Solar Energy and Plants.

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Introduction

Solar energy is radiant light and heat from the Sun that is harnessed using a range of ever-evolving technologies such as solar heating, photovoltaics, solar thermal energy, solar architecture, molten salt power plants and artificial photosynthesis.

Plants are mainly multicellular, predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. In one sense (circumscription), the term refers to green plants, which form an unranked clade Viridiplantae (Latin for "green plants"). This includes the flowering plants, conifers and other gymnosperms, ferns, clubmosses, hornworts, liverworts, mosses and the green algae, and excludes the red and brown algae.

In every plant metabolic activities, photosynthesis and photoperiodism which can occur at any time are controlled by the amount of light energy received by the green leaves. The plants receive the light during the sunny periods of day. If the radiant energy absorbed by the plants at this time is high enough and adequate, the photosynthetic process will be completed effectively. It was reported that the rate of photosynthetic activities depends on the receipt of visible light while the rate at which transpiration is carried out depends on the net exchange of radiations by the crop's canopy.
It is therefore necessary to state that through photosynthetic process, plants sustain themselves and provide foods for animals and man.
Photoperiodism is that period of the day or night when the photosynthetic activities or food making process by the plants can take place. This depends directly and indirectly on the availability of water and mineral salts in the soil.

Short day crops or plants

The short day crops are those crops or plants that tend to wither or die off when there is long period of sunshine which is accompanied with stresses. For every non-sun-loving crops the conditions of the crops are made unbearable when water at the roots are inadequate.
Under this condition, the leaves of the crops tend to flap at the peak of the sunlight and can be revived when the sunlight intensity decreases and adequate water made available at the root zone of the crops.
Water is not applied artificially to the crops at the peak of hotness of the sun rather water is supplied to the growing crops during early mornings and late in the evenings. Water applied within the hours of 12 and 15 hrs (12-15pm) tends to generate enough heat (hot air) from the soil which can kill the crops instantly at their early stage of growth. This is common with vegetable crops particularly tomatoes.A short-day plant is a plant that requires a lot of darkness and performs best with shortened hours of sunlight.

Some short day crops or plants are:

• Marijuana (Cannabis)
• Cotton (Gossypium)
• Rice (Oryza)
• Jowar (Sorghum bicolor)
• Green Gram (Mung bean, Vigna radiata)
• Soybeans (Glycine max)

Long day crops or plants

Plants have different abilities to withstand the impact and effects of long time or long period radiations or sunlights. Those crops and plants that can withstand the effects of long sunshine hours and associated stresses as well as high rates of transpiration are called sun-loving crops or long day crops.

Some long-day obligate plants are:

• Carnation (Dianthus)
• Henbane (Hyoscyamus)
• Oat (Avena)

Some long-day facultative plants are:

• Pea (Pisum sativum)
• Barley (Hordeum vulgare)
• Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)
• Wheat (Triticum aestivum)

Conclusion

Plant needs solar energy to survive. When the Sun shines, plant cells take action! They transform solar energy to chemical energy by photosynthesis. During photosynthesis, plant cells absorb sunlight and carbon dioxide from the air. At the same time, plant cells remove oxygen from water and release it into the air. The process produces sugars and starches that are either stored or used as food for the plant.

Reference

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