Mars regolith simulant, ameliorating this substrate's fertility by the addition of organic residues produced in situ. For this purpose, two butterhead lettuce (Lactuca sativa L. var. capitata) cultivars (green and red Salanova(r) were chosen to be cultivated in four different mixtures of MMS 1 Mojave Mars simulant:compost (0:100, 30:70, 70:30 and 100:0; v:v) in a phytotron open gas exchange growth chamber. The impact of compost rate on both crop performance and the nutritive value of green and red pigmented cultivars was assessed. The 30:70 mixture proved to be optimal in terms of crop performance, photosynthetic activity, intrinsic water use efficiency and quality traits of lettuce. In particular, red Salanova(r) showed the best performance in terms of these quality traits, registering 32% more phenolic content in comparison to 100% simulant. Nonetheless, the 70:30 mixture represents a more realistic scenario when taking into consideration the sustainable use of compost as a limited resource in space farming, while still accepting a slight significant decline in yield and quality in comparison to the 30:70 mixture.

title: GreenCube: microgreens cultivation and growth monitoring on board a 3U CubeSat
abstract: The in orbit cultivation of vegetables, fruits, and edible plants is of paramount importance for the development of long term manned space mission Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS) and for the improvement of bio regenerative systems. GreenCube is a 3U CubeSat mission aimed at demonstrating the functionalities of an autonomous cultivation laboratory that stems from a collaboration between the Sapienza University of Rome, the Italian Space Agency, University of Naples "Federico II" and ENEA. The satellite will cultivate microgreens in a pressurized vessel containing support systems and monitoring instrumentation for the plant growth. This paper describes the GreenCube mission and the instrumentation used for the growth support and monitoring.

title: REVIEW ON SOILLESS METHOD OF CULTIVATION: HYDROPONICS
abstract: "Any method in which plants are grown without using soil as a rooting media and essential nutrients can be supplied through irrigation water" is said to be soilless culture. Hydroponics is one of the soilless culture systems. The fertilizers (containing nutrients) are supplied by dissolving in the irrigation water in appropriate amount. Growing plants using different nutrient rich water has been practiced for centuries. There are different techniques used to grow plants hydroponically which are categorized in two types, active and passive method. The most popular mediums used in hydroponics are Rockwool (melted balsamic rock spun into fibre) Hydroton (honeycomb clay pebbles with a ceramic shells) and Perlite (heated silica that has expanded) In hydroponics system, all the essential plant nutrients are provided via the nutrient solution. Hydroponics can play a great role in cultivating plants especially in urban areas where very limited space is available.