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To facilitate the selection of a palatable and functional food, eight green onions grown under either cool-white fluorescent lamps (CWF) or high pressure sodium lamps (HPS) were compared for their pungency, tissue nitrate and sulfate status. The effect of lighting intensity and atmospheric CO2 levels on pungency of a selected cultivar was also investigated. Results demonstrate that there was a difference in pungency not only among cultivars, but also between tissue types and developmental stages. The pungency was inversely correlated with nitrate level in tissue, and light quality had profound impact on tissue nitrate level. Pungency in the pseudobulb and leaf of green onion responded differently to increased light intensity and elevated CO2. The effect could be mostly explained by the relative accumulation rates of the flavor precursors and biomass.

The KSC Breadboard Scale Aerobic Bioreactor (B-SAB) was used to bioprocess inedible wheat crop residues to provide recycled nutrients to support crop growth in the JSC Variable Pressure Growth Chamber (VPGC) as part of the 91 day JSC-Lunar/Mars Life Support Test Project Phase III. To meet the wheat nutrient demand at JSC, the KSCB-SAB was operated at both a higher loading rate (35 gdw L-1 compared with 20 gdw L-1) and at a slower retention time (21 days compared with 8 days) than we had used in previous bioreactor (continuous stirred tank reactor - CSTR) studies. The bioreactor operated for 19 weeks-8 weeks startup and steady state stabilization then 11 weeks of operation with the broth harvested weekly. Filtered broth was amended with nutrients and transported to JSC for integration into the VPGC wheat growth component of L/MLSTP Phase III. Biodegradation of JSC wheat residues was a constant 45% during steady state bioreactor operation, and similar to previous B-SAB runs.