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- Author or Editor: David Bubenheim x
The role of spectral quality and CO2 concentration in environmental control of lignin synthesis in spring wheat is being studied by the NASA Controlled Ecological Life Support System Program (CELSS). Wheat cultivars were exposed to four different spectral environments provided by 1) metal halide lamps (MH), 2) high pressure sodium lamps (HPS), 3) low pressure sodium lamps (LPS; almost monochromatic, 589 nm), or 4) LPS plus low irradiance blue light (5 μmol m-2 s-1; LPS + Blue) at equal photosynthetic photon flux. Stem lignin content was suppressed 25% under the LPS compared with the MH and HPS; blue addition (LPS + Blue) resulted in 25% greater lignin content compared with the LPS alone and 8% suppression compared with MH and HPS. CO2 studies compared lignin content of wheat grown in the field, greenhouse at 350 μmol mol-1 CO2, and growth chambers at 350 and 700 μmol mol-1 CO2, Lignin content was greatest and equal in the field and growth chamber at 700 μmol mol-1 CO2. Lowest lignin content was measured in the growth chamber at 350 μmol mol-1 CO2; lignin content in the greenhouse was intermediate between that measured in the field and growth chamber at 350 μmol mol-1 CO2, Additional CO2 studies in controlled environments will be discussed.
Chenopodium quinoa is being considered as a “new” crop for Contolled Ecological Life Support Systems(CELSS) due to the unique protein composition and high mineral values of the seeds and leaves. Quinoa is known to have very high protein levels (12-185 reported from field trials), with desirable amino acid proportions, and mineral concentrations suitable for a balanced human diet. Contolled environment, hydroponic culture has increased the nutritional value and has the potential of increasing the yield. Protein and mineral values have increased substantially and will be discussed in more depth. The high concentration of protein, unique amino acid profile, high mineral values, versatility in preparation and the potential for increased yields make quinoa a useful crop for CELSS and long-term space missions
Water contributes approximately 90% of the life support consumables in a closed space environment, therefore, regeneration of pure water from waste streams is important for long term space travel. Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems (CELSS) will rely on plants to produce food, oxygen, consume CO2 and purify water. Igepon TC42, Amide coco N-methyl N-2-sulphoethyl sodium salt, is the main ingredient of the soap recommended for showering and hand washing aboard Space Station Freedom. To determine the soap concentration which causes plant toxicity, lettuce seeds were germinated in 0.1 strength modified Hoagland's nutrient solution and a series of increasing concentrations of Igepon. After 5 days, the seedlings were examined and primary root length measured. The dose response curve indicates an Igepon acute toxicity threshold of 0.2 g l-1 Below the threshold concentration the curve is similar to that of the control, but drops linearly upon reaching the toxic threshold. Seedlings exposed to concentrations of soap greater than the toxic threshold exhibited root damage characterized by the browning of cells in bands above the root cap resulting in reduced growth rates. The damaged cells enlarged becoming round in appearance prior to departing from adjacent cells. The underlying cells appeared clear and uniform making up a thinner, more fragile root mass when compared to undamaged root regions.
Electronic dimming of high intensity discharge lamps offers control of photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) but is often characterized as causing significant spectral changes. Growth chambers with 400 W metal halide (MH) and high pressure sodium (HPS) lamps were equipped with a dimmer system using silicon controlled rectifiers (SCR) as high speed switches. Phase control operation turned the line power off for some period of the AC cycle. At full power the electrical input to HPS and MH lamps was 480 W (RMS) and could be decreased to 267 W and 428 W, respectively, before the arc was extinguished. Concomitant with this decrease in input power, PPF decreased by 60% in HPS and 50% in MH. The HPS lamp has characteristic spectral peaks at 589 and 595 nm. As power to the HPS lamps was decreased the 589 nm peak remained constant while the 595 nm peak decreased, equalling the 589 nm peak at 345 W input, and was almost absent at 270 W input. The MH lamp has a broader spectral output but also has a peak at 589 nm and another, smaller peak, at 545 nm. As input power to the MH lamps decreased the 589 nm peak diminished to equal the 545 nm peak. As input power approached 428 W the 589 nm peak shifted to 570 nm. While a spectral change was observed as input power was decreased in both MH and HPS lamps, the phytochrome equilibrium ratio (Pfr/Ptot) remain unchanged for both lamp types.
Electronic dimming of high-intensity discharge lamps offers control of photosynthetic photon flux (PPF) but is often characterized as causing significant spectral changes. Growth chambers with 400-W metal halide (MH) and high-pressure sodium (HPS) lamps were equipped with a dimmer system using silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCR) as high-speed switches. Phase control operation turned the line power off for some period of the alternating current cycle. At full power, the electrical input to HPS and MH lamps was 480 W (root mean squared) and could be decreased to 267 W and 428 W, respectively, before the arc was extinguished. Concomitant with this decrease in input power, PPF decreased by 60% in HPS and 50% in MH. The HPS lamp has characteristic spectral peaks at 589 and 595 nm. As power to the HPS lamps was decreased, the 589-nm peak remained constant while the 595-nm peak decreased, equaling the 589-nm peak at 345-W input, and the 589-nm peak was almost absent at 270-W input. The MH lamp has a broader spectral output but also has a peak at 589 nm and another smaller peak at 545 nm. As input power to the MH lamps decreased, the peak at 589 diminished to equal the 545-nm peak. As input power approached 428 W, the 589-nm peak shifted to 570 nm. While the spectrum changed as input power was decreased in the MH and HPS lamps, the phytochrome equilibrium ratio (Pfr: Ptot) remains unchanged for both lamp types.
