Farming on Mars: Treatment of basaltic regolith soil and briny water simulants sustains plant growth

Kasiviswanathan, Pooja; Swanner, Elizabeth D.; Halverson, Larry J.; Vijayapalani, Paramasivan

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0272209

Cited by 26 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 56 publications

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“…These are commonly defined as food products and solid wastes, which are generated as a result of food processing, cooking, distribution, or production and consumption. Kasiviswanathan et al (2022) claimed that due to the inhibitory effect of high salinity of briny water simulant water on seed ger mination, they aimed to desalinate the simulant water.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Aquarium Water and Kitchen Waste Water on the Germination and Growth of Brinjal, Chilli, Balsam and Greens

A.¹,

Zehra²

2022

IJZI

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This study was undertaken to analyze a comparative study for the growth of diverse ornamental and vegetative plants such as Brinjal (Solanum melongena), Chilli (Capsicum annum), Balsam (Impatiens balsamina) and Greens (Amaranthus). Based on the utilization of different water alternatives, such as aquarium water and kitchen wastewater, this study ensures to procure an appropriate alternative to tap water that provides plants with healthy growth under adverse conditions of water scarcity. Water is a basic component of plant growth, under harsh conditions of replacing sparkling or fresh water for growing plants, which type of water alternative helps provide the best growth? We examined this study based on the plant growth observation, with a setup each of 3 sets, one set for the control; the other two were assessed for kitchen wastewater and aquarium water accordingly. The period of this examination was for about 40 days. Under the provision of nutrient supplements and a deliberate water quantity of 500 ml, our study was carried out. The growth ratio was observed by the germination rate, leaves count, and the height of the plants.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Aquarium Water and Kitchen Waste Water on the Germination and Growth of Brinjal, Chilli, Balsam and Greens

A.¹,

Zehra²

2022

IJZI

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“…In addition, many educational institutions use Mars simulant soils for demonstrations on Martian geology and extraterrestrial agriculture [13][14][15]. Furthermore, recent research demonstrates that microorganisms can effectively enhance soil nutrients available and facilitate crop growth in Mars simulant soil [16][17][18]. This highlights the importance of obtaining soil DNA to understand the interaction between microorganisms and Mars simulant soils, and to perform subsequent sequencing analysis of microbial functions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Comparison of Different Protocols for the Extraction of Microbial DNA Inhabiting Synthetic Mars Simulant Soil

Wang,

Pijl,

Liu

et al. 2024

Microorganisms

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Compared with typical Earth soil, Martian soil and Mars simulant soils have distinct properties, including pH > 8.0 and high contents of silicates, iron-rich minerals, sulfates, and metal oxides. This unique soil matrix poses a major challenge for extracting microbial DNA. In particular, mineral adsorption and the generation of destructive hydroxyl radicals through cationic redox cycling may interfere with DNA extraction. This study evaluated different protocols for extracting microbial DNA from Mars Global Simulant (MGS-1), a Mars simulant soil. Two commercial kits were tested: the FastDNA SPIN Kit for soil (“MP kit”) and the DNeasy PowerSoil Pro Kit (“PowerSoil kit”). MGS-1 was incubated with living soil for five weeks, and DNA was extracted from aliquots using the kits. After extraction, the DNA was quantified with a NanoDrop spectrophotometer and used as the template for 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing and qPCR. The MP kit was the most efficient, yielding approximately four times more DNA than the PowerSoil kit. DNA extracted using the MP kit with 0.5 g soil resulted in 28,642–37,805 16S rRNA gene sequence reads and 30,380–42,070 16S rRNA gene copies, whereas the 16S rRNA gene could not be amplified from DNA extracted using the PowerSoil kit. We suggest that the FastDNA SPIN Kit is the best option for studying microbial communities in Mars simulant soils.

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“…Currently, there are many ways of improving simulated lunar soil such as adding gypsum (CaSO4) to simulated lunar soil to grow cherry tomatoes [9] and adding cyanobacteria strain Synechococcus sp. PCC 7002 to simulated lunar soil to grow turnips, lettuce, and alfalfa [10], and so on.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving the Quality of Lunar Regolith Simulant Soil for Future Food Security

Jirasirichot

Tulyananda

Datmanee

et al. 2023

Curr. Appl. Sci. Technol.

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This research explores the possibilities of using lunar soil resources in agriculture. The effectiveness of humic micro-encapsulated was investigated for physical and chemical quality improvement for lunar culture applications by using TLS-01 (Thailand artificial lunar regolith Simulant-01) as a test substance. Sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) was used as the test plant. TLS-01 particles were evenly distributed, uncluttered, and consisted of 54.55% polygons and 45.45% rods, without having high water-holding capacity. The plants were grown in TLS-01, but their physical characteristics were unacceptable. Sunflower seedlings grown in TLS-01 soil showed a lower percentage of germination, and root and stem length compared to those grown in commercial planting material. After an improvement in physical properties and nutrients, from the study of the relationship between the soil used in the trial for planting and the humic acid concentration, no interaction between soil and humic acid was found. Therefore, while the soil types were significantly different, the humic was not. The results showed that a 1:1 mixture of TLS-01: coconut coir with the addition of 2 times the recommended dose of humic acid could enhance sunflower seedling relative to commercial planting material (p≤0.05). The germination percentage and growth indexes were 85.00% and 6.62, respectively. However, in order to stimulate actual usage for interplanetary application, coconut fiber-like materials and the humic substances were applied as in microcapsules. Additionally, the humic release test showed that after 6 h, the release of humic substance by Fickian diffusion was 73.45% and it then slowed down. The encapsulation efficiency was 90.37%.

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Farming on Mars: Treatment of basaltic regolith soil and briny water simulants sustains plant growth

Cited by 26 publications

References 56 publications

Effect of Aquarium Water and Kitchen Waste Water on the Germination and Growth of Brinjal, Chilli, Balsam and Greens

Effect of Aquarium Water and Kitchen Waste Water on the Germination and Growth of Brinjal, Chilli, Balsam and Greens

A Comparison of Different Protocols for the Extraction of Microbial DNA Inhabiting Synthetic Mars Simulant Soil

Improving the Quality of Lunar Regolith Simulant Soil for Future Food Security

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