Mayan Farming Techniques Boost Crop Yields on Mars: Groundbreaking Study Reveals

In the effort to develop self-sustaining colonies in Martethe ancestral wisdom of the farmers of old mayans find new relevance. Scientists at Wageningen University in the Netherlands, led by Brazilian astrologer Rebeca Gonçalves, have used the Mayan intersection method to increase crop yields in Martian-like soil.

Consortium for planting on Mars

• Published in the journal PLOS ONE, the study shows promising results from growing cherry tomatoes, peas and carrots together in pots.
• Using the three cultures in pots placed in three types of soil – ordinary soil, ordinary sand and imitation of Martian regolith – the researchers saw promising results.
• Unlike traditional monoculture, where one crop dominates, intercropping has shown distinct benefits for tomatoes.
• These intercropped tomatoes produced double the yield compared to the monocropped ones, with larger fruit, earlier ripening and thicker stems.
• The experiments were carried out in a model of Martian regolith, soil without organic matter, developed by researchers at NASA.
• By introducing beneficial bacteria and nutrients and controlling environmental factors such as gases, temperature and humidity, scientists have recreated conditions similar to a Martian greenhouse.
• Intercropping, a technique rooted in strategic plant selection, optimizes the use of resources, including water and nutrients.
• However, not all cultures succeeded equally on Martian soil.
• While tomatoes thrived alongside peas, carrots did not, possibly due to competition for light from higher plants, said Wieger Wamelink, a plant ecologist and co- study author.

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As this is pioneering research, the first time this intersectional approach was applied to space agriculture, we didn’t really know what to expect. And it was a big discovery that it worked really well for one of the three species, one that we can now develop in future research. Now it’s just a matter of changing the experimental conditions until we find the best system. It could be different species, more species, different proportions of species.

Rebeca Gonçalves, an astronomer and lead author of the study, told Reuters

According to Wamelink, the findings have significant implications for future missions to Mars. “Food transport is very expensive and also vulnerable,” he explained to Reuters. “You don’t want to go to Mars without anything to eat, like in the movie ‘The Martian.’ Our main aim is to use as many resources as possible on the site.”

Despite promising results, vegetables grown in Martian soil have not been tested by researchers, undergoing testing instead. However, Wamelink noted that previous crops, including tomatoes, suggested a sweeter flavor compared to those grown in the Terra.