Recycling wastewater containing soaps and detergents for plant growth is highly desirable when fresh water is limited. This is especially true during times of drought and is imperative in some specialized situations such as a regenerative space habitat. To regenerate food, water, and air, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) must recycle wastewater commonly known as gray water. The anionic surfactant Igepon is the principal ingredient of many detergent formulations and soaps and is a prime candidate for use in a space habitat. To determine if gray water would have phytotoxic effects on crops grown in a CELSS, `Waldmann's Green' lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) was grown in nutrient solutions containing varying concentrations of Igepon TC-42. Igepon concentrations of 250 mg·L-1 or higher in nutrient solutions resulted in phytotoxic effects in lettuce. Thus, the toxic threshold of Igepon is <250 mg·L-1. Toxicity symptoms include browning of the roots within 4 hours of exposure to Igepon followed by suppression of root dry mass within 24 hours. Plant death never resulted from exposure to Igepon used in these experiments, although roots were killed. The phytotoxic effect of Igepon was not persistent; plants initially displaying acute toxicity show clear signs of recovery within 3 days of initial exposure. Further, when fresh plants were exposed to these same nutrient solutions 3 days or more following initial Igepon addition, no phytotoxic effect was observed. The elimination of the phytotoxicity was associated with a decrease in fatty acid components in the nutrient solution associated with Igepon. The degradation of phytotoxicity appears to be associated with microbes present on the surface of the roots and not directly due to any plant process or instability of the surfactant.
Abstract
Net photosynthesis (Pn), transpiration (Tr), and stomatal conductance for CO2 (gs) were determined at 26° ± 1°C for leaves on intact and excised apple shoots at different vapor pressure gradients (VPG’s). Pn, Tr, and gs of leaves on intact and excised shoots responded similarly to changes in VPG. Pn and gs were not affected directly by VPG. Tr increased as VPG increased since stomatal closure did not counterbalance the increased VPG.
Anionic surfactants are the major class of surfactants used in detergent, laundry and related industries. Hence, they are a major contaminate of both domestic and industrial waste streams. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv Waldemann's Green) was grown in nutrient solutions with the addition of the anionic surfactant, Igepon TC-42. The toxic response of lettuce to Igepon was that the roots turned brown and became necrotic within 24 h following exposure. Growth was supressed for approximately 4 days following exposure to concentration greater than 0.35 mM; new roots formed rapidly and growth resumed. When fresh plants were transferred to the solutions containing Igepon 48 h following introduction of the surfactant no signs of toxicity were observed. This would indicate that either the first series of plants absorbed the toxic material or the Igepon was decayed or degraded in the nutrient solution. The rapid recovery of plants from this stress suggests the potential of a wide range of strategies that could be developed for utilizing waste streams containing anionic surfactants.
Abstract
Radiation in controlled environments was characterized using fluorescent and various high-intensity-discharge (HID) lamps, including metal halide, low-pressure sodium, and high-pressure sodium as the radiation source. The effects of water, glass, or Plexiglas filters on radiation were determined. Photosynthetic photon flux (PPF, 400 to 700 nm), spectra (400 to 1000 nm), shortwave radiation (285 to 2800 nm), and total radiation (300 to 100,000 nm) were measured, and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, 400 to 700 nm) and longwave radiation (2800 to 100,000 nm) were calculated. Measurement of PPF alone was not an adequate characterization of the radiation environment. Total radiant flux varied among lamp types at equal PPF. HID lamps provided a lower percentage of longwave radiation than fluorescent lamps, but, when HID lamps provided PPF levels greater than that possible with fluorescent lamps, the amount of longwave radiation was high. Water was the most effective longwave radiation filter. Glass and Plexiglas similarly filtered longwave more than shortwave radiation, but transmission of nonphotosynthetic shortwave radiation was less with Plexiglas than glass. The filter materials tested would not be expected to influence photomorphogenesis because radiation in the action spectrum of phytochrome was not altered, but this may not be the only pigment involved.
Photosynthesis is fundamentally driven by photon flux rather than energy flux, but not all absorbed photons yield equal amounts of photosynthesis. Thus, two measures of photosynthetically active radiation have emerged: photosynthetic photon flux (PPF), which values all photons from 400 to 700 nm equally, and yield photon flux (YPF), which weights photons in the range from 360 to 760 nm according to plant photosynthetic response. We selected seven common radiation sources and measured YPF and PPF from each source with a spectroradiometer. We then compared these measurements with measurements from three quantum sensors designed to measure YPF, and from six quantum sensors designed to measure PPF. There were few differences among sensors within a group (usually <5%), but YPF values from sensors were consistently lower (3 % to 20 %) than YPF values calculated from spectroradiometric measurements. Quantum sensor measurements of PPF also were consistently lower than PPF values calculated from spectroradiometric measurements, but the differences were <7% for all sources, except red-light-emitting diodes. The sensors were most accurate for broad-band sources and least accurate for narrow-band sources. According to spectroradiometric measurement, YPF sensors were significantly less accurate (>9% difference) than PPF sensors under metal halide, high-pressure sodium, and low-pressure sodium lamps. Both sensor types were inaccurate (>18% error) under red-light-emitting diodes. Because both YPF and PPF sensors are imperfect integrators, and because spectroradiometers can measure photosynthetically active radiation much more accurately, researchers should consider developing calibration factors from spectroradiometric data for some specific radiation sources to improve the accuracy of integrating sensors.