UVA and UVB

[deeni0z]

Are UVA and UVB utilized by plants? Are they beneficial in any way?

 

[travis simonson]

I'm no expert on this, so take it with a grain of salt, but I don't believe plants utilize any of the UV spectrum for photosynthesis. The PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) rating for lighting, which is used to determine how much useful 'plant growing' light a bulb emits, falls within the 400-700 nm range of visible light. UV is well below 400 nm in wavelength, and so, is not likely useful to plants. Just my reasoning, someone correct me if I'm wrong here

Also, you need to use UV protective coated glass if you've got metal halide lighting, which emits a strong UV spectrum light. If you're blocking UV but still growing plants, it would stand to reason that the UV is unnecessary. Again, a conclusion I've come to on my own, but it makes sense to me

 

[Bioworldmaker]

I don't quite remember my botany days very well, so I might be wrong...

Since they reflect green, they must absorb mostly red, which is part of the visible spectrum.

If I remember this right, plants that are exposed to a lot of direct sun, such as desert plants have "developed" hairs that protect them from UV exposure. UV exposure is undesirable because it has short wavelengths with high energy, able to activate mechanisms that cause the cells to multiply without control (a.k.a. cancer).

Please someone correct me if I got that wrong... =)

 

[travis simonson]

Makes good sense to me