Farming on Mars must be started with THIS plant before tastier vegetables, study suggests

When the first human settlement is established on Mars, ensuring food security for a sustainable environment would be a major challenge. In order to overcome this challenge, a team of researchers has found a way to grow nutritious plants in inert Martian soil. The experts, in their study published in the journal PLOS One, have suggested plants that the astronauts must grow to cultivate more nutritious produce later on. 

The study published by the Iowa State University recommends that the first Martian colonies must grow the plant alfalfa as it can grow much more easily on Mars and later be used as a bio-fertiliser to boost the nutrient content of the red planet's soil. After years of exploration, scientists have confirmed that the soil of Mars is largely made of basalt which is composed of weathered volcanic rocks. Because of this, the soil lacks organic compounds, cannot hold water, and possesses toxic percolates which are harmful to humans. 

(Alfalfa plant; Image; Unsplash/Representative)

How would alfalfa help?

The experts determined alfalfa's utilities by growing it in a simulated Martian regolith with relatively fewer nutrients. During their experiment, they added a powdered form of alfalfa as a fertiliser to the simulated regolith to cultivate vegetables like turnips, radish, and lettuce, which are considered more complex but nutritious. 

This cultivation was carried out in simulated soil before and after treating it with the alfalfa fertiliser. According to the researchers, the turnip plants grown in simulated Martian soil were stunted and produced fewer and smaller discolored leaves than plants grown in garden soil, however, their condition improved and the growth increased to 190% in the alfalfa-treated soil. 

The researchers, however, underscored that while these vegetables could complete the nutrient requirement of astronauts on Mars to some extent, their calorie content would not be as high. They also noted that "the presence of perchlorate in martian regolith provides a significant challenge in its use as an agricultural substrate". 

Recently, during NASA's Gravity Assist podcast, scientist Dr. Christina Johnson said that plants such as sweet potato, rice, mizuna ( a type of mustard plant), and ginger can be some of the other crop options astronauts could grow initially on Mars.