Two researchers at Purdue University say a partnership with NASA could help farmers learn more about crop stress.
Anjali Iyer-Pascuzzi, professor of botany and plant pathology, says a four-year experiment growing tomatoes in a growth chamber on board the International Space Station has helped the group study adaptability.
“There is a hormone called salicylic acid that appears to be playing a role in cell division and cell growth,” she says. “Now that we know that these pathways exist, from removing gravity, we can learn how to manipulate them here on Earth.”
Denise Caldwell, a Purdue PhD student, says even in space, the right environmental conditions are needed to protect plant health.
“If we go on a long-distance flight, what’s going to happen if a pathogen comes in and kills the crop,” she says. “Our basic understanding of these pathogens and a plant’s response to it, may help us mitigate unforeseeable disasters that could happen in the future.”
Pascuzzi says she’s optimistic additional research with other plants could help NASA reach their goal of growing crops on the moon.
