SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “Crop Production”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

SourceResearch connectionFrom yearThrough year

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 415 records · Page 23

All sources NASA NTRS DOE OSTI

NASA NTRS2021

Aboveground and Belowground Responses to Cyanobacterial Biofertilizer Supplement in a Semi-Arid, Perennial Bioenergy Cropping System

The need for sustainable agricultural practices to meet the food, feed, and fuel demands of a growing global population while reducing detrimental environmental impacts has driven research in multi-faceted approaches to agricultural sustainability. Perennial cropping systems and microbial biofertilizer supplements are two emerging strategies to increase agricultural sustainability that are studied in tandem for the first time in this study. During the establishment phase of a perennial switchgrass stand in SW Montana, USA, we supplemented synthetic fertilization with a nitrogen-fixing cyanobacterial biofertilizer (CBF) and were able to maintain aboveground crop productivity in comparison to a synthetic only (urea) fertilizer treatment. Soil chemical analysis conducted at the end of the growing season revealed that late-season nitrogen availability in CBF-supplemented field plots increased relative to urea-only plots. High-throughput sequencing of bacterial/archaeal and fungal communities suggested fine-scale responses of the microbial community and sensitivity to fertilization among arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Planctomycetes, Proteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. Given their critical role in plant productivity and soil nutrient cycling, soil microbiome monitoring is vital to understand the impacts of implementation of alternative agricultural practices on soil health.

biofertilizer↗

DOE OSTI2025

Controlled environment agriculture: An opportunity to strengthen interagency research collaboration in the US government

Challenges facing food production and agricultural systems are increasingly interconnected with economic, security, health, and equity issues, among others. Threats such as extreme weather, economic volatility, and shrinking water resources and arable land, influence our ability to maintain a safe and resilient food supply. One promising solution to these threats is controlled environment agriculture (CEA). In many cases, CEA can drastically reduce the amount of water and land used in crop production while increasing productivity. Operations may be established in nearly any environment and harvests can take place year-round, supporting food system resiliency and sustainability. CEA sits at the nexus of a number of disciplines and industries, making it well suited for transdisciplinary and multi-institutional research coordination. Herein, authors from multiple US government agencies present CEA as a case study in improving cross-agency research collaboration. The federal government houses a range of scientific expertise and research capabilities, positioning scientists to lead national and global efforts in transdisciplinary, interagency approaches to complex challenges. Navigating cross-agency collaboration can be a challenge, especially coordinating across different scientific disciplines, geographic locations, and funding mechanisms. To enhance multiagency efforts, collaborators could prioritize (i) organizing personnel and resources, (ii) enhancing existing multiagency collaborations, and (iii) focusing on further opportunities for coordination. Adopting these approaches could enable federal researchers to reinforce and advance academic and industry efforts to address current CEA challenges while solidifying the United States as a leader in this arena.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗

NASA NTRS2014

NASA's Controlled Environment Agriculture Testing for Space Habitats

NASA and other space agencies have an interest in using plants for human life support in space. The plants could provide food and O2 for the humans, while removing CO2 and helping purify wastewater. Studies to date have shown that a wide range of crops can be grown in controlled environment conditions envisioned for space. Light is a critical factor both for crop productivity and system power costs, and recent improvements in LEDs make them a preferred lighting option for space. Because space systems would be tightly closed, issues such as ethylene build-up and management must be considered. Ultimately, the costs and reliability of biological life support options must be compared with more conventional life support approaches. Findings to date suggest that about 20-25 sq. meters of crops could supply the O2 for one human, while about 50 sq. meters would be required for food (dietary calories).

