Lunar exploration has captivated significant attention in recent times through programs such as Artemis. To establish long-term sustenance on the moon, astronauts have to grow their food on-site. While a key substrate for plant production – lunar regolith can induce baneful effects, supplementation with organic amendments could alleviate this inherent toxicity and significantly improve plant growth. In the present study, we examined the suitability of cocopeat (CP) as an amendment to ISRO's lunar soil simulant (LSS), LSS-ISAC-1. We assessed the germination and seedling growth response of four crops—wheat, tomato, groundnut, and cotton to LSS and Cocopeat supplementation. As anticipated, all four crops grew very well on earth soil (ES) and CP compared to the LSS. However, due to acidic pH, low electric conductivity (EC), and severe nutrient deficiency in LSS, we observed significantly low germination, stunted seedling growth, and altered associated oxidative stress indicators. To mitigate these pernicious effects, LSS supplemented with varied CP proportions – 3.125, 6.25, 12.50, 25, 50, and 100 %. The resultant data revealed that LSS supplemented with 6.25 % CP in wheat and tomato; 3.125 % CP in groundnut, and 25 % CP in cotton significantly improved phenotypic and biochemical traits in seedlings. Collectively, this study suggests the utility of CP as a novel augmenting agent to boost ISRU strategy for crop growth in moon regolith.

中文翻译：

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补充椰糠可以消除月球土壤模拟物引起的农作物幼苗的有害表型和生化变化

近年来，月球探索通过阿耳忒弥斯等计划引起了人们的广泛关注。为了在月球上长期维持生计，宇航员必须在月球上种植食物。虽然植物生产的关键基质——月球风化层可能会产生有害影响，但补充有机改良剂可以减轻这种固有毒性并显着改善植物生长。在本研究中，我们检查了椰糠 (CP) 作为 ISRO 月壤模拟物 (LSS) LSS-ISAC-1 修正的适用性。我们评估了四种作物（小麦、番茄、花生和棉花）对 LSS 和椰糠补充剂的发芽和幼苗生长反应。正如预期的那样，与 LSS 相比，所有四种作物在地球土壤 (ES) 和 CP 上都生长得很好。然而，由于 LSS 中的酸性 pH 值、低电导率 (EC) 和严重的营养缺乏，我们观察到发芽率明显较低、幼苗生长发育不良以及相关氧化应激指标发生改变。为了减轻这些有害影响，LSS 补充了不同的 CP 比例 – 3.125、6.25、12.50、25、50 和 100%。结果数据表明，LSS 在小麦和番茄中添加了 6.25% CP；花生中 3.125% CP 和棉花中 25% CP 显着改善了幼苗的表型和生化性状。总的来说，这项研究表明 CP 作为一种新型增强剂可用于促进月球风化层作物生长的 ISRU 策略。