Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington, DC                 April 15, 1996
(Phone: 202/358-1979)

Kurt Gufkarcht
Utah State University
(Phone: 801/797-2206)

RELEASE:  96-75

UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY DEVELOPS SPACE CROP

     The first crop developed specifically for growth in 
space has been developed at Utah State University, Logan, 
Utah.

     A space-age wheat variety, USU-Apogee, produces the 
equivalent of almost 600 bushels of grain per acre -- three 
times the top yields from most fields.

     It took more than a decade to develop a wheat suitable 
for space farms, where the artificial sun always shines, 
carbon dioxide levels are high and space is at a premium.  
Apogee thrives under those conditions.  Its heads emerge 23 
days after germination, about a week sooner than some 
varieties grown in controlled environments.

     So far, Apogee's baking characteristics pass muster, at 
least on Earth.  Making bread in space is still uncharted 
territory.

     The wheat variety's development was funded by NASA's 
Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications 
and the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station.

     On long-duration space missions, it will be more 
economical to provide life support supplies by producing 
food, such as Apogee, potable water and breathable air by 
recycling metabolic and other wastes.

     It's not known whether the new variety will make it to 
the moon or Mars, but it's likely to be grown on the 
International Space Station scheduled for completion in 
2002.

     "We're tickled to death with Apogee," said space 
scientist Doug Ming, of NASA's Johnson Space Center in 
Houston.  "We're seeing much higher yields than the other 
varieties we've tried.  It's also much shorter."

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     Bruce Bugbee, the USU crop physiologist who developed 
the variety, has worked with NASA for almost 15 years.  He 
heads a NASA-supported university research facility to 
develop food crops for space in a complex consisting of 30 
computer-controlled growth chambers of various sizes, in 
addition to several greenhouses.

     Previously, the only wheat to be grown in space was 
Superdwarf, a short (about 10 inches tall) line that Bugbee 
originally found in Mexico.  Superdwarf's short height is an 
attribute, but it grew poorly and produced low yields in the 
prototype space farms, known as regenerative life support 
systems. 

     Apogee, which is the term for the point in orbit 
farthest from Earth, is a dwarf hard red spring wheat, 
developed from thousands of segregating lines.  It produces 
few tillers, or branches, which tend to sap energy that a 
plant devotes to grain production. 

     It fits the bill for space farming-- short (about 18 
inches tall when mature), producing an unusually large 
number of seeds, and luxuriant greenleaves.  Other wheat 
grown in controlled environments tended to develop yellow 
leaf tips characteristic of calcium deficiency, often 
killing 30 percent of the leaf. 

     "Superdwarf required perfect conditions for growth. 
Apogee doesn't," Ming said.

     To boost growth and yields, plants destined for space 
are always bathed in light, at a constant temperature and in 
air enriched with carbon dioxide, Bugbee said.  Their roots 
never touch soil.  All are grown hydroponically or in a 
crumbly substrate.

     Apogee isn't likely to be as popular on Earth as other 
crop varieties.  Its yields are comparable to taller field 
varieties, but its shortness hampers harvest and limits its 
ability to compete with weeds.

     Bugbee provides free samples of Apogee to research 
laboratories around the world -- and to schools.  To receive 
seed of Apogee, contact Bugbee at the USU Crop Physiology 
Laboratory, Utah State University, Logan, UT 84322-4820, 
(801) 797-2765, or e-mail (bugbee@cc.usu.edu). 

                    -end-


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