Rising CO2 Levels and the Size of Sweet Potatoes

A research team from the University of Hawaii has concluded that rising levels of atmospheric CO2 could produce larger sweet potatoes. The researchers grew a white-fleshed sweet potato variety from Hawaii in two types of fertilizer at current CO₂ levels as well as in raised CO2 environments. At the lowest raised CO2 level (approximately double current levels) the sweet potatoes grew to 96 percent larger. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, atmospheric CO₂ levels will be between 500 and 1,000 parts per million (ppm) by the year 2100 as compared to current levels of approximately 352 million ppm. Read more