With the construction of the first section of the Orbital Ring, corresponding support facilities were also transported to Rostov II.
These facilities included energy supply modules, gravity regulators, air circulation systems, and various maintenance equipment, each strictly blessed by a Tech-Priest to ensure their stable operation in the extreme environment of the Orbital Ring.
The roar of the transport ship's engines echoed over the Starport, as if playing a prelude to this grand project.
Once completed, the Orbital Ring would be enormous; as long as the planet's air was clean and not obscured by thick acid rain clouds, even from the planet's surface, one could easily see the massive structure spanning the sky with the naked eye, making it clear that it was a miracle of human engineering.
Of course, in the words of the Adeptus Mechanicus, it would definitely be the mighty power of the god of machines!
However, the construction of the Orbital Ring on Rostov II is not yet fully completed; only the first part of the frame structure has been laid, less than one-tenth of the entire ring.
But even so, this is a massive structure nearly three thousand kilometers long and over ten kilometers wide.
(The equatorial circumference is forty thousand kilometers, and Rostov II is slightly smaller than Holy Terra.)
If used for cultivation, an area of thirty thousand square kilometers translates to approximately forty-five million mu of land, which is more than the total cultivated land area of a provincial administrative unit in a certain major Eastern country during the 3k era.
Such a large area, if used to grow grain, could feed many people even by 3k era standards.
Not to mention that the Orbital Ring's structure is not single-layered; it is a multi-layered structure, providing an even larger usable area.
Alex, of course, would not leave such a vast area empty.
The planned Orbital Hydroponic Farm was already under construction.
Some components ordered from Mariupol Forge World, equipment produced from the Rostov III Forge Factory, various machinery ordered from Griya and Grimfen IV, icy asteroids collected from the galactic asteroid belt, plasma collected from stars...
These resources were continuously transported to the Orbital Ring, providing support for the construction of the hydroponic farm.
An Orbital Hydroponic Farm capable of feeding a billion people was thus built.
According to Alex's plan, there will be ten such massive Orbital Hydroponic Farms on the Orbital Ring, providing enough food to feed ten billion people.
A significant portion of this food will not be eaten directly but will be processed into food like energy bars and nutrient porridge before being distributed to the general populace as rations.
This might sound a bit heartless, to do so when there is enough food.
But in Alex's view, doing so could feed even more people.
After all, for the Empire's energy bars and nutrient porridge, it would be the Emperor's blessing if the natural food content reached 60% with a bit of conscience.
Rations for ten billion people, if enough promethium extract is added during processing, can even feed more than three times that population.
Although the Rostov Sub-Sector currently has no population pressure or food crisis, Alex needs to consider the future and stockpile a portion of storable food.
Natural grains, while delicious, are not durable for storage.
In the 3k era, scientists racked their brains to store grain.
Yet, even so, how to effectively preserve grain long-term remained a global challenge, and the better the technical effect, the higher the cost.
While the 40k era has more and advanced technologies, preserving natural food is still not easy.
Unless stasis fields are used regardless of cost, it is impractical to preserve natural food for long periods.
The most suitable method is still to process it into durable foods such as energy bars and nutrient porridge, especially since the Empire's food preservation technology can keep the food Alex is currently making within its shelf life until the end of the Indomitus Crusade.
Of course, this is also more suitable for long-distance interstellar transport, providing food supplies for the Sub-Sector's immigrant development.
However, before the Orbital Hydroponic Farm is put into use, Alex still needs to confirm with Ovilia what crops should be planted in the hydroponic farm.
After all, different crops have different environmental and resource requirements, and choosing suitable crops can maximize the utilization of the Orbital Ring's resources, ensuring stable and reliable food supply in the future.
—
"You mean to implement some kind of 'vertical composite planting' in the hydroponic farm?" Ovilia stared at Alex, her brows furrowed, her tone betraying a hint of unconcealed confusion and skepticism.
To her, this planting method sounded more like some kind of fantasy than a feasible agricultural technology.
The so-called vertical composite planting is an agricultural technology Alex dug out from his 3k era memories.
Its core idea is to plant multiple crops in the same cultivated land through a layered arrangement in vertical space.
These crops, according to their respective growth habits and needs, are cleverly arranged in the same block, fully utilizing resources such as light, temperature, and water, thereby maximizing yield per unit area.
In the 3k era, this technology had already seen some exploration and application in plant factories and hydroponic planting, considered an emerging agricultural model.
But in the 40k era, this technology seemed out of place.
The Adeptus Mechanicus's agricultural model is simple and crude—they push the yield of single crops to the limit through genetic modification and large amounts of fertilizer.
Their high-yield crop seeds can drain the fertility of an entire plot of land within a year, and subsequent planting must rely on massive amounts of fertilizer and water resources.
This model is like the Empire's rule over various worlds, only considering immediate interests and never sustainable development.
And once separated from the support of the entire Imperial system, a single Imperial World often cannot sustain its own operations.
For example, an Imperial World, once deprived of fertilizer and fresh water from surrounding planets, often experiences rapid yield reduction, thus being unable to supply other planets.
Ovilia was not enthusiastic about Alex's request, even showing some impatience: "Do you know why the Adeptus Mechanicus doesn't use this technology? Because it's too troublesome. We only need to cultivate one crop to its extreme; why bother with so many tricks?"
Alex, however, was unmoved; he insisted on his idea: "The Adeptus Mechanicus's method is indeed efficient, but it wastes too many resources, and we don't have that many resources to follow the Adeptus Mechanicus's traditional methods right now.
We should try to achieve a self-sufficient micro-ecosystem for farmland and increase unit grain yield through composite planting of multiple different crops, without additional fertilizer input.
This is very significant for Rostov's future food supply security!"
Ovilia sighed. Although Alex's request was outrageous, she also knew it was feasible, just very troublesome to do.
"Alright, I can try." She finally compromised, sighing and saying, "But you have to understand, this is no simple matter! I need to adjust the habits of multiple different crops to make them coexist as you requested and form a self-sufficient ecological micro-circulation...
This is simply too troublesome! I hope you can make slightly simpler requests next time."
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