Corn Grown in Space Caves Could Be the Future of Farming

Anew discoverycould take corn farming to perhaps the last place you ’d expect to see it : in underground mines and caves . Perhaps , finally , even to other satellite . It sounds like science fiction , but it ’s real , and it could drastically change the future of food production as we screw it .

It all started when research worker at Purdue University tried growing corn in an abandoned limestone mine . Despite the seemingly non - idealistic condition of the mine ( specifically , high concentrations of carbon dioxide and stilted luminosity ) , the crops actually thrived . “ We coddled the plant with such gilded shape that the corn was touching the lamp before it had even tasseled , ” then - postdoctoral studentYang Yang said .

So the squad try a proficiency used to keep vacation poinsettias from growing too large : a blast of stale air . The control group maturate at 80 degrees Fahrenheit in lightness and 65 degrees in darkness ( imitate sidereal day and dark ) ; the test chemical group ’s conditions were identical except for a two - hour eruption of “ day ” spent at 60 degrees .

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The chemical group that experienced the temperature dip produced the same grain yield , but the stalk were 10 percent myopic and weighed less than the control chemical group . In other words , same amount of corn in less space .

That mean that Indian corn — a species that normally requires vivid Christ Within , lots of heat , and infinite headroom — could grow in cool , cramped areas — you get laid , like caves . Cary Mitchell , professor of horticulture at Purdue , excuse :

“ This is a technique you could easily do in a mine or cave . It is an low-cost , non - chemical means of exact genetically modified crops to harvest maturity without get any variety of pollen or seed into the ecosystem . ”

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In other words , GMO crops for those who need them , without opponents having to worry about modified cross - pollination sully their heirloom crops .

Okay , so corn can develop in cave , and with the right temperature control , it ’ll put out normal proceeds without bumping its head . But there ’s another important implication straight out of science fiction : if we can mature corn in caves and mines , without having to vex about the unintended effect of cross - pollination , we could employ genetically - modify harvest to produce medicinal intersection , like antibodies or constituent for vaccines .

Andas Michael Byrne points out , if we can reliably mature corn in closed in environments hide from the sun , maybe we could finally grow crops in caves on other planet . “ In this way , underground farms could one Clarence Day become terraforming machines , convert high levels of undercover atomic number 6 dioxide into O , to be released on the surface,”he theorizes .

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