Plant Physiology: The Shockwave Petunia Series

“The shockwave petunia series has found its niche as the only small-flowered spreading series from seed. They are one of the earliest to flower in the spreading petunia class, and they yield a proliferation of 1 1/2 - 2" blooms that blanket the mounded plants.” (Harris, 2014).

Plant Physiology

Pigments are chemical compounds, which reflect and absorb only certain wavelengths of visible light. Because pigments interact with light to absorb only certain wavelengths, pigments are useful to plants and other autotrophs, which make their own food through the process of photosynthesis. (Unknown author,1997).

Chlorophylls (refer to appendix) contain a porphyrin ring. This is a stable ring-shaped molecule and electrons are free to migrate.” Because the electrons move freely within the ring it is possible to gain or lose electrons easily. This is the fundamental process by which chlorophyll “a” (refer to appendix) captures the energy of sunlight. (Unknown author, 1997).

Transpiration

“The rate of transpiration is controlled by stomatal aperture, and these small pores open especially for photosynthesis.” (Wikipedia, 2014). While there are exceptions, such as CAM photosynthesis, generally a source of light supply will encourage open stomata.

Xylem and phloem

Two transport systems called xylem and phloem move substances around a plant in a particular tissue called vascular tissue. Xylem, transports water and soluble minerals upward, whereas, phloem transports sugars upward and downward. Phloem and xylem tissues are found together in vascular bundles. (ASBiology101, 2013).

Vascular bundles are arranged differently in the different parts of a plant. The vascular bundles are found near the outer edge in the stem. The xylem is found towar...

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... appearance because they absorb all the colour they receive, though they still have the same taste and texture as plants grown under natural light. (Julian, 2010)

Agricultural Applications and Practices

The control of light is an important technology of horticulture. Growers can control plant growth and flowering by regulating the intensity and duration of light in greenhouse settings. The majority of plants grow best under the high light intensities of full sun; therefore, growth is reduced at low light intensities. In summer, under naturally long days of bright sunshine’s, natural light intensity is sufficient for optimum plant growth. However, in the winter season it can become necessary to provide sources of artificial light to those, which most closely replicate the wavelengths from the sun’s radiation reaching the Earth. (New Mexico State University, 2013).