Bioregenerative↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

KSC to EDEN ISS: Outredgeous Lettuce Growth on the Passive Porous Tube Nutrient Delivery System (PPTNDS)

EDEN ISS is a controlled environment greenhouse established near the Neumayer Station III in Antarcticawith the mission to enable fresh crop production for the crew who are working in this remote location. EDEN provides a space to conduct plant biology and related research in a unique and isolated controlled environment (CE), while providing a platform to test developing methods relevant to long duration manned space missions. In 2021, Kennedy Space Center (KSC) scientist Jess Bunchek fulfilled a one-year mission at EDEN. During that time a variety of fresh crops were grown to record horticultural and microbiological data as well as provide the crew with fresh food to eat. One method for crop growth included an experimental irrigation system called the Passive Porous Tube Nutrient Delivery System (PPTNDS) which was developed at KSC as a microgravity-capable plant irrigation system designed to support Space Plant Biology investigations and/or crop growth during space missions. The PPTNDS was employed to grow Outredgeous Lettuce (OL) during two growouts at EDEN, (harvesting at Day After Planting (DAP) 61 and 63) and two growouts at KSC where plant growth and micro sample data were captured. This paper presents the data collected from the PPTNDS and compares it to growth on a Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) hydroponic system operated in the same environment. The result shows a system that grows OL at a reduced rate compared to the NFT system but uses less water and crew interaction to operate.

Jacob Torres↗

DOE OSTI2021

Early season prediction of within-field crop yield variability by assimilating CubeSat data into a crop model

Accurate early season predictions of crop yield at the within-field scale can be used to address a range of crop production, management, and precision agricultural challenges. While the remote sensing of within-field insights has been a research goal for many years, it is only recently that observations with the required spatio-temporal resolutions, together with efficient assimilation methods to integrate these into modeling frameworks, have become available to advance yield prediction efforts. Here we explore a yield prediction approach that combines daily high-resolution CubeSat imagery with the APSIM crop model. The approach employs APSIM to train a linear regression that relates simulated yield to simulated leaf area index (LAI). That relationship is then used to identify the optimal regression date at which the LAI provides the best prediction of yield: in this case, approximately 14 weeks prior to harvest. Instead of applying the regression on satellite imagery that is coincident, or closest to, the regression date, our method implements a particle filter that integrates CubeSat-based LAI into APSIM to provide end-of-season high-resolution (3 m) yield maps weeks before the optimal regression date. The approach is demonstrated on a rainfed maize field located in Nebraska, USA, where suitable collections of both imagery and in-situ data were available for assessment. The procedure does not require in-field data to calibrate the regression model, with results showing that even with a single assimilation step, it is possible to provide yield estimates with good accuracy up to 21 days before the optimal regression date. Yield spatial variability was reproduced reasonably well, with a strong correlation to independently collected measurements (R 2 = 0.73 and rRMSE = 12%). When the field averaged yield was compared, our approach reduced yield prediction error from 1 Mg/ha (control case based on a calibrated APSIM model), to 0.5 Mg/ha (using satellite imagery alone), and then to 0.2 Mg/ha (results with assimilation up to three weeks prior to the optimal regression date). Such a capacity to provide spatially explicit yield predictions early in the season has considerable potential to enhance digital agricultural goals and improve end-of-season yield predictions.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Large-scale spatially explicit analysis of carbon capture at cellulosic biorefineries

The large-scale production of cellulosic biofuels would involve spatially distributed systems including biomass fields, logistics networks and biorefineries. Better understanding of the interactions between landscape-related decisions and the design of biorefineries with carbon capture and storage (CCS) in a supply chain context is needed to enable efficient systems. Here we analyse the cost and greenhouse gas mitigation potential for cellulosic biofuel supply chains in the US Midwest using realistic spatially explicit land availability and crop productivity data and consider fuel conversion technologies with detailed CCS design for their associated CO 2 streams. Optimization methods identify trade-offs and design strategies leading to systems with attractive environmental and economic performance. Strategic and operational decisions depend on underlying spatial features and are sensitive to biofuel demand and CCS incentives. US CCS incentives neglect to motivate greenhouse gas mitigation from all supply chain emission sources, which leverage spatial interactions between CCS, electricity prices and the biomass landscape.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗

