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Martian soil suitable for life

01.12.2017

If humanity ever decides to colonize Mars (and NASA and Elon Musk, for example, have such plans), then we will have to make sure that food can be grown on the Red Planet. This time, a team of scientists from the Wageningen University and Research Center (Netherlands) discovered that earthworms, or earthworms (these creatures make a significant contribution to soil fertility) can live and reproduce in simulated Martian soil.

After the Curiosity rover sent out an analysis of the Martian soil, NASA found that the volcanic soil on the Hawaiian Islands has the closest resemblance to it. Previous studies using this model have had varying success in growing crops. It turned out that potatoes could be grown in special greenhouses on the Red Planet.

Manure is still one of the best fertilizers. Dutch scientists used pig manure in tests: they added it to simulated Martian soil samples and silver quartz sand samples and tried to grow arugula; the researchers then compared the results. To the surprise of scientists, the artificial Martian soil was more "successful".

Then, after the arugula sprouted, the team added another necessary element to some pots - earthworms, or earthworms. These creatures play a key role in revitalizing our planet's soil by digesting dead organic matter and releasing a powerful fertilizer that releases nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus. In addition, the worms loosen the soil, allowing air and water to better penetrate into it.

Thus, the tests showed that earthworms and pig manure help grow plants in the simulated Martian soil, and the worms can not only live in it, but also multiply. Such results are encouraging - perhaps one day humanity will be able to grow food on the Red Planet. By the way, the matter, apparently, will not be limited to arugula: for example, scientists reported that they have achieved some success in growing green beans, peas, radishes, tomatoes, potatoes, carrots and watercress. All vegetables (they were tested for the presence of heavy metals and alkaloids) were edible.

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Super Yielding Rice 16.01.2023

An international team of scientists has developed a hybrid high-yielding rice that will help avoid starvation in poor countries.

Hybrids of the first generation of cultivated plants show greater productivity than their parental strains. Breeders call this hybrid activity.

But this phenomenon does not persist if the hybrids are bred together in the second generation. Therefore, when farmers want to use highly productive hybrid varieties of plants, they are forced to buy new seeds every season.

Rice is the staple crop of half of the world's population. At the same time, it is expensive to breed it as a hybrid to increase yields even by 10%. Scientists believe that the reproduction of hybrids in the form of clones that do not change from generation to generation can solve this problem.

The new method is expected to produce hybrid seeds quickly. It will also provide farmers with seeds they can store and replant.

This method can be applied to other food crops.

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