CO2 ENRICHMENT - A critical tool for maximizing yields … and it’s not just for warehouses

Plants like humans have defined needs from their environment. There are six
essential factors that effect cannabis growth. CO2 is one of these. The
release of CO2 is always integrated into indoor cultivation sites. Now
there is a company that is bringing this necessary component to outdoor
cultivators. I’ve seen the test sites and the results are noteworthy. AG
Gas is the leading company with this technology. They share their research
with us. –*Ed*

Using CO2 in hoop houses, ventilated greenhouses and open fields will
improve the quality and increase the quantity of your harvest. This is not
just theory- farmers today are enjoying the benefits of CO2 enrichment, and
you can too.
[image: Greenshock_Ag_Gas-IMG_9748by_Ed_Rosenthal.jpg]

AG Gas provides a convenient system for delivering CO2 to your crops.
Here’s the story in their words:
*CO2 ENRICHMENT - A critical tool for maximizing yields … and it’s not just
for warehouses*

Photosynthesis is the process in which plants use the sun’s energy to crack
carbon out of CO2 molecules to create sugars. These sugars are the building
blocks of all plant matter – including roots, stems, leaves, buds,
cannabinoids, and terpenes. Remarkably, the plants you grow on your farm
literally come out of the air when CO2 is taken up through stomata openings
of the plants’ leaves.

Growers spend a lot of time and effort preparing the soil (the source of
primary and trace nutrients), irrigating, and ensuring there is sufficient
light. You can see these things with your own two eyes and are practices
farmers have understood since the beginning of agriculture. If you could
“see” CO2 you might think differently about it.
[image: Image taken with a specialized FLIR camera (CO2 in red).]

*Image taken with a specialized FLIR camera (CO2 in red).*

Enriching the air around your plants with CO2 supercharges the
photosynthetic process, creating healthier plants and, ultimately, bigger
yields. Gaining sufficient carbon from CO2 is important even at the
earliest stages of plant development when the plant prioritizes root
development. Like compound interest, these early “investments” in plant
structure support the creation of additional biomass as the plant matures.
The best results from CO2 enrichment are realized when it’s applied to both
the vegetative and flowering stages.

Yield improvements from CO2 enrichment derive from more, larger, and denser
buds and can exceed 30-40% … commonly generating 25-30 pounds of additional
finished product per 1,000 square feet per harvest. As Ed Rosenthal likes
to say, plants evolved when there were greater concentrations of CO2 in the
atmosphere and they “know” how to use more of it.

There are other benefits to CO2 enrichment as well. When greater levels of
CO2 are available to a plant it changes the transpiration process. Stomata
openings close somewhat because the plant is getting all the CO2 it needs
for optimum photosynthesis. This results in less water vapor being lost
through the leaves, which tamps down foliar canopy humidity – helping to
reduce mold and mildew – and improves the plant’s water-use efficiency. It
also makes the plants more heat-tolerant.
[image: Bryla Diagram.jpg]

Researchers have completed scores of scientific studies on CO2 enrichment –
many with the intent of understanding the impact on agriculture of rising
levels of atmospheric CO2 – and the results have been profound. Managed use
of CO2 in farming has the potential to turn the issue of waste industrial
CO2 into an agricultural benefit.
[image: A University study of CO2 enrichment on open-air tomato crop
generated 120% yield improvement]

*A University study of CO2 enrichment on open-air tomato crop generated
120% yield improvement*

Cannabis growers, by and large, know that CO2 enrichment works. Many have
grown indoors using propane burners to generate both heat and CO2. In an
enclosed environment you can “flood the space” to generate CO2
concentrations two or three times the ambient levels. Many growers also
know there are risks associated with this practice – both to plants and to
humans. An impure “burn” can generate bi-products such as ethylene that are
toxic to plants. And OSHA regulates human exposure to CO2, which is an
asphyxiant. *Any* CO2 enrichment process needs to address these issues with
regulatory-compliant safety protocols and 24/7 monitoring.
[image: Audible and visual alarms are generally required for enclosed
spaces using CO2 enrichment.]

*Audible and visual alarms are generally required for enclosed spaces using
CO2 enrichment.*

What are your options for CO2 enrichment if you *don’t* grow indoors? The
key is to use a system that is targeted, dynamic and prescriptive. The only
CO2 that matters is the CO2 that’s in the foliar canopy. And if the
conditions aren’t right – not enough light, imperfect temperature, too much
ventilation – the CO2 is simply wasted. An effective system needs to adjust
constantly to the ambient environment using real-time sensor data.

With the right system, CO2 enrichment can generate compelling returns …
even in open-air grows, light-dep hoop houses and naturally-ventilated
greenhouses.

*Outdoor grow with CO2 enrichment system*

The same data points used to manage CO2 enrichment can be useful in
managing your other growing practices as well … data points that are
generally available to indoor growers. While you may not be able to control
factors like temperature and humidity in a naturally-ventilated
environment, you can use this information to better understand and react to
your plants’ needs.
[image: Environmental dashboard.]

*Environmental dashboard.*

When considering a CO2 enrichment solution it’s important to consider
ease-of-use. Targeting the foliar canopy means having to adjust emitter
lines as plants grow, and being able to move the lines out of the way when
laying mesh trellis, tending to plants or at harvest time. CO2 enrichment
should mesh – not interfere – with your general farming practices.
[image: AG Gas patents-pending adjustable CO2 emitter lines permit easy
access to plants]

*AG Gas patents-pending adjustable CO2 emitter lines permit easy access to
plants*

CO2 enrichment performs best at grow sites that have already dialed-in
their core practices for soil, nutrients, irrigation and pest management.
These growers are best able to make small adjustments to their nutrient and
irrigation regimes in order to gain maximum yield increases and can also
assess the results of using CO2 enrichment against a baseline of previous
harvests.

Warehouse growers readily attest to the benefits of CO2 enrichment, where
the practice is typically a standard operating procedure. Open-air, hoop
house and ventilated greenhouse growers generally assume these benefits
don’t apply to them. The following video features one (originally
skeptical) grower’s experience with CO2 enrichment both in light dep hoop
houses and in open-air grows.

Farming is often about addressing the limiting factors of production. All
growers – regardless of how they grow – have options to take CO2 off this
list.

Feel free to reach out to AG GAS if you have questions:

E-mail: info@aggas.com

Phone: 888.579.3223

Website: www.aggas.com

Instagram: aggas_carbogation