Progressive Plant Growing Has Business Blooming

The low-mass, inflatable aeroponic system has not yet been used in the Space Program, but does have potential for integration into future Moon and Mars applications. The inflatable and deflatable nature of the SBIR innovation makes it lightweight, so it takes up less volume during transportation and storage. Even more, it improves upon the preceding enclosed aeroponic system in that its design allows for a significantly larger crop yield. Spinoffs of the design and materials used are now being introduced for commercial agricultural applications.

Product Outcome

{MOSIMAGE}AgriHouse’s aeroponics and ODC research on Mir and its ensuing first SBIR contract made way for the commercialization of the Genesis Series V aeroponic system. With this rapid-growth system, plants can be started from cuttings from an already-mature plant placed in the openings on top of the growing chamber. The stems are suspended in this chamber. If starting with seeds, they can be placed on specially designed mesh holders that are inside of the chamber. For both the cuttings and the seeds, the resulting plants rapidly develop root systems and grow in an enclosed, air-based environment, made moist by a hydro-atomized, nutrient-rich spray that is released in timed intervals by a microcomputer and finely misted onto the growth subjects.

This clean, sterile environment greatly reduces the chances of spreading plant disease and infection that is commonly associated with other growing media. Each growing chamber has 161 openings. The grower can place one to five cuttings in each opening. Plants do not stretch or wilt while they are developing their roots. Once roots are developed, the plants can be easily removed for transplanting into any type of media without experiencing transplant shock or setback to normal growth.

The Genesis system can grow many different plant types, including nursery stock, fruits, vegetables, and houseplants. Hundreds of varieties have been cultivated by researchers, farmers, commercial greenhouse growers, and nursery operators. In the case of tomatoes, for example, growers can utilize the soil-less method to get a jumpstart on their production. Tomato growers traditionally start their plants in pots, having to wait at least 28 days before transplanting them into the ground. With the Genesis system, growers can start the plants in the aeroponic growing chamber, then transplant them to another medium just 10 days later. This advanced aeroponic propagation technology offers tomato growers six crop cycles per year, instead of the traditional one to two crop cycles. It also eliminates the need for stage one and two tissue culture transplants, thus, reducing labor and handling costs.

{MOSIMAGE}According to AgriHouse, growers choosing to employ the aeroponics method can reduce water usage by 98 percent, fertilizer usage by 60 percent, and pesticide usage by 100 percent, all while maximizing their crop yields by 45 to 75 percent. By conserving water and eliminating harmful pesticides and fertilizers used in soil, growers are doing their part to protect the Earth. Moreover, the NASA SBIR results demonstrated that this aeroponic technology delivers an 80-percent increase in dry weight biomass per square meter, when compared to hydroponic and soil-based growing techniques. (When a dry weight measurement is taken, all water is removed from roots, leaves, and stems—thereby, removing water from the biomass.) These results essentially proved that aeroponically grown plants uptake more minerals and vitamins compared to other growing techniques.