Is it preferable to irrigate or water plants with soda?

[Michaelangelica]

Is it preferable to irrigate or water plants with soda?

Soda = water carbonated, ie water, with dissolved CO2 bubbles in it. (That's what you will get if you ask for a 'soda' in Oz--not, as I discovered to my dismay, in USA).

 

Research in NZ (the county with indigestion-- burps and bubbles ) has shown better growth of plants watered by natural occurring, bubbling-up soda water. I think this research may have been posted in the TP sub-forum some time ago.

 

Some gardeners I know swear by soda water as a growth stimulant for their indoor plants.

 

The question:- "Would it be worthwhile infusing sprayed on irrigation water or horticultural water with CO2?"

 

Would it help GW?

 

My feeling/observation is as soon as the soda hits dirt it bubbles and fizzes and the CO2 is lost.

As you know I am a chemistry klutz (I did buy a Primary School Periodic Table Poster the other day!)

So anyone know / speculate? What might happen when watering plants with carbonated water?

 

This thread should go in our new Hypography Agricultural/Horticultural/Gardening Science sub forum?? :hyper:

[Moontanman]

Well if the plants were in an enclosed room they might benefit from the added Co2 but in the outside I can't see how it would help. If you could inject CO2 into a sprinkler outside it just might be better but it would take an enormous amount of CO2 and that wouldn't be good for GW would it?

[Boerseun]

I can't see much benefit to it, really, because the bulk of the CO2 should evaporate or simply bubble out before it gets to the roots? I don't know...

 

I remember when I was farming tomatoes, that the most important thing is to keep the pH level in the feeding medium slightly acidic to stimulate the roots taking up nutrients. So I guess if the CO2 in soda makes it acidic, then it would seem as if the plant grows better because of the carbon in the soda, but meantime is was only because of the pH. You can probably get even better results by diluting a little bit of vinegar in normal water.

 

But I'm not sure at all - don't take my word for it!

[lemit]

So, are we talking about caffienated or caffiene-free? Cola or fruit (or whatever Dr. Pepper is)? The chemistry and the pH might vary and might affect the nutritional value. I don't know. It's just that there are various kinds of carbonated soft drinks and various kinds of soils. I think I'd want a little more information before I tried it.

 

--lemit

[Ganoderma]

generally speaking we want CO2 at the leaves and O2 at the roots.

 

if it did work, i am sure there is some other explanation than simply the roots had CO2, because that generally slows things down.

[CraigD]

Is it preferable to irrigate or water plants with soda?

Soda = water carbonated, ie water, with dissolved CO2 bubbles in it. (That's what you will get if you ask for a 'soda' in Oz--not, as I discovered to my dismay, in USA).

 

Research in NZ (the county with indigestion-- burps and bubbles ) has shown better growth of plants watered by natural occurring, bubbling-up soda water. I think this research may have been posted in the TP sub-forum some time ago.

Until I see a reference to this research, I’m going to have a hard time believing this isn’t an oblique joke reference to the 2006 movie Idiocracy:

[cabinet has been debating putting water on the plants instead of Brawndo [[a sports drink]] ]

Pvt. Joe Bowers: What *are* these electrolytes? Do you even know?

Secretary of State: They're... what they use to make Brawndo!

Pvt. Joe Bowers: But *why* do they use them to make Brawndo?

Secretary of Defense: [raises hand after a pause] Because Brawndo's got electrolytes.

Brawndo – it’s got what plants crave.

vs.

What, water, like from outa the toilet?

[lemit]

Brawndo – it’s got what plants crave.

vs.

What, water, like from outa the toilet?

 

Now that's where you get your nutrients!

 

--lemit

[lawcat]

It would certainly make an interesting experiment to find out if there is a saturation point for oxygen production for a particular plant.

[Michaelangelica]

Until I see a reference to this research, I’m going to have a hard time believing this isn’t an oblique joke reference to the 2006 movie Idiocracy.brawndo.com/]Brawndo – it’s got what plants crave.

?

Unfortunately it is almost impossible to google CO2 these days without a billion hits.

As I remember the article was mentioned in the old Terra preta forum /thread and referred to CO2 enriched spring water that fed into a stream in NZ.

 

Searched 'New Zealand' in TP thread and found post #393

In a subsequent study conducted in New Zealand, Rillig et al. (2000) examined several characteristics of AMF associated with the roots of plants that had been growing for at least 20 years along a natural CO2 gradient near a CO2-emmitting spring.

They found that the elevated CO2 significantly increased percent root colonization by AMF in a linear fashion - and by nearly 4-fold! - in going from 370 to 670 ppm.

In addition, fungal hyphal length experienced a linear increase of over 3-fold along the same CO2 gradient, while total soil glomalin experienced a linear increase of approximately 5-fold.

http://www.co2science.org/subject/g/summaries/glomalin.php

Their reference

Rillig, M.C., Hernandez, G.Y. and Newton, P.C.D. 2000. Arbuscular mycorrhizae respond to elevated atmospheric CO2 after long-term exposure: evidence from a CO2 spring in New Zealand supports the resource balance model. Ecology Letters 3: 475-478.

[freeztar]

According to the study, the most increased root growth along the CO2 gradient (I can only assume they mean a hillside that naturally seeps CO2) was due to the atmospheric concentration of CO2 at a maximum of 670ppm.

