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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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.
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.
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.
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.
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