In the quest to develop self-sustaining colonies on Mars, the ancient wisdom of ancient Mayan farmers has found new relevance. Scientists at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, led by Brazilian astrobiologist Rebeca Gonçalves, have harnessed the Mayan intercropping technique to boost crop yields in simulated Martian soil.
Consortium for planting on Mars
- Published in the journal PLOS ONE, the study reveals promising results from growing cherry tomatoes, peas and carrots together in pots.
- Using the three cultures in pots planted in three types of soil — common terrestrial soil, common sand and a simulation of Martian regolith — the researchers observed promising results.
- Unlike traditional monoculture, where a single crop dominates, intercropping has shown notable benefits for tomatoes.
- These intercropped tomatoes yielded double the production compared to their monocropped counterparts, with larger fruits, earlier ripening and thicker stems.
- The experiments took place in simulated Martian regolith, a soil devoid of organic matter, developed by NASA researchers.
- By introducing beneficial bacteria and nutrients and controlling environmental factors such as gases, temperature and humidity, scientists have recreated conditions similar to a Martian greenhouse.
- Intercropping, a technique rooted in strategic plant selection, optimizes the use of resources, including water and nutrients.
- However, not all cultures thrived equally on Martian soil.
- While tomatoes thrived alongside peas, this was not the case for carrots, likely due to competition for light from taller plants, as noted by Wieger Wamelink, a plant ecologist and study co-author.
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As this is pioneering research, the first time this intercropping technique has been applied to space agriculture, we really didn’t know what to expect. And the fact that it worked really well for one of the three species was a huge discovery, one that we can now develop further in future research. Now it’s just a matter of adjusting the experimental conditions until we find the most optimal system. It could be different species, more species, different proportions of species.
Rebeca Gonçalves, astrobiologist and lead author of the study, told Reuters
According to Wamelink, the findings have profound implications for future missions to Mars. “Transporting food is very expensive and also vulnerable,” he explained to Reuters. “You don’t want to end up on Mars with nothing to eat, like in the movie ‘The Martian.’ Our main goal is to use as much of the resources on site as possible.”
Despite promising results, vegetables grown in Martian soil have not been proven by researchers, undergoing testing instead. However, Wamelink noted that previous crops, including tomatoes, suggested a sweeter flavor compared to their Earth-grown counterparts.
