CO2 GRO Inc. Announces a U.S. Commercial Hemp Demonstration

TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / February 11, 2020 / Toronto based CO2GRO Inc. ("GROW") (TSX-V:GROW, OTCQB:BLONF, Frankfurt:4021) is pleased to announce a Commercial Demonstration ("Demo") of its CO2 Delivery Solutions™ technology at Missouri based Linn County Seed & Flower Co-op ("Linn County") and Sacred Seed Hemp Farms LLC ("Sacred Seed").

Linn County, which has a total of twenty-two greenhouses, and nearby Sacred Seed have agreed to participate in a Commercial Demonstration of CO2 Delivery Solutions™. Linn County and Sacred Seed work with nearly 250 contracted hemp greenhouses across several states growing hemp for American Hemp Ventures (AMHV.OTC), one of the largest hemp product distributors in the United States.

All of Linn County and Sacred Seed's hemp seed greenhouses are similar in design and cultivation area which enables the technology to be implemented more cost-effectively. The demonstration will evaluate the effects of CO2 Delivery Solutions™ on hemp plant growth with respect to the following parameters: 1) Faster growth to maturity, 2) Increased hemp flower and seed production, and 3) Reduction in the spread of powdery mildew.

The Hemp Market

According to a report by Markets & Markets Research, the industrial hemp market is projected to grow from USD 4.6 Billion in 2019 to USD 26.6 Billion by 2025, recording a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 34.0% during the forecast period. This is attributed to the growing number of chronic diseases such as diabetes; increasing usage of hempseed oil & hemp seed in various food applications; greater application of the non-psychotropic cannabinoid cannabidiol (CBD)-CBD hemp oil in food & pharmaceutical segment and increasing legalization in the cultivation of industrial hemp.

The Global Hemp Seed Market is expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 6.5% over the next five years and will reach USD 480 Million by 2024, up from USD 350 Million in 2019, according to a new study by 360 Research Reports. According to industry lobby group, Vote Hemp, as of year-end 2019 there are over 500,000 acres of licensed hemp production in the U.S., more than quadruple the number of acres licensed at year-end 2018.

Benefits to the Hemp Market

GROW's CO2 Delivery Solutions™ technology helps reduce the spread of micro pathogens such as powdery mildew through our "Perimeter Protection" benefit which occurs when our aqueous CO2 solution is misted on to plant leaves. In 2019, U.S. hemp crop losses were estimated at 50% by Vote Hemp. A significant portion of those crop losses were from powdery mildew infection resulting in crops being destroyed. In addition to reducing crop loss, CO2 Delivery Solutions™ result in faster growth for more harvests, greater bud and seed production, and greater CBD production.

Linn County Seed & Flower CEO, Levi Swanson, who is also Founder and CEO of Klondike Agricultural Products (www.klondikeag.com), an innovative seed technology company stated, "We believe applying CO2 Delivery Solutions™' technology after our Klondike KAPsol™ hemp seeds have germinated will help increase the speed of growth to maturity, quantity and quality of our hemp seed production as well as reducing the spread of powdery mildew on our crops. The higher quality hemp seeds produced will be used in Klondike's patented KAPsol™ self-contained ecosystem technology which provides growers with higher germination rates and crop viability for greater yields."

According to John Archibald, GROW's CEO "Having our CO2 Delivery Solutions™ provide optimum CO2 to the hemp plant once they have germinated from the Klondike KAPsol™ seed, provides hemp growers with an even faster grow cycle from seed to harvest as well as a healthier plant that produces more buds, biomass and CBD. Our Perimeter Protection benefit stops the spread of powdery mildew which saves crops from infection and adds significant value to a hemp grower's bottom line."

Both GROW and Klondike will be presenting their respective technologies at the Hemp Innovation Challenge at the World Ag Expo in California on February 12th.

Visit www.co2delivery.ca for more information on CO2 Delivery Solutions™ or watch this video.

About CO2 GRO Inc.

GROW's mission is to accelerate the growth of all value plants safely, effectively and profitably using our patent protected advanced CO2 Delivery Solutions™. It is a commercially proven technology that is easily adopted into all covered cultivation including greenhouses, shade, hoop and tunnel houses, indoor and outdoor grow operations.

GROW's target markets are the 50 billion square feet of global greenhouse space (USDA) and the 4.62 billion acres of global cropland (USGS). While indoor gassing of CO2 to enhance crop yields has been practiced for decades, 85% of the world's greenhouses cannot use CO2 gassing economically due mostly to heat ventilation which causes the CO2 gas to escape. Outdoor growers cannot gas CO2 into the atmosphere to the ideal levels required of up to 1500 ppm.

GROW's CO2 Delivery Solutions™ naturally and safely dissolves CO2 gas into water creating an aqueous CO2 solution which is then misted directly on plant leaves. GROW has demonstrated improving crop yields by up to 30% with up to 30% faster growth. The CO2 solution's micro droplets create an aqueous film around the entire leaf surface, isolating the leaf from the atmosphere. This creates a diffusion gradient favoring CO2 transport into the leaf and other gases out of the leaf. Increased carbon availability enhances photosynthesis resulting in faster and larger plant growth. CO2 Delivery Solutions™ has been demonstrated on crops including cannabis, lettuce, kale, microgreens, peppers and flowers. Growers everywhere can now supplement CO2 to their crops using CO2 Delivery Solutions™, increasing plant yields and profits.

Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain forward-looking statements that are based on CO2 GRO's expectations, estimates and projections regarding its business and the economic environment in which it operates. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to control or predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from those expressed in these forward-looking statements and readers should not place undue reliance on such statements. Statements speak only as of the date on which they are made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update them publicly to reflect new information or the occurrence of future events or circumstances, unless otherwise required to do so by law.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For more information, please visit www.co2gro.caor contact Sam Kanes, VP Communications at 416-315-7477 or Michael O'Connor, Manager of IR at 604-317-6197.

SOURCE: Co2 Gro Inc.