 

So, I see no indication that spraying soda water (that's what we call it here :D ) on plants will benefit them to any significant degree. As Moon mentioned, the gas leaving the soda water would be subject to the whims of the local atmosphere and would not contribute much to the local CO2 ppm. Boerseun mentioned the acidity of soda water and how that may come into play, but exposed soda water will quickly convert to H2O and CO2 leaving a neutral (more or less) water behind.

 

According to these budding young scientists, it's best to use plain old water.

BDH_F07_009 :: PlantingScience.org :: fostering student research through scientific inquiry and online mentorship

[Michaelangelica]

That's not how I read the study. It seemd to me to be saying that CO2 enriched water led to greated glomulin growth and therfore more carbon in the soil. this could have impications for alieviating global warming

It's not easy seaching though all the atmospheric CO2 articles But here are a few abstractson water CO2. i haven't read the full articles, I would imagine the fact that some studies were done in greenhouses would mean you could attribute the effect to raised air Co2- but . . .

ISHS Acta Horticulturae 323: Symposium on Soil and Soilless Media under Protected Cultivation in Mild Winter Climates

RESPONSE OF PLANT TO IRRIGATION WITH CO2-ENRICHED WATER

Author: A. Ibrahim

Abstract:

In a study to investigate the function of CO2-enriched irrigation water in availing some soil problems for increasing production of plastic tunnel cucumber grown on sandy soil, carbon dioxide was injected through the irrigation system.

The response of crop yield, quality and nutrient uptake of cucumber plant as well as soil pH, CaCO3 content and nutrients status were undertaken.

Data revealed a significant effect of CO2 in lowering soil pH and slight effect on decreasing soluble salts through the growing season.

Nutrients content of the studied soil were not affected due to CO2 injection. While the concentrations of P, Zn, Mn and Fe significantly increased in plant tissues when irrigated with CO2-enriched water.

Meanwhile crop yield and quality of the tested plant was also improved.

Reasons and interpretation of CO2 effects on soil and crop production were discussed. Data revealed that the irrigation with 150 ppm CO2-enriched water could be recommended as the most effective method for temporary controlling soil pH in sandy soil and consequently positively affected plastic tunnel cucumber production.

Full Text (PDF format, 416976 bytes)

Citation

RESPONSE OF PLANT TO IRRIGATION WITH CO2-ENRICHED WATER

Abstract

In our experiments, carbonated water (CW) modified the equilibria in soil. Application of CW decreased the soil pH about 1.5 units one hour after irrigation ended.

 

Minimal, though well defined, differences in soil pH were observed between the two carbonated treatments. The same relationship between the treatments was not found in pH levels of the leachate. This seems strictly related to the temporal and spatial changes in the carbon dioxide (CO2) acidifying effect caused by chemical and biological factors as water descended the soil column. The temporary reduction in soil pH in the CW treatment induced the highest nutrient mobility for most of the elements.

http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~db=all~content=a905363154

 

Responses of Glasshouse Grown Cotton to Irrigation with Carbon Dioxide-Saturated Water

 

J. R. Mauney* and D. L. Hendrix

USDA-ARS Western Cotton Res. Lab., 4135 E. Broadway Rd., Phoenix, AZ 85040

 

* Corresponding author.

 

Experiments were conducted to test the suitability of using irrigation water as a carrier for CO2 to enhance growth and productivity of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.).

Potted plants (‘DPL 61’) were irrigated daily with CO2-saturated water in a greenhouse in Phoenix, AZ. Growth, productivity, and physiological responses of these plants were compared to those irrigated with deionized water. All plants were fertilized twice weekly with a modified Hoagland's solution. Yield as measured by boll load at maturity was increased 70 and 53% in two sets of experiments. Carbon dioxide exchange rate (CER) was increased 38%. Leaf chlorophyll content and starch content were also increased. None of the carbon in lint samples was derived from the CO2 in the irrigation water.

Leaf Zn and Mn were deficient in the control plants but were sufficient in the plants watered with CO2-saturated water.

The CO2-saturated irrigation water increased uptake of Zn and Mn, which supported a more robust photosynthetic apparatus in the treated compared to the control plants.

 

The greater photosynthetic activity during boll loading resulted in a significant increase in yield of the treated plants.

Responses of Glasshouse Grown Cotton to Irrigation with Carbon Dioxide-Saturated Water -- Mauney and Hendrix 28 (5): 835 -- Crop Science

. . .

Carbonated water also increased the number of fruits per plant to 9%, 21% and 8% with 0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 g.l-1 of CO2 respectively. This correlated with an increase in the number of flowers to 10%, 26%, and 18%. The average weight of fruits increased proportionally with the dose of CO2 to 3.2%, 5.3% and 9.1% mainly because of an increase in the diameter of the fruit. Treatments affected pH, EC and nutritional status of water extracted from soil, although leaf analysis showed no significant differences. We can conclude carbonated water increased yield, the number of fruits per plant, and the average weight of fruits. The maximum yield increase was obtained with 0.2 g.l-1 of CO2 whereas the dose 0.3 g.l-1 of CO2 produced the maximum weight of fruits.

Acta Horticulturae

 

Some speculation and discussion

Halfbakery: CO2 Pressurised Delivery