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Custom-Built Earth-Based Hypergravity Platform to Study Gravity and Light Tropisms on Soil-Grown Seedlings

Matthew Joseph Dionela, Miguel Alaan, Jaun Raquel Lato, Jacob Reyes, Jasper Matthew Tan, Ronnie Concepcion II, R-Jay Relano

Abstract


Earth-based facilities to generate altered gravity provide valuable tools to study crop resilience and adaptation to non-terrestrial gravity, offering a cost-effective alternative to space-based studies. While centrifuges and clinostats simulate hypergravity and microgravity, respectively, their limited scale often restricts research to small, isolated systems, such as cell cultures or petri-dish seedlings, which lack complex interactions such as those in soil-grown plants. Addressing these limitations, this study aimed to develop a 1-axis hypergravity platform with adjustable chambers designed for soil-grown Zea mays seedlings, incorporating controllable gravity, lighting, and irrigation with real-time monitoring through ThingSpeak platform. This platform allowed investigation on how hypergravity (5 g) and photosynthetic photon flux density (6.80–12.95 µmol/m2/s) impact maize growth and morphological traits, including main root length (MRL), seminal root count (SRC), dominant seminal root length (DSRL), shoot length (SL), and leaf count (LC). Results showed that 5 g conditions with higher light levels (12.95 µmol/m2/s) enhanced root elongation and stable leaf counts, while seedlings in 1 g preferred moderate light (6.80–8.16 µmol/m2/s) to avoid growth limitations. Additionally, hypergravity strongly influenced root and shoot growth, promoting root elongation essential for plant stability or anchorage and nutrient uptake. These findings highlight the importance of adjusting gravity and light exposure to optimize growth, providing a basis for future strategies in controlled agricultural systems for terrestrial and extraterrestrial applications.

Keywords



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DOI: 10.14416/j.asep.2025.05.003

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