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Name removed

Mr Abrams

Science May 3, 2013 Colored lights effect on plants The question I posed was If a plant was introduced and brought up in an environment where they were exposed to colored light (one gets green light, one gets blue light, ext

...) could

this alter the growth of the plants in anyway or change the makeup of the plant? This question intrigued me because after much thought I noticed the potential real world applications this can be used for: If different light made a plant grow faster or slower than this may revolutionize the Agriculture industry and have a lasting impact on the human race Also with the United States already the world leader in agricultural exports, this could help expand a struggling economy

After thinking about this question more I had conceived a few more questions: Would changing the color of the light change the color of the seeds for the off spring? Which plant would grow the fastest and slowest? Would altering the light mutated or deform the plant, or plants offspring in anyway?

Through my research I have found that the plant that grew the fastest and the best was the one that was in the white light environment, this is because the white light has the most of the red and blue light which allow the plant to flower and grow health very quickly The light which made the plant grow the slowest to not at all was the black light, this is due to the fact that black light contains absolutely no red light which allows the plant to flower and very little blue light which allows the plant to grow and regulates the plants responses such as phototrophic responses

The relationship between light and plant growth can be demonstrated by exposing leaves to various colors of light Light supplies the power to carry on photosynthesis, the food-making

process in leaves But the spectrum of light most utilized by a leaf is limited to three distinct colors, red, blue and yellow For example, leaves appear green because green is the color most

leaves reflect rather than absorbing and using

Some mutations can occur with different types of light particularly Ultraviolet light can do damage to the DNA of the plant These changes in DNA can have very random effects, causing some species of plants to mutate, according to the Plant Cell Also, the cells can die as a

result of the DNA damage To prevent this from happening, the plant must repair the DNA

before it replicates preventing the mutation from spreading The DNA is repaired through photo reactivation, excision repair or recombination repair

I found that Blue light regulates the rate of a plants growth and is especially helpful in plants with lots of vegetation and few to no flowers Blue light regulates many plant responses including something called stomata opening which are openings on or beneath the surface of the leaves and phototropism which is a plant's response to light; the stems grow up toward the light and the roots grow down, away from the light A plant's moisture loss is primarily due to the stomata and blue light controls the degree of stomata opening, therefore blue light regulates the amount of water a plant retains or expels Red and orange light triggers hormones in plants that increase flowering and budding, but plants cannot grow with red light alone They also need

blue light to help regulate other types of responses Red light stimulates flowering and foliage growth, but too much red light will cause a plant to become spindly Red light induces germination which is the process whereby seeds or spores sprout and begin to grow and blue light promotes seed growth Plants receiving only black light will die especially if introduced at

the early stages of life Black light emits no red light and too little blue light for plants to survive

so they will never be able to go through the process of photosynthesis correctly If the black light is given to the plant at a mature age and if you supplement the black light then it will lead to a taller plant but less dense Green light is least effective (the reflection of green light gives the

green color to plants)

In conclusion I believe that the agricultural industry is doing everything right (when it comes to light) because the white light given off by the sun is the best light for the plants to grow, prosper and stay healthy in After evaluation the dense research and articles I collected I think that the plants should be using the sun because it is natural and the most effective way of feeding our plants and vegetation, while some other types of light may grow the plants it will always have holes that can only be filled with the white light, such as blue light which is good for the plants but lacks the necessary red light After extravagant thought I had formulated another few questions that I would like to research in the future: is there such thing as too much white light, which can lead to an opposite effect In the plants that can harm them? As plants mature into different stages of their life, do they need different types of light in these stages?

Works Cited MORTIN, J.L.. "Plant Growth & Light Color" color matters . J.L Mortin. 5/3/2013 <http://www.colormatters.com/plant-growth-and-light-color>. Breads of the Harvest . 5/3/2013 <http://www.education.com/sciencefair/article/lightaffectsplantgrowth/>. Simpson, Stephen D., CFA. "Top Agricultural Producing Countries." Top Agricultural Producing Countries. ValueClick, Inc., 12 July 2012. Web. 03 May 2013. Kally, Katherine. "How Does Colored Light Affect Plant Growth?" GardenGuides. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 05 May 2013. Whiting, David, Michael Roll, Larry Vickerman, and Scott Johnson. "Plant Growth Factors: Light." Colostate.edu. Colorado State University, Dec. 2011. Web. 3 May 2013. <http://www.cmg.colostate.edu/gardennotes/142.pdf>. "Black Light & Plant Growth." GardenGuides. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 03 May 2013. <http://www.gardenguides.com/132044-black-light-plant-growth.html>. Pearson, Charles. "Plants & Ultraviolet Light." GardenGuides. Demand Media, n.d. Web. 05 May 2013. <http://www.gardenguides.com/132133-plants-ultraviolet-light.html>.