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The Power Of LightQ. Does reflected light also help plants grow, or does it have to be direct sunlight? Victoria Roberts
A. It doesnt have to be direct sunlight, said Dr. Dennis Wm. Stevenson, vice president for laboratory research at the New York Botanical Garden in the Bronx. Its not the best of worlds, he said, adding, reflected light wont hurt, and its better than being in the dark. The plant needs certain wavelengths of light, called the action spectrum, for photosynthesis, he said. Blue and red wavelengths are more efficient, while green wavelengths pass through and are not absorbed, which is why plants appear green. Molecules of substances called chlorophylls, in the chloroplasts, the green structures in plants, do most of the absorbing of the light, he said. (There are two basic types of chlorophyll, each more efficient at absorbing slightly different spectrums.) Reflected light may have the right spectrum, Dr. Stevenson said, but because it is reflected, it will lose intensity and cannot be as efficient as direct sunlight. Much like light that comes through glass, he said, it may leave plants leggy, that is, the units between the leaves are longer, because there is not quite enough of the light to do what it would normally do. Readers are invited to submit questions by mail to Question, Science Times, The New York Times, 620 Eighth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10018, or by e-mail to question@nytimes.com. Tag CloudExternal InformationAdditional InformationBasics: An Ancient Medicine (Enjoy in Moderation)...NASA Rules Out Repair to Gouge in Shuttle... Gore Warns Congress of ?Planetary Emergency?... Engineering a Tough Switch: Getting New Yorkers to Recycle Electronics... Where Am I?News Main Page - Business - The Power Of Light |
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