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At the prestigious private school, Westtown in West Chester, Pennsylvania, senior high school students are getting their hands dirty and sinking into plant research as part of the school’s focus on teaching sustainability.

The students are exploring the effects of their Holganix Bio 800⁺ Agriculture product on crops and how the product can act as an agent to reduce dependence on synthetic fertilizers.

Holganix Bio 800⁺ Agriculture is a 100% organic, plant probiotic that provides over 800 species of beneficial soil microbes, microbe food and nutrient enhancers to grow healthy, resilient crops. 

Holganix Agriculture promotes strong, extensive root systems, resulting in plants that are better able to find and use nutrients, minerals and water in your soil. By nurturing healthy plants, Holganix Agriculture helps maximize yield potential while ensuring your crop is better prepared to fight off and recover from seasonal stress.

Westtown School biology teacher, Dr. Jennifer Gilbert-Jenkins understands the benefit that such a sustainable approach could pose for farmers and landscape contractors in the future. The belief in a sustainable approach is firmly embedded in Westtown School culture. Just this year, Westtown has been nominated for the U.S. Department of Education’s Green School Award.

After a semester of studying and taking detailed measurements from their greenhouse that doubled as their research facility, the students were ready to show off their results to faculty and members of the Holganix staff. Their results were promising. Each student, or team of students, worked on proving and disproving different hypotheses around plants and Holganix Agriculture.

Improved Root Development Of Corn Crops

One team proudly presented their results on cell structures and root development of corn with the use of Holganix Agriculture.

“Within the first week,” concluded a student, “there was a huge difference in the root development of the corn plants that were treated with Holganix compared to those treated without.”

The student indicated a tray where root samples from the first week were present (see the image to the left. Roots on left are without Holganix, roots on right are treated with Holganix. Time period was 1 week). The Holganix 

Agriculture treated roots were longer and denser than the control.

The student also noted that the Holganix Agriculture corn crops were “stronger and may not be as subject to weather because of the quantity of brace roots.”

The student's conclusions mirror results seen by Holganix during university and commercial grower trials. According to Holganix President of Agriculture, David Stark PhD, "Initially on row crops, we see improved rooting. As the crop matures, we see improved crop yield. Overall, we see a 2-4x ROI on row crops treated with Holganix Agriculture." 

To learn more about Holganix's results on row crops, check out this blog page detailing several university and commercial grower trials. 

Reduced Fertilizer Needs On Lettuce Crops 

Another student experimented several growing recommendations with lettuce: (1) Holganix Agriculture as a stand-alone product, (2) Fertilizer as a stand-alone product, and (3) A combination of Holganix Agriculture and Fertilizer. According to the student, her results showed "Holganix alone as the preferred choice in lettuce." 

However, Holganix President of Agriculture, David Stark PhD still recommends a combination of Holganix Agriculture with fertilizer for use on lettuce.

For additional information on growing lettuce, please use this link to contact our Agriculture Department. 

Want to dig in deeper?

If you are looking to dig deeper into the results behind Holganix Agriculture, be sure to check out this blog which goes into detail on several university and commercial grower trials.