ASGSB 1999 Annual Meeting Abstracts

ADVANTAGES OF SUPER DWARF RICE FOR STUDIES IN MICROGRAVITY AND FOR ADVANCED LIFE SUPPORT. B. Bugbee, S. Klassen, J. Frantz, D. Pinnock and T. Dougher. Crop Physiology Laboratory, Utah State Univ., Logan, UT.

Rice (Oryza sativa L.) readily form aerenchyma in response to a hypoxic root-zone environment. Providing a root-zone that has a balance of air filled porosity and adequate water has been an enormous challenge in microgravity. Studies conducted with rice would eliminate the need for oxygen in the root-zone, but even semi-dwarf rice cultivars are more than 70 cm tall, which makes them unsuitable for the confined volumes of spaceflight. We recently screened the world germplasm collection of rice and identified a rice cultivar that is only 20 cm tall at maturity. Like other rice cultivars, it grows equally well with and without O₂ in the root-zone. It prefers warm temperatures (28 to 34C), which can significantly reduce the size of the heat removal system for the growth chamber. Super Dwarf rice heads about 40 days after emergence, matures in 70 days and has high yields. We are currently evaluating its sensitivity to ethylene.

(Supported by the NASA Advanced Life Support Program administered by the Johnson Space Center and by the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station).

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