CO2 Enrichment

Growers should regard CO2 as the main nutrient a plant needs.

Most of us know that humans and animals inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, which is absorbed by plants, but do we know why plants need carbon dioxide?

Carbondioxide is an important element in photosynthesis, which is a process that converts energy from sunlight to chemical energy stored in glucose.

Carbon dioxide is important for photosynthesis because it provides the carbon required for the plant to produce glucose, which is used to complete cellular processes in the plant.

These cellular processes enable the plants to develop seeds, grow, make fruit, and form flowers.

During photosynthesis, plants gather carbon dioxide and water from air and soil. The water goes through oxidation, while the carbon dioxide goes through reduction.

This process converts carbon dioxide into glucose and the water into oxygen. Inside the plant cell, there is a light-absorbing pigment called chlorophyll, which has the role of absorbing blue and red-light waves from sunlight and reflect green light waves.

This gives the plants their green colour. Chlorophyll allows the plant to absorb the energy needed to complete the photosynthesis process.

The process of photosynthesis can be divided into two main types of reactions. There are light-dependent reactions and light-independent reactions.

The light-dependent reactions convert chemical energy in the form of NADPH and ATP. The light-dependent reactions include the Calvin Cycle, during which energy is used to gather glucose from carbon dioxide.

Carbon molecules are converted from carbon dioxide to stored fuel in the form of carbohydrates. These carbohydrates are used as a source of food or energy for the plant.

The process of photosynthesis is often written as the following chemical formula:

6CO2 + 6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2

This means that six molecules of carbon dioxide (CO2) react with six molecules of water (H2O) to form glucose molecules and oxygen.

CO 2 increases productivity through improved plant growth and vigour. Ways in which productivity is increased by CO 2 include earlier flowering and higher fruit yields.

Most growers agree that you will get about 20-30% more yield with an increased growing speed of at least 15% adding C02 to your grow room.