AbstractNASA’s Biomass Production Chamber (BPC) at Kennedy Space Center was decommissioned in 1998, but several crop tests were conducted that have not been reported in the open literature. These include several monoculture studies with wheat, soybean, potato, lettuce, and tomato. For all of these studies, either 10 or 20m2 of plants were grown in an atmospherically closed chamber (113m3 vol.) using a hydroponic nutrient film technique along with elevated CO2 (1000 or 1200μmolmol−1). Canopy light (PAR) levels ranged from 17 to 85molm−2d−1 depending on the species and photoperiod. Total biomass (DM) productivities reached 39.6gm−2d−1 for wheat, 27.2gm−2d−1 for potato, 19.6gm−2d−1 for tomato, 15.7gm−2d−1 for soybean, and 7.7gm−2d−1 for lettuce. Edible biomass (DM) productivities reached 18.4gm−2d−1 for potato, 11.3gm−2d−1 for wheat, 9.8gm−2d−1 for tomato, 7.1gm−2d−1 for lettuce, and 6.0gm−2d−1 for soybean. The corresponding radiation (light) use efficiencies for total biomass were 0.64gmol−1 PAR for potato, 0.59gDMmol−1 for wheat, 0.51gmol−1 for tomato, 0.46gmol−1 for lettuce, and 0.43gmol−1 for soybean. Radiation use efficiencies for edible biomass were 0.44gmol−1 for potato, 0.42gmol−1 for lettuce, 0.25gmol−1 for tomato, 0.17gDMmol−1 for wheat, and 0.16gmol−1 for soybean. By initially growing seedlings at a dense spacing and then transplanting them to the final production area could have saved about 12d in each production cycle, and hence improved edible biomass productivities and radiation use efficiencies by 66% for lettuce (to 11.8gm−2d−1 and 0.70gmol−1), 16% for tomato (to 11.4gm−2d−1and 0.29gmol−1), 13% for soybean (to 6.9gm−2d−1 and 0.19gmol−1), and 13% for potato (to 20.8gm−2d−1 and 0.50gmol−1). Since wheat was grown at higher densities, transplanting seedlings would not have improved yields. Tests with wheat resulted in a relatively low harvest index of 29%, which may have been caused by ethylene or other organic volatile compounds (VOCs) accumulating in the chamber. Assuming a higher harvest index of 40% could be achieved by scrubbing VOCs, productivity of wheat seed could have been improved nearly 40% to 15.8gm−2d−1 and edible biomass radiation use efficiency to 0.30gmol−1.


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    Titel :

    Crop productivities and radiation use efficiencies for bioregenerative life support


    Beteiligte:
    Wheeler, R.M. (Autor:in) / Mackowiak, C.L. (Autor:in) / Stutte, G.W. (Autor:in) / Yorio, N.C. (Autor:in) / Ruffe, L.M. (Autor:in) / Sager, J.C. (Autor:in) / Prince, R.P. (Autor:in) / Knott, W.M. (Autor:in)

    Erschienen in:

    Advances in Space Research ; 41 , 5 ; 706-713


    Erscheinungsdatum :

    2007-06-22


    Format / Umfang :

    8 pages




    Medientyp :

    Aufsatz (Zeitschrift)


    Format :

    Elektronische Ressource


    Sprache :

    Englisch






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