DOE OSTI2020

A temporal hierarchy underpins the transcription factor–DNA interactome of the maize UPR

Adverse environmental conditions reduce crop productivity and often increase the load of unfolded or misfolded proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). This potentially lethal condition, known as ER stress, is buffered by the unfolded protein response (UPR), a set of signaling pathways designed to either recover ER functionality or ignite programmed cell death. Despite the biological significance of the UPR to the life of the organism, the regulatory transcriptional landscape underpinning ER stress management is largely unmapped, especially in crops. To fill this significant knowledge gap, we performed a large–scale systems–level analysis of the protein–DNA interaction (PDI) network in maize (Zea mays). Using 23 promoter fragments of six UPR marker genes in a high–throughput enhanced yeast one–hybrid assay, we identified a highly interconnected network of 262 transcription factors (TFs) associated with significant biological traits and 831 PDIs underlying the UPR. We established a temporal hierarchy of TF binding to gene promoters within the same family as well as across different families of TFs. Cistrome analysis revealed the dynamic activities of a variety of cis–regulatory elements (CREs) in ER stress–responsive gene promoters. By integrating the cistrome results into a TF network analysis, we mapped a subnetwork of TFs associated with a CRE that may contribute to UPR management. Lastly, we validated the role of a predicted network hub gene using the Arabidopsis system. The PDIs, TF networks, and CREs identified in our work are foundational resources for understanding transcription–regulatory mechanisms in the stress responses and crop improvement.

59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES↗

DOE OSTI2024

Analysis of carbon capture at cellulosic biorefineries

carbon capture and storage (CCS)↗

NASA NTRS1989

Growing plant in space

Space agencies in several countries are planning for the culture of plants in long duration space bases. The challenge of developing crop production procedures suitable for space projects will result in a new approach of problems we may meet today or in the near future in our common production systems. You may keep in mind subjects as: minimizing wastes or pollution problems, saving materials, introductions robotic helps. Discussion between scientists involved with food production for space programmes and protected horticultural cultivation may open new perspectives.

NASA Program CELSS↗

NASA NTRS2008

Early Warning of Food Security Crises in Urban Areas: The Case of Harare, Zimbabwe, 2007

In 2007, the citizens of Harare, Zimbabwe began experiencing an intense food security crisis. The crisis, due to a complex mix of poor government policies, high inflation rates and production decline due to drought, resulted in a massive increase in the number of food insecure people in Harare. The international humanitarian aid response to this crisis was largely successful due to the early agreement among donors and humanitarian aid officials as to the size and nature of the problem. Remote sensing enabled an early and decisive movement of resources greatly assisting the delivery of food aid in a timely manner. Remote sensing data gave a clear and compelling assessment of significant crop production shortfalls, and provided donors of humanitarian assistance a single number around which they could come to agreement. This use of remote sensing data typifies how remote sensing may be used in early warning systems in Africa.

Brown, Molly E.↗

NASA NTRS2016

Detection of Chlorophyll and Leaf Area Index Dynamics from Sub-weekly Hyperspectral Imagery

Temporally rich hyperspectral time-series can provide unique time critical information on within-field variations in vegetation health and distribution needed by farmers to effectively optimize crop production. In this study, a dense time series of images were acquired from the Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) Hyperion sensor over an intensive farming area in the center of Saudi Arabia. After correction for atmospheric effects, optimal links between carefully selected explanatory hyperspectral vegetation indices and target vegetation characteristics were established using a machine learning approach. A dataset of in-situ measured leaf chlorophyll (Chll) and leaf area index (LAI), collected during five intensive field campaigns over a variety of crop types, were used to train the rule-based predictive models. The ability of the narrow-band hyperspectral reflectance information to robustly assess and discriminate dynamics in foliar biochemistry and biomass through empirical relationships were investigated. This also involved evaluations of the generalization and reproducibility of the predictions beyond the conditions of the training dataset. The very high temporal resolution of the satellite retrievals constituted a specifically intriguing feature that facilitated detection of total canopy Chl and LAI dynamics down to sub-weekly intervals. The study advocates the benefits associated with the availability of optimum spectral and temporal resolution spaceborne observations for agricultural management purposes.

