SOMETIME IN the late 1990s, US space agency NASA teamed up with an agro-biology company and a high-impact space life research center, both based in the US, to embark on an ambitious experiment. The aim was to grow plants aboard the Mir space station, which operated in low Earth orbit. In 1997, the team negated the fundamental agricultural requirements—soil, sunlight, and intensive water for irrigation—and successfully grew adzuki beans in microgravity. The cultivation technique, known as aeroponics, was well established in the 1940s. But it had remained largely confined to research and innovation till the NASA experiment demonstrated its potential as an effective and efficient means of growing plants anywhere. While NASA has since used the technique to successfully grow a variety of crops, including lettuce, mustard, and radishes, in space, aeroponics has also captured popular imagination here on Earth.
Aeroponics is essentially an indoor farming technique in which plants grow in a controlled environment that is free from soil or any other aggregate media. Roots hang suspended in the air while a nutrient solution is sprayed as a fine mist. Spraying is a specialized process that, through clock-work precision and factory-like settings, can imitate plant growth across multi-level chambers, which remain lit by led lights of different calibrations. Such a system does not require much land and can be set up in a vertical manner. As per NASA water usage in the system reduces by an impressive 98 per cent. Since the roots get the nutrients directly, fertilizer usage also decreases by 60 percent. Pesticides are fully eliminated, as the absence of soil reduces the chances of diseases.
Denne historien er fra August 01, 2021-utgaven av Down To Earth.
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Denne historien er fra August 01, 2021-utgaven av Down To Earth.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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A SPRIG TO CARE FOR
Punarnava, a perennial herb, is easy to grow and has huge health benefits
DIGGING A DISASTER
Soapstone mining near Dabti Vijaypur village has caused many residents to migrate.
REVIEW THE TREATMENT
Several faecal sludge treatment plants in Uttar Pradesh suffer from design flaws that make the treatment process both expensive and inefficient
MAKE STEEL SUSTAINABLE
As India works to double its GDP by 2030, its steel industry must balance growth with sustainability. By embracing policies like the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy 2019 and adopting green technologies, India is paving the way for a more sustainable future in steel production
Can ANRF pull off the impossible for India?
Anusandhan National Research Foundation is expected to reorient India's innovation goals but funding issues, old mindsets remain a drag
TROUBLED WOODS
Forests are a great bulwark against climate change. But this is fast changing. AKSHIT SANGOMLA travels through some of the pristine patches of the Western Ghats to explore how natural disturbances triggered by global warming now threaten the forest health
BLINDING GLOW
The science is clear: increased illumination has damaging consequences for the health of humans, animals and plants. It’s time governments introduced policies to protect the natural darkness and improved the quality of outdoor lighting.
GROUND REALITY
What happens when the soil loses the ability to grow healthy, high-yield crops on its own?
GM POLICY MUST BE FARMER CENTRIC
On July 23, the Supreme Court of India directed the Union government to develop a national policy on genetically modified (GM) crops for research, cultivation, trade and commerce through public consultation.
Vinchurni's Gandhi
A 96-year-old farmer transforms barren land into a thriving forest in drought-prone region of Satara