I think I can offer some clarity to the entire subject...
There was a gentleman, named "Jerry", in California who found and proved experimentally that ethanol, when added to fertilizer, indeed enhanced growth. He partnered up with Dyna-Gro and sold a product called "Jerry's Grow", and he patented the concept.
The part nobody seems to appreciate or remember is that it is only effective on very high-light plants.
My speculation - way back when - about cell permeability has never been proven or disproven, but fellow orchid-grower and veterinarian, Brian Monk (who used to run Blu Llama Orchids) and I discussed another possibility that I think is likely more applicable: added carbon.
In the case of a runner, the speed is limited by the body's ability to pump oxygen to the muscles. An example of an improvement was Secretariat, who still holds records for all three Triple Crown races, who, upon his death, was found to have a heart nearly twice the normal size. Brian speculated that in most plants, the transfer of carbon into the plant is not necessarily the limiting factor in growth, but in high-light plants, it might be, so having a additional carbon source to supplement foliar uptake might allow photosynthesis to occur at an accelerated pace.
Several years ago, after Jerry's Grow went out of business, I got permission from Jerry to utilize his patented technology, but the problem is that the alcohol content - as high as 75% of the formulation - made the product a (costly) fire hazard for shipping purposes, and that is what shut him down and stopped me from proceeding.
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Hybrid Mode
