BACKGROUND:
Black Pearl™ is a newly developed product that has shown excellent plant growth response with initial client use and the feedback confirming the research conducted to this point. Observational trials were developed to discover the synergy of Black Pearl™, in combination with a generic chemical fertilizer products used in soilless media. Black Pearl™ is best applied at transplant which is how it was used in all small scale work conducted in 2010. The nutrients in Black Pearl™ are organic and therefore in short cycle crops this product can only be used as a supplement to a nutrient that supplies more available nutrition.

Two commercial potting soils were used in the small scale studies conducted:
Ecosoil – Ultimate Mix™ is a peat based soilless mix with additional composts, castings, rock dusts, zeolite, pumice affecting physical characteristics and various other organic amendments to improve fertility. The initial pH was 6.3 and the EC was 1.75 mS/cm, which is high, but lowered quickly as soluble components were used or leached. This product was used in the vegetable beds; the raised beds were 120cm x 180cm and 20cm high. Each bed held approximately 400L of media.

In some of the container trials Miracle Grow™ potting soil was also used in different containers. This is a retail product that was not well composted (visible fresh wood chips) but seemed to contain a large amount of slow release nutrition with the possibility of a seaweed extract. On a related note, the initial growth was higher in containers planted in Ecosoil but within two months, the Miracle Grow plantings surpassed the others. This is a possible affirmation of the addition of slow release nutrients.

Trial material included Swiss Chard, Beets, Radishes, and determinate cherry tomatoes (Balcony Charm®.)

Although more data was intended to be collected, theft of research plants, specifically in containers, unfortunately did affect the level quantitative data and also the replication of results. Container based experiments in 2011 will be done in a secure location to ensure that all usable data is available for analysis.

DISCUSSION:
Black Pearl™ enhanced shoot development of Swiss Chard and Beets.
Chard is a tall, leafy green vegetable commonly referred to as Swiss Chard and scientifically known as Beta vulgaris. Chard belongs to the same family as beets and spinach. This experiment grew chard in containers and beets in beds with Black Pearl™ applied at transplant.

The chard in the containers treated with Black Pearl grew larger. This was in part because seedlings seemed to recover from transplant shock more quickly. This developed into plants that were taller and wider in the leaf blade. The first set of photos was taken two weeks after transplant. The plants treated with Black Pearl averaged 24cm tall with the largest leaf blade recorded at 13cm. The control group averaged a height of 9cm with the largest leaf blade recorded at 8cm.

Beets are very similar to chard. The work with beets was done in beds. The beets were allowed to grow from April 15th to June 15th, 2010. Black Pearl™, when added at transplant, increased fresh shoot weight by 23%.

Black Pearl™ promoted extensive root development.
Although many of the Black Pearl™ treated plants were stolen, the pots that did remain showed denser root distribution through the medium. In the raised beds, the chard displayed a large root to shoot ratio. Large root systems are beneficial to plant growth. The development of stronger and thicker stems and an increased ability to access nutrients and water in the surrounding medium could have been why many of the plants treated with Black Pearl™ took longer to express drought stress.

Black Pearl™ induced earlier fruit ripening.
Cooler temperatures in the summer of 2010 did effect the growth of the test tomatoes but the stunted growth was uniformly distributed in the control and treated blocks. In the tomato trial, Black Pearl™ did not express the same staggering foliage develop ment as with the leafy vegetables. However, the Black Pearl™ treated plants showed flowers several days earlier. This was obvious throughout development and in turn the Black Pearl™ treated plants had harvestable fruit days before the control. Unfortunately, the unsecure nature of the garden meant that some early fruit was picked prior to measurements being taken. However, a set of pictures taken on August 10th still shows a marked difference between treatments.

SUMMARY:
Black Pearl™ clearly promotes root growth and shoot growth through the regulation of physiological processes with various plants. It has shown the ability to boost plants tolerance to different stresses including a noticeable adjustment in response to cold temperatures and drought. In the simplest of terms, this implies that it could help plants achieve early growth in the spring and also extend growth through periods of excessive temperature in the summer. Black Pearl™ showed some limitations with respect to available nutrients due to its organic content and for faster growing plants Black Pearl™ is only a supplement. Black Pearl™ did illicit an interesting response in Balcony Charm® Tomatoes. The flowers opened earlier than those not treated and this in turn correlated to fruit that ripened several days earlier which could give farmers an advantage at market. Even with the theft of research material, the observational trial work conducted in 2010 has shown the need to develop new, more specific hypotheses with increased levels of replication in 2011 to try and understand the mechanisms which make Black Pearl™ effective.

Additional research to be conducted in 2011.
Given the promising results shown to date, we will continue small scale testing of Black Pearl to test application timing and synergy with various microbial additives in regards to overall plant growth. This work should provide even more details about the use of Black Pearl and how to get the most from the product. Check in with Grotek.net throughout the year to view our trial results and implications.

The experiments that will be conducted in 2011 will include:

• The effect of Black Pearl™ on root development in Tigerella indeterminate tomatoes.
  
  
• The role of Black Pearl™ in flower development in Shady Lady determinate tomatoes.
  
  
• Shoot development of Palisandra Coleus using Black Pearl™ as a seed coat.
  
  
• Overall growth patterns in Sunflowers grown from seed and sown with Black Pearl™ as a soil conditioner.