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.

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 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.

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.

***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.

***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.

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.

***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