Can breathing on plants help them grow?

[BaiLiHua]

Plants require carbon dioxide to carry out photosynthesis. Can breathing on them encourage growth?

 

[jim mcnamara]

If the stomates on the leaves are open when your breathe on them, yes very slightly.
Actually just you being alive in the room with the plant, may increase the CO2 levels a small amount, depending on room ventilation.

 

[BaiLiHua]

Thanks!

 

[Phyisab****]

If it does the effect will be too small to measure I would have to guess. I wonder though what the effects would be of growing plants in a room with say double the atmospheric content of co2.

 

[Dadface]

If it does the effect will be too small to measure I would have to guess. I wonder though what the effects would be of growing plants in a room with say double the atmospheric content of co2.

I think the rate increases to a maximum value determined by CO2 content and other factors such as illumination level and temperature.

 

[Proton Soup]

If it does the effect will be too small to measure I would have to guess. I wonder though what the effects would be of growing plants in a room with say double the atmospheric content of co2.

not sure, but CO2 fertilization is quite popular for freshwater planted aquariums.

i was thinking it would make a neat school experiment to grow plants in a plastic-sealed enclosure, but put an opened soda bottle inside one each day so that it releases CO2 as it goes flat. maybe there would be a difference in growth after a month.

 

[BaiLiHua]

That is a very interesting thought indeed.

 

[Phyisab****]

Is this an established technique for commercial applications? Anybody know how effective this is and how far it can be taken? Edit: I did a quick google search but was overwhelmed by discussions of global warming. I'd try harder but I really need to study.

 

[BaiLiHua]

I had Googled it myself but found next to nothing. I doubt it's a commercial application, but I'll keep looking.

 

[MATLABdude]

This came up in a discussion at lunch one day (we had a half-joking conversation about how to rapidly agave plants and take advantage of the slowdown in Mexico to corner the Tequeila market), but someone mentioned that they'd heard that high (as in many percent, and not parts per million) carbon dioxide concentration would get you bigger but sickly plants. I think the Wikipedia has something in this vein:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_dioxide#Role_in_photosynthesis

I Googled for 'high partial pressure CO2 plant growth' and found this article at PNAS (which uses the PACE facility mentioned on the Wikipedia page):
http://www.pnas.org/content/98/5/2473.abstract

I think we came to the conclusion that while we'd get more agave mash, the quality and sugars wouldn't be there. Though it might be possible to supply the sugars prior to fermentation, if not exactly any of the rest.

 

[BaiLiHua]

I do believe that makes a lot of sense.