WIKIARCHIVES.SPACE

A close view of germ free plants -- lettuce (left), tomato (right center and left center) and citrus (right). This type of testing is a unique effort at the Manned Spacecraft Center (MSC) to grow germ-free plants. By study of the germ-free plants, NASA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service hope to establish clearly the exact mineral needs of the plants alone. Previous nutrition studies have measured the needs of a complex of soil:micro-organisms:plants. Results from studies where the role of microbes is not known or defined are difficult to interpret and do not lead to the accumulation of exacting facts on plant nutrition.