Outer Space Japanese Cherry baffle Scientist

[Coconut]

Read this today!!!
Here is our chance to get mangosteen, junglesop, duku or any fruit that take too long to fruit from seeds.
Who is in with me to built & launch our own TFForum Satellite? 

http://rt.com/news/cherry-tree-space-japan-796/

[Vlk]

Wow! I already imagine the large satelite growing site somewhere in space.. Floating jungle of all the fruit trees mankind can imagine fruiting just few months after growing from seed. I think I am going to move to space and not Hawaii after all! :-D

[jcaldeira]

If the early fruiting is consistent and can be replicated, as good science demands, this is indeed interesting.  However, if only one out of the 265 space seeds flowered early I'm not very excited.  I've had a few citrus seedlings flower in the first year.  It occasionally happens.  They rarely hold the fruit.

[demingcr]

Would like to see a picture of a tree grown in very low or no gravity and with artificial air environment.

Also, as far as germination I know that there is far more radiation in space even in low orbit it may have to do with limited germination rates.

[shaneatwell]

Maybe the vacuum cause some inhibitory gasses to evacuate. Could replicate that.

[omarudy]

If the early fruiting is consistent and can be replicated, as good science demands, this is indeed interesting.  However, if only one out of the 265 space seeds flowered early I'm not very excited.  I've had a few citrus seedlings flower in the first year.  It occasionally happens.  They rarely hold the fruit.

Meanwhile, the rest of space-traveling cherry pits were planted in Kochi Prefecture in south-western Japan and Yamanashi in central Japan, and they have already come into bloom as well.


If I am reading the article right, it says all of them bloomed as well planted in another part of Japan, woohoo! 265/265 is pretty impressive!

[jcaldeira]

If the early fruiting is consistent and can be replicated, as good science demands, this is indeed interesting.  However, if only one out of the 265 space seeds flowered early I'm not very excited.  I've had a few citrus seedlings flower in the first year.  It occasionally happens.  They rarely hold the fruit.

Meanwhile, the rest of space-traveling cherry pits were planted in Kochi Prefecture in south-western Japan and Yamanashi in central Japan, and they have already come into bloom as well.


If I am reading the article right, it says all of them bloomed as well planted in another part of Japan, woohoo! 265/265 is pretty impressive!

You read the article correctly, but it is inconsistent with other reports on these seeds:

http://japandailypress.com/cherry-tree-from-space-blooms-early-japanese-scientists-baffled-1147159/
"To top it off, the Ganjoji temple sapling is not alone in this phenomenon – four other “space cherry trees” have blossomed early."

http://news.discovery.com/space/cherry-blossom-grown-from-space-seeds-a-little-weird-140411.htm
"Of the 14 locations in which the pits were replanted, blossoms have been spotted at four places."

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2011_species.html
"Most wild trees, but also a lot of cultivated tree varieties, have blossoms with five petals. However, some species have blossoms which consist of ten, twenty or more petals. Trees with blossoms of more than five petals are called yaezakura."

Does anyone here know how common early flowering is in cherry tree seedings?  It seems we would want to compare the percentage of the 'space seeds' that flowered after four years to the percentage of normal seeds that flower within the same time.

[fruitlovers]

Wow! I already imagine the large satelite growing site somewhere in space.. Floating jungle of all the fruit trees mankind can imagine fruiting just few months after growing from seed. I think I am going to move to space and not Hawaii after all! :-D

Somehow i think you would like living in Hawaii better than cramped quarters of ISS.
Also just because this worked one time on flowering cherry doesn't mean it will work in future, or on other species also. My guess is that it's due to low level of radiation. Radiation is known to cause mutations. This can be replicated on earth, no need to go to space. But there is also no guarantee that these irradiated trees will live and flourish to become adult trees. Possible they will also succumb to disease and die after short time.

[Vlk]

Wow! I already imagine the large satelite growing site somewhere in space.. Floating jungle of all the fruit trees mankind can imagine fruiting just few months after growing from seed. I think I am going to move to space and not Hawaii after all! :-D

Somehow i think you would like living in Hawaii better than cramped quarters of ISS.
Also just because this worked one time on flowering cherry doesn't mean it will work in future, or on other species also. My guess is that it's due to low level of radiation. Radiation is known to cause mutations. This can be replicated on earth, no need to go to space. But there is also no guarantee that these irradiated trees will live and flourish to become adult trees. Possible they will also succumb to disease and die after short time.

You are absolutely right. :-) I wouldn't like to live in space not even if the germination and maturing of the plants would be 100x times faster. :-D
But in Hawaii.. Oh wow.. I wouldn't even wink if I would get the chance to live up there! :-))

[Mike T]

The story lacks key details of comparing the whole lot and other seed treatments tries on the seeds. Now if GM corn seeds were sprouted down here after being in space, then kicked a door down and ran of with a pot plant that would be a story.

[fruitlovers]

Watch the old classic sci fi movie Silent Running with Bruce Dern. That's what NASA needs to plan because we're rapidly making this planet unlivable.