Farming on Mars

Overview

The rise of human population indicates the need to make humans a multiplanetary species. Exploration of Mars by physically present scientists will lead to a critical requirement for food. The nature of the Martian soil renders the planet unfit for farming. As there is an urgent need to identify potential strategies to farm on Mars, the objective was to study the plant growth in a mimicked-Martian soil and devise a strategy for efficient farming in the Martian soil. For this, crushed basalt-type volcanic rocks were used as mimicked-Martian soil to test the growth of vegetable crops. Turnip seeds germinated in the mimicked-Martian soil, however the plant growth was very poor as compared to that grown in yard soil, which was used as control soil. Treatment of the mimicked-Martian soil with a chemical fertilizer significantly improved the plant growth. As application of chemical fertilizer in the Martian soil is unsustainable, an alternate strategy was explored. Through a web search, Alfalfa plant was identified to contain high levels of macronutrients and micronutrients. Interestingly, Alfalfa plants grew very healthily in the mimicked-Martian soil without the chemical fertilizer. When those Alfalfa plants were powdered and used to treat the mimicked-Martian soil, growth and biomass of the turnip plants as well as lettuce and radish plants were significantly boosted. Statistical analyses confirmed that the Alfalfa plants grown normally in the fertilizer untreated basalt-type volcanic soil can be used as a potential biofertilizer for sustainable growth of crop plants in the basalt-type volcanic soil. Thus, a potential strategy for efficient farming in the basalt-type Martian soil was identified.

Competition history

• AJAS 2019 Category not listed

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