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Grandfield Oklahoma

When i was younger i was told that plants breath in carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen.

If this is true shouldn't soda water be real good for plants? it's water that is full of carbon dioxide!

2/10/2005 2:18:50 PM

Webster, NY

It is true. It happens through photosynthesis. I would think that taking in carbon dioxide through the roots would not help much. check out these.

http://www.ftexploring.com/askdrg/askdrg6.html

http://www.specialedprep.net/MSAT%20SCIENCE/cycleCO1.htm

http://www.chem.yorku.ca/hall_of_fame/essays95/CarbonDioxide/CarbonDioxide.htm

2/10/2005 2:50:56 PM

New Jersey

That is sort of true... I wouldn't call it breathing though.

12H2O + 6CO2 + light �¨ C6H12O6 (glucose) + 6O2 + 6H2O

In photosynthesis Water,Carbon Dioxide, and light energy are converted into sugar, oxygen and water.

Most of the basic details of the process are available at:
http://www.giantvegenetics.com/gv/wiki/index.php/Photosynthesis

2/10/2005 3:29:11 PM

Oz

A massive amount of co2 is frozen in the permafrost of the artic lands.

If through ultrasound,heat or other means,,you can release the co2 from the water,,the leaves will like it.
the rest will be water and may be too much for roots..
i.e.,starve off oxy.,,,
I wonder if the o in the co2 would be good for the roots?

2/10/2005 3:29:17 PM

Grandfield Oklahoma

well i read the articles above, and it doesn't really answer my question. I guess no one has really tried it.


by reading the articles one would assume that if you put a piece of dry ice in a closed contianer- or piped the carbon dioxide from some dry ice to a plant that the plant should show improvment over a normal plant?

2/10/2005 3:36:11 PM

New Jersey

Lots of people HAVE done it.

If your trying to say watering with Soda Water... No that would not be a good idea.

If you are saying increase the % of CO2 in the air then you will get results.

"“If you’re looking for a positive spin on rising CO2 levels, it’s that agricultural production in some areas is bound to increase,” Curtis said. “Crops have higher yields when more CO2 is available, even if growing conditions aren’t perfect." -http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/co2plant.htm

If you have a plant that is not in some sealed environment you will just be tossing your money away for more C02. It would just disperse too quickly in an open area.

I wouldn't recommend getting your CO2 from soda water, dry ice, or putting yeast and water together. They sell it in compressed air tanks.

Many specialty garden suppliers offer CO2 enrichment related products.

For example:
http://www.altgarden.com/site/co2/page1.html


But as I mentioned don't waste your time enriching an outdoor environment. You need to contain the co2 in the plant area.

2/10/2005 3:45:09 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

Yikes! way to Micro climate for me...Hey at night plants suck oxygen...because they have no light...

2/10/2005 3:48:21 PM

Garden State Pumpkins

sorry GV we were posting at the same time.

2/10/2005 3:50:06 PM

Oakland, CA, USA

I'm going largely from fading memory here, but...plants use the CO2 to make their food (sugars) during the day (or whenever there is light available), then at night the process changes and they need Oxygen (to break down the food and use it? My memory is hazy here). The roots need air, but I am under the impression that its the oxygen component, not CO2, that they need. I'm certain that there have been tons of experiments with changing the CO2 content of the air around plants, I know nothing concrete about exposing it to the roots. I'd be wary of messing too much with the relative levels of CO2 in your plant's air (leaf zone or root zone) because it would mean less oxygen (and less unfixed Nitrogen, which is about 70% of the air we breathe!). Remember that plants have a lot of different specialized parts with different needs, that may differ further by time of day and age of the plant. Still, it was a very interesting question; if you find out anything concrete, make sure to let us know! -Erin.

2/10/2005 3:55:22 PM

Oakland, CA, USA

Yeah, a bunch of us posted at the same time. Good info, GV.

2/10/2005 3:57:21 PM

New Jersey

There seems to be a bit of misconception here.

Yes, there are: Light-Dependant Reactions and Light-Independent Reactions

But:

Light-Dependant - Only Occur in the presence of light energy.
Light-Independant - Occur all the time. (DAY AND NIGHT!)

2/10/2005 4:03:06 PM

Itzetown City

In our aquarium we use a co2 catridge and a diffuser for co2 enrichment of the water and better growth and green of the underwater plant. I´m sure it works.

2/10/2005 4:23:16 PM

Pocatello ([email protected])

This is why you should talk to your plants, you're actually
just breathing out co2 all over them...

2/10/2005 5:09:11 PM

Eugene, OR

"Light" is a pretty broad term. What wavelength are we talking here? Obviously most of the visible spectrum isn't doing squat for the plants when compared to the wavelengths we can't see with the naked eye. I would be curious to know what wavelength is ideal for photosynthesis?

2/10/2005 7:29:04 PM

caro mi.

shadow , if you could find an old fountain pop machine around , remove the mixing tank , this will mix water and co2 together , [carbonated water ]. i done it this year , and tho my pumpkin was only 685 lbs. , it was my personal best , and i will do it again . i mixed fish emulsion with it and folier fed the plant . I cant say for sure if this was the reason for the extra growth or not . i can say i had 2 plants , one i did this to and the other i did not , the other plant produced 431 lber. , my second best ever , but the plant of the co2 was far supperior to the 431 plant . the plant was just huge and a very dark green up untill harvest . The other plant was light green and lots of brown . Dan

2/10/2005 10:23:04 PM

New Jersey

Primarily reds and blues I believe. They go into it a little bit here:

http://web.mit.edu/esgbio/www/ps/physics.html

You should be able to find more specific studies if you google it.

2/11/2005 12:40:51 AM

Eugene, OR

Cool site, Thanks. I had never understood how light reacts with the chlorophyl a and b to start the process of photosynthesis. It's amazing how plants have actually created additional pigments to make better use of the visible light between the red and blue ends of the spectrum. Mother Nature is one smart woman!

2/11/2005 8:32:21 PM

C N Y

i have thought about this containment idea for concentrating the CO2 in and around the plant.
two drawbacks, i think---if tooooo enclosed, carbon dioxide could be deadly if you are not careful, just like carbon monoxide poisoning from sitting in a car with a bad exhaust system with no windows open, and WHAT ABOUT THE EARTHWORMS? i think CO2 would sink into the soil and basically squeeze-out the air, which might kill anything in the soil that breathes air. mice, earthworms...CUKE BEETLES??? hmmmm.....
just a couple things to consider. eric

2/17/2005 2:31:47 AM