Biocontrols in Space
In 1996, NASA sponsored Stoner’s research for a natural liquid biocontrol, known then as ODC (organic disease control), that activates plants to grow without the need for pesticides as a means to control pathogens in a closed-loop culture system. ODC is derived from natural aquatic materials.
By 1997, Stoner’s biocontrol experiments were conducted by NASA. BioServe Space Technologies’s GAP technology (miniature growth chambers) delivered the ODC solution unto bean seeds. Triplicate ODC experiments were conducted in GAP’s flown to the MIR by the space shuttle; at the Kennedy Space Center; and at Colorado State University (J. Linden). All GAPS were housed in total darkness to eliminate light as an experiment variable. The NASA experiment was to study only the benefits of the biocontrol.
NASA's experiments aboard the MIR space station and shuttle confirmed that ODC elicited increased germination rate, better sprouting, increased growth and natural plant disease mechanisms when applied to beans in an enclosed environment. ODC is now a standard for pesticide-free aeroponic growing and organic farming. Soil and hydroponics growers can benefit by incorporating ODC into their planting techniques. ODC meets USDA NOP standards for organic farms.
Read more about this topic: Aeroponics, Aeroponics in Space
Famous quotes containing the word space:
“The within, all that inner space one never sees, the brain and the heart and other caverns where thought and feeling dance their sabbath.”
—Samuel Beckett (1906–1989)