A Sprout Grows 5 to 7 Times as Quickly in the Space

Chinese national Gene Research Institute announced on the 12th that the bud of a plant cultivated in the space grows 5 to 7 times as quickly as ordinary bud does.

The institute said that unmanned spaceship Shenzhou III, which China launched in the late March, made experiments cultivating and growing the buds of 3 plants including grape and orchid, and the plant cultivated in the space grows more quickly than the plant cultivated in the earth.

Prof. Ryumin from Chinese national gene research institute, who charges the experiment, said, “the plants cultivated in the space grow at the speed of 3 to 5 mm a day after they return to the earth. The sprout of grape cultivated in the space could be sent to the farm this autumn. ”

China has succeeded in cultivating 12 plants in the space including rice, barley, eggplant, pepper, and cucumber. China is founding large scale `space greens farm` in Sichuan, Shandong, and Gansusheng for large culture of these vegetables cultivated in the space.

China had launched an unmanned spaceship Shenzhou III at Jiuquan launch center in the northwestern province of Gansu, and the spaceship returned completing 10 days` experiments in the space.

ljhzip@donga.com