Investigating the potential for granite powder to enhance soil physical and biological properties and frost tolerance of strawberries

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Heritage Memorials Ltd. is a memorial and monument company in Windsor, Nova Scotia that is producing significant amounts of granite stone powder as a byproduct of its sawing process. Due to it elemental/mineral constituents, granite powder has the potential to be used as a natural/organic soil amendment fertilizer. In addition, anecdotal evidence supports that granite powder addition to soil can increase a plants' robustness and overall characteristics including frost tolerance. Despite these beneficial claims, whether or not the addition of granite powder can increase a plants frost tolerance and/or how it may enhance soil biological and physical properties, remains unclear from a scientific perspective. As a result, Heritage Memorials Ltd. is establishing a collaboration with the Nova Scotia Community College for a scientific evaluation of the potential influence granite powder has on soil physical and biological properties, as well as ability to increase a plants ability to withstand damaging frost events. The research objectives for this application are to: i) identify the nature of response in terms of soil physical and biological properties, ii) identify if granite powder addition increases a plants frost tolerance, and iii) identify if there are differences in a plants ability to withstand damaging frost and soil physical and biological properties responses based on the type of granite powder added to soil. A series of greenhouse trials will be carried out to evaluate how three different types of granite powder impact various soil physical and biological properties responses, as well as ability to minimize plant damage and affect subsequent growth following exposure to two frost temperatures (-2 and -5°C) and exposure length (5 and 10 hrs). These experiments will allow for proper assessment of the potential for granite powder to be a marketable soil amendment and Heritage Memorials Ltd. will benefit from reduced costs and increased profitability through marketing of a new product. The project will benefit Canadians by removing granite powder from the waste stream, as well as demonstrate how granite powder can be used/marketed as an organic fertility option to farmers and general consumers looking for alternatives to manufactured/synthetic fertilizers. **********