Testing soil-like substrate for growing plants in bioregenerative life support systems

Efficiency of a novel “Food to waste to food” system including anaerobic digestion of food waste and cultivation of vegetables on digestate in a bubble-insulated greenhouse

“…Only the AD is gas-closed. Gros et al (2005) working within CELS/BLSS (also see Manukovsky et al (1997)), addressed the challenge of fertility for crops in an extra-terrestrial environment. They too studied a system of cultivated fungi and earthworms.…”

“…They succeeded with creating a 'soillike substrate' by successive conversion of wheat straw by oyster mushrooms and worms, which supported several cycles of crops with good yields. The objective of Gros et al (2005) was to create a plant growth stimulating, semi-natural substrate based on wastes (i.e. a substrate rich in humic and fulvic acids, as well as beneficial bacteria and plant hormones).…”

Testing anti-fungal activity of a soil-like substrate for growing plants in bioregenerative life support systems

“…Moreover, the worm-cast contents could raise the anti-fungal activity of certain microorganisms occurring in SLS. Other authors (Gros et al, 2005) reported Bacillus bacterium domination in SLS. These bacteria are commonly hosted by the straw (Velazquez-Cedeno et al, 2008), which was used to obtain SLS.…”

Effects of aqueous extract of soil-like substrate made from three different materials on seed germination and seedling growth of rice

“…The feasibility of introducing SLS into closed systems has been proved by experiments. Gros et al have demonstrated that the SLS made from wheat straw is viable to grow several crops including wheat, beans, cucumber and radish [9,10]. The results showed that their yields when growing on a mature SLS are comparable to the yields when growing on a neutral substrate (expanded clay aggregate) under hydroponics [9,11].…”

“…Gros et al have demonstrated that the SLS made from wheat straw is viable to grow several crops including wheat, beans, cucumber and radish [9,10]. The results showed that their yields when growing on a mature SLS are comparable to the yields when growing on a neutral substrate (expanded clay aggregate) under hydroponics [9,11]. It has been proved that SLS plays a critical role by serving as substrate in the life support system for sustainable utilization of the inedible parts of plants and then, improved the system's air tightness [12,13].…”