Different plants need different amount of sunlight. Are there different qualities of sunlight for plant growth?
For example, does a plant that gets sunlight from noon-3 get better quality light than the same plant that gets sunlight from 4-7?
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Leafy plants don’t need a lot of sun to stay alive but it depends on the leaf size, plant size, temperature, pressure and other nutrients. Plants will change the amount their pores are open, which regulates how much oxygen leaves, if the outside temp is too high or when their is no sun, so if the plant is losing too much water through its pores it will slow down gas exchange which helps conserve water loss though the pores and so plants may not be as efficient in their processes at certain conditions. It’s similar to saying when would it ve best for an athlete to drink water throughout the day?. It depends on a lot of circumstances.
The suns light is more intense at certain times of the day Different tines of day will change the intensity of the light based off the angle it is hitting the earth so when the sun is directly overhead it will be most intense. It may be too intense for some plants at certain times of day and trigger the previous mentioned response.
Some plants evolved to grow on the forest floor where most of the direct light is captured by the trees and they grow using diffused light. https://youtu.be/UkgQGzeTuxE
Sure there can be different qualities! Besides the amount of light, when we talk about quality of light, we are usually talking about where the light is coming from and what color it is. Its not really about good or bad light, but about whether a plant is getting the kind of light it evolved to live in.
Generally, light can come from a point source, or a diffuse source. The sun, or a lightbulb, would be a point source. All light from one spot. Plants adapted for direct sunlight can deal with getting too much light without overheating and can deal with lots of red and infrared light.
Plants sold as “full shade” evolved to get less light and from diffuse sources like an open blue sky or the underside of lots of other green leaves.
And you’re right that sunlight changes through the day. Air steals blue light away from the suns rays and the stuff that’s left is a little redder. The more high in the sky, the less air the light goes through, the bluer the light.
The suns’s intensity differs throughout the day because its distance and the thickness of the atmosphere differs relative to where you’re standing. At around noon, when the sun is directly above you, it’s closest to you and the light has the thinnest amount of atmosphere to get through to get to you. As the day goes on the sun is actually physically getting farther away, and because the light is traveling at an angle to where you’re standing, it has to pass through more atmosphere to get to you. That’s why it’s most important to have sun protection between 12-4.
When it comes to photosynthesis, plants have a trade off they have to deal with. The more sunlight light that comes in, the more oxygen that leaves the plant and that oxygen takes some water with it as it leaves. Different plants have different strategies to deal with that. For instance, some have a waxy “skin” called a cuticle that helps prevent water from leaving. Some have a better root system to bring in more water. They’re basically adapted to the specific habitat they’re native to. So if the plant is adapted to a lot of sunlight, it needs to get that intense sunlight between noon to and 4 PM to thrive. If it’s not adapted to a lot of sunlight, it will start to dry out unless it’s shaded during that time of day.
No, but you may see this information in how to grow xxxx plant.
It’s not that the quality of the light is any different it is due to temperatures. Plants that like cool temperatures do better if they get their light in the morning since the temperatures are cooler, and during the hottest part of the day they’re presumably in shade. Plants that like heat do better with an afternoon sun because it is warmer in the afternoon.