do UV rays damage plants if so, what do they damage
In: Chemistry
They are harmful to plants for the exact same reasons they are harmful to humans.
UV Rays damage DNA, proteins and cell membranes
Yes. That’s where we get carnuba wax, used to wax your car, from. Palm trees create it to protect their leaves from the sun. Sun damage can burn leaves and the fruit.
Plants require UV (B and A) to create energy in the form of sugar (glucose). Remember that UV rays are composed of photons and these are very active particles which means they have a lot of energy; something the plant needs. In the fall/winter the amount of light which reaches the plant decreases – not by a ton though – which means less energy, which is why plants store sap so they can survive the winter when less UV is available. Of course the frozen ground and cold air temperature prevent water and sugar from being sent from ground to plant too.
UV-C is largely absorbed by the atmosphere, but some trace amounts do make it to Earth. These are the UV rays which are most likely to damage plants. They are strong and penetrate into the leaves and destroy underlying cells because they have higher radiation levels and therefore can alter the DNA of the plant cells. When this damage happens the cell will not be copied properly.
Latest Answers