Houborg, Rasmus↗

NASA NTRS1994

CELSS Antarctic Analog Project (CAAP): A New Paradigm for Polar Life Support and CELSS Research

The CELSS Antarctic Analog Project (CAAP) is a joint National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) project for the development, deployment and operation of CELSS technologies at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. CAAP is implemented through the joint NSF/NASA Antarctic Space Analog Program (ASAP), initiated to support the pursuit of future NASA missions and to promote the transfer of space technologies to the NSF. Under a Memorandum of Agreement, the CAAP represents an example of a working dual agency cooperative project. NASA goals are operational testing of CELSS technologies and the conduct of scientific study to facilitate . technology selection, system design and methods development, including human dynamics as required for the operation of a CELSS. Although not fully closed, food production, water purification, and waste recycle and reduction provided by CAAP will improve the quality of life for the South Pole inhabitants, reduce logistics dependence, and minimize environmental impacts associated with human presence on the polar plateau. The CAAP facility will be highly integrated with the new South Pole Station infrastructure and will be composed of a deployed hardware facility and a research activity. This paper will include a description of CAAP and its functionality, conceptual designs, component selection and sizing for the crop growth chamber, crop production expectations, and a brief report on an initial on-site visit. This paper will also provide a discussion of issues associated with power and energy use and the applicability of CAAP to direct technology transfer to society in general and remote communities in particular.

Bubenheim, David L.↗

NASA NTRS1998

Integration of Biological, Physical/Chemical and Energy Efficient Systems in the CELSS Antarctic Analog: Performance of Prototype Systems and Issues for Life Support

The Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) Antarctic Analog Project (CAAP) is a joint endeavor between the National Science Foundation, Office of Polar Programs (NSF-OPP), and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The fundamental objective is to develop, deploy, and operate a testbed of advanced life support technologies at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station that enable the objectives of both the NSF and NASA. The functions of food production, water purification, and waste treatment, recycle, and reduction provided by CAAP will improve the quality of life for the South Pole inhabitants, reduce logistics dependence, enhance safety, and minimize environmental impacts associated with human presence on the polar plateau. Because of the analogous technical, scientific, and mission features with Planetary missions, such as a mission to Mars, CAAP provides NASA with a method for validating technologies and overall approaches to supporting humans. Prototype systems for waste treatment, water recycle, resource recovery and crop production are being evaluated in a testbed at Ames Research Center. The combined performance of these biological and physical/chemical systems as an integrated function in support of the human habitat will be discussed. Overall system performance will be emphasized. The effectiveness and efficiency of component technologies will be discussed in the context of energy and mass flow within the system and contribution to achieving a mass and energy conservative system. Critical to the discussion are interfaces with habitat functions outside of the closed-loop life support: the ability of the system to satisfy the life support requirements of the habitat and the ability to define input requirements. The significance of analog functions in relation to future Mars habitats will be discussed.

Bubenheim, David L.↗

DOE OSTI2022

Doubling protected land area may be inefficient at preserving the extent of undeveloped land and could cause substantial regional shifts in land use

