Talk:Photosynthetically active radiation
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[edit] Photosynthetically useful wavelengths
This article states that leaves are green because light at wavelengths >= that of green light does not carry enough energy for photosynthesis and because plants reflect, rather than absorb, the useless wavelengths. The article then goes on to state that red light is one of the most important for plants. This contradicts the earlier statement since red light has the longest wavelength of any color in the visible spectrum.
The conflicting statements from the article:
- Photons at longer wavelengths do not carry enough energy to allow photosynthesis to take place, and plants have developed, through billions of years of evolution, the capacity to scatter these photons away, hence the very high reflectance and transmittance of live green leaves.
- Chlorophyll, the most abundant plant pigment, is most efficient in capturing red and blue light. Horticulturists say that blue light is the most important for leaf growth and that red light encourages flowering.
PHaze 23:27, 2 July 2007 (UTC)
