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What Happens to Plant Growth When You Remove Gravity?


raja444pln

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It is a very interesting question I must agree - although, I'm not sure if it would be something that is possible; Plants need a place to feed, breathe, and to gain some form of nutrition. Just - as any living-being would also require.

 

 

Without a gravitation to keep this nutrition in place; It would be mere chaos and almost uninhabitable - unless, of course, there is SOME kind of nutrition that is alike to our Sun and gives a water source to keep the plants alive.

 

 

- I don't believe it is possible to do so, then again, this is only my hypothesis.

Edited by 12012
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I would be very surprised if plant growth in weightlessness hadn't been tried out on MIR, ISS, or similar conditions. Such research is one of the first things that comes to my mind for justifying huge amounts of money being put into space stations in particular or space research in general.

Edited by timo
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Coincidentally the title of this Science Daily article is the same as the OP:

 

It is well known that plant growth patterns are influenced by a variety of stimuli, gravity being one amongst many. On Earth plant roots exhibit characteristic behaviours called 'waving' and 'skewing', which were thought to be gravity-dependent events. However, Arabidopsis plants grown on the International Space Station (ISS) have proved this theory wrong, according to a study published in BioMed Central's open access journalBMC Plant Biology: root 'waving' and 'skewing' occur in spaceflight plants independently of gravity.

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121206203148.htm

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Although plants use gravity as an orientating tropism on the Earth's surface, it is clear that gravity is neither essential for root orientation, nor is it the only factor influencing the patterns of root growth. It seems that other features of the environment are also required to ensure that a root grows away from the seed, thereby enhancing its chances of finding sufficient water and nutrients to ensure its survival.

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http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/12/121206203148.htm

 

Although plants use gravity as an orientating tropism on the Earth's surface, it is clear that gravity is neither essential for root orientation, nor is it the only factor influencing the patterns of root growth. It seems that other features of the environment are also required to ensure that a root grows away from the seed, thereby enhancing its chances of finding sufficient water and nutrients to ensure its survival.

There's nothing wrong with quoting someone else's work, but you should say that you are doing so.

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