Abstract Projection of land use and land‐cover change is highly uncertain yet drives critical estimates of carbon emissions, climate change, and food and bioenergy production. We use new, spatially explicit land availability data in conjunction with a model sensitivity analysis to estimate the effects of additional land protection on land use and land cover. The land availability data include protected land and agricultural suitability and is incorporated into the Moirai land data system for initializing the Global Change Analysis Model. Overall, decreasing land availability is relatively inefficient at preserving undeveloped land while having considerable regional land‐use impacts. Current amounts of protected area have little effect on land and crop production estimates, but including the spatial distribution of unsuitable (i.e., unavailable) land dramatically shifts bioenergy production from high northern latitudes to the rest of the world, compared with uniform availability. This highlights the importance of spatial heterogeneity in understanding and managing land change. Approximately doubling the current protected area to emulate a 30% protected area target may avoid land conversion by 2050 of less than half the newly protected extent while reducing bioenergy feedstock land by 10.4% and cropland and grazed pasture by over 3%. Regional bioenergy land may be reduced (increased) by up to 46% (36%), cropland reduced by up to 61%, pasture reduced by up to 100%, and harvested forest reduced by up to 35%. Only a few regions show notable gains in some undeveloped land types of up to 36%. Half of the regions can reach the target using only unsuitable land, which would minimize impacts on agriculture but may not meet conservation goals. Rather than focusing on an area target, a more robust approach may be to carefully select newly protected land to meet well‐defined conservation goals while minimizing impacts to agriculture.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

A Prototype Early Planetary Organic Processor Assembly (OPA) Based on Dual-Stage Anaerobic Membrane Bioreactor (AnMBR) for Fecal and Food Waste Treatment and Resource Recovery

Long-duration, deep-space exploration and habitation missions demand robust and reliable technologies to ensure crew health, safety, and mission success. Local food production will be essential for crew nutrition and morale. However, at $10,000/lb, the payload costs and mass/volume limitations to transport and provide the necessary resources, including fertilizer, for an anticipated 30-month mission become challenging over time. For mission success and sustainability, the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) of the near future will need to recover resources from all “waste” sources and be near-closed loop. Organic wastes (e.g., fecal and food) offer a renewable source of C, N, P, water and other trace elements necessary to sustain crop production. However, these high solidwastes are often difficult to treatdue to factors includingheterogeneity, complexity, high organic strength, and the presence of pathogens. To date, there is no flight-ready technology capable of treating mixed organic wastes, creating a technology gap for future space missions. To address this need, a prototype Organic Processor Assembly (OPA) was developed through collaboration between the University of South Florida (USF) and NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC). The OPA is based on the anaerobic membrane bioreactor (AnMBR), a hybrid technology coupling high-rate anaerobic digestion with membrane filtration. The system is designed for an early planetary base (EPB) scenario to aid in closing the resource recovery loop and decreaseresupply dependence. This presentation discusses initial research pertaining to: 1) design challenges in maximizing hydraulic/organic throughputandReliability, Availability, Maintainability, and Safety(RAMS)while minimizingmass and volume; 2) create capabilities for treating simulated high solids waste under steady and non-steady state conditions; and 3) measuresolids performance parameter(s). Future research and development pertaining to further optimization on system operation, performance, and expanded treatment capabilities arepresented.

Bioreactor↗

DOE OSTI2025

Quantifying soil organic matter stock distribution and origin following over a century of maize-based cropping in the former tallgrass prairie region of central USA

Tallgrass prairie conversion to maize-based agriculture in central North America has resulted in substantial loss of soil organic carbon (SOC) in less than two centuries. However, evaluations of how management practices may mitigate SOC losses are generally limited in soil depth and/or duration, missing long-term SOC stock outcomes that manifest over timescales of decades or longer. To address this, we sampled soils in year 145 of the Morrow Plots experiment to (i) evaluate effects of crop rotation and fertility management on SOC stocks and (ii) distinguish prairie- versus maize-derived SOC after continuous maize cropping since 1876 using stable carbon isotope ( 13 C) natural abundance. Soil organic carbon stock by equivalent soil mass (ESM) was + 30.7 Mg C ha −1 (+31.7 %) higher under maize-oat-alfalfa than continuous maize, but similar between maize-soybean and continuous maize. NPK fertilization and manuring did not influence SOC stocks by ESM. Response of SOC stocks at 15 cm depth intervals to NPK fertilization varied by depth and crop rotation, with lower SOC stocks at 30–45 cm under continuous maize and maize-soybean. Maize-derived C ranged 19.5–59.6 % of SOC stock across depths, indicating the majority of SOC was still derived from tallgrass prairie even after 145 years of continuous maize cropping. Our results confirm the potential of diversified crop rotation for minimizing SOC losses relative to tallgrass prairie at the supracentennial scale, and highlight the importance of relic prairie soil organic matter for future crop production in central North America.

