Crop at the top

 
Published: Friday 31 May 1996

THOSE taking a trip to space need no longer subsist on a staple diet of frozen food straight out of tins. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration in the us announced recently that a new strain of wheat has been developed that can be grown on international space stations and may be even on the moon or Mars.

Apogee, as the new wheat strain is known, is the result of more than a decade of research by scientists belonging to the Utah State University. Conditions in space are reportedly ideal for growing this particular variety, with high carbon dioxide levels, plenty of artificial sunshine and vast tracts of open space. The space-age strain is also more effective than its earthly cousins in that its yields are triple that of the typical wheat crop. Further, the new wheat strain which grows to a shorter height also germinates faster.

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