Crop production data for bioregenerative life support: Observations from testing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center
Abstract
NASA s Biomass Production Chamber BPC at Kennedy Space Center was decommissioned ca 1998 but in the preceding decade several crop tests were conducted that have not been reported in the open literature These included monoculture studies with wheat soybean potato and tomato For each of these studies 20 m 2 of crops were grown in an atmospherically closed chamber 113 m 3 vol using a nutrient film hydroponic technique along with elevated CO 2 1000 or 1200 mu mol mol -1 Canopy light PAR levels ranged from 30 to 85 mol m -2 d -1 depending on the crop and selected photoperiod Total biomass DM productivities reached 40 g m -2 d -1 for wheat 16 g m -2 d -1 for soybean 33 g m -2 d -1 for potato and 20 g m -2 d -1 for tomato Edible biomass DM productivities reached 13 g m -2 d -1 for wheat 6 g m -2 d -1 for soybean 20 g m -2 d -1 for potato and 10 g m -2 d -1 for tomato The highest radiation use efficiencies for biomass were 0 60 g DM mol -1 PAR for wheat 0 50 g mol -1 for soybean 0 95 g mol -1 for potato and 0 51 g mol -1 for tomato The highest radiation use efficiencies for edible biomass were 0 22 g DM mol -1 for wheat 0 18 g mol -1 for soybean 0 58 g mol -1 for potato and 0 25 g mol -1 for tomato Use of transplanting cycles or spacing techniques to reduce open gaps between plants early in growth would have improved productivities and radiation use efficiencies for soybeans potatoes and
- Publication:
-
36th COSPAR Scientific Assembly
- Pub Date:
- 2006
- Bibcode:
- 2006cosp...36.1841W