crop rotation↗

NASA NTRS2014

Estimating Canopy Dark Respiration for Crop Models

Crop production is obtained from accurate estimates of daily carbon gain.Canopy gross photosynthesis (Pgross) can be estimated from biochemical models of photosynthesis using sun and shaded leaf portions and the amount of intercepted photosyntheticallyactive radiation (PAR).In turn, canopy daily net carbon gain can be estimated from canopy daily gross photosynthesis when canopy dark respiration (Rd) is known.

Canopy↗

NASA NTRSDate not supplied

Behavioral Health Benefits of the ISS Pick-and-Eat Crop Growth System

Summary: We summarize findings related to assessing the pick-and-eat salad-crop productivity and acceptability of the ISS food system as a countermeasure to maintain behavioral health in long-duration spaceflight. BACKGROUND Plants are a potential countermeasure for the stresses of living in space. Caring for plants and eating fresh food have been shown to serve as a psychological benefit for previous astronauts and for others in analogous environments such as Antarctica [1,2]. Gardening can be therapeutic in terrestrial settings [3]. These effects may carry over or be more pronounced in austere environments such as spaceflight. It can reduce stress and increase sensory stimulation and enjoyment [2]. Growing crops may offer astronauts meaningful and engaging work as they care for living things in an austere environment away from Earth’s nature and as they provide sustenance for their crew. We examined the extent to which interacting with plants (e.g., tending to, consuming) was related to behavioral health outcomes in long-duration space missions. METHOD Participants were 27 astronauts that interacted with the plant system VEG-04, VEG-05, and HRF-VEG (VEG-03 I-L, PH-04). In total, there were 106 in-flight observations. Participants completed monthly measures of mood and well-being, enjoyment and time spent performing specific crop growth and consuming the plants, meaningfulness, performance, connections with others and the Earth, desire to work with and eat plants, and experiences with struggling or dying plants. Higher ends of the 7-point Likert scale indicated more positive outcomes, lower ends of the scale were anchored with more negative outcomes, and the scale midpoints indicated neutral positions. Participants selected a specific survey version based on whether they interacted with the plant system(s) or not, and we included only the scores from the crewmembers that participated in any given activity. RESULTS & DISCUSSION Results indicated that participants generally rated tasks related to the plants and crop growth as enjoyable. Consuming the harvested plants and voluntary viewing were the most enjoyable activities. Tending to the plants was reported as moderately enjoyable, indicating BHP benefits from this work task. The BHP impacts of whether the task was engaging, meaningful, supported well-being, or was demanding for a crewmember were generally positive and increased over time. As shown in the Figure, working with plants was reported as more engaging, meaningful, and beneficial to well-being over time, while the demand from the task was moderate to low and consistent over time. Engaging, meaningful, and supporting well-being were strongly, positively correlated with each other, which is consistent with research that suggests engaging and meaningful work can support well-being. Plant activities such as voluntary viewing, watering, harvesting, and consuming, were positively related to task engagement and meaning, and enjoyment and well-being. Findings suggest that working with plants and consuming them can be a behavioral health countermeasure for long-duration spaceflight. REFERENCES [1] Schlacht I, et al. (2020) Impact of plants in isolation: The EDEN-ISS…in Antarctica. In Advances in Human Factors of Transportation, Washington DC. [2] Vessel E, Russo S (2015) Effects of reduced sensory stimulation and…countermeasures…. NASA/TM-2015-218576. [3] Odeh R, Guy C (2017) Gardening for therapeutic people-plant interactions during LDSM. Open Agriculture, 2(1), 1-13. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This research was supported by the Human Health and Performance Contract NNJ15HK11B, and NASA grant MTL #1075 (PI G.D. Massa).

behavioral health↗