Abstract
This report investigates the effects of various concentrations of CO2 on the photosynthesis and biomass accumulation of crops growing in an AgPod, using kale as the test crop. In the first year of the study, increasing the CO2 concentration in the AgPod was found to promote higher photosynthetic rates in kale plants up to 1,300 ppm (the highest CO2 concentration measured). An interesting finding was that net photosynthetic rates of kale leaves remain unsaturated until reaching unusually high levels of photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, > 1,200 µmol m-1 s-1) and CO2 concentration (> 1,100 ppm). Such high levels of saturating PAR and CO2 concentration values rarely occur under natural conditions, suggesting a promising potential for carbon capture via enriched controlled environment agriculture (ECEA). During the second year of the study, a second crop was planted to confirm the actual effects on growth with increased CO2 concentrations. Our results suggest that growing kale plants in the AgPod system at higher CO2 levels resulted in a successful and highly productive crop, up to three times the amount grown at 415 CO2. Further, the kale plants grown under higher CO2 conditions (1000 ppm) are not CO2 saturated and can potentially further improve yield at even higher CO2 environments.
