What is a Plants Food?

[BCtrippin]

This is to end a ridiculous debate.


What is a plants food?

Is it Nutrients?
Light?
c02?
Carbon?
H20?


Plants dont really eat food so it is a ridiculous debate but a good debate nonetheless so let us know what you think. And lets try to keep it friendly.

 

[BCtrippin]

Im gonna start it off. The closest thing to being real "plant food" or "food" as we would consider it would be the actual Carbon taken out of the air.

 

[9inch bigbud]

Im gonna start it off. The closest thing to being real "plant food" or "food" as we would consider it would be the actual Carbon taken out of the air.

*Light*

it can not do it without photosynthesis first
define : photosynthesis
photo - light: radiant energy
synthesis - the process of producing a chemical compound (usually by the union of simpler chemical compounds)

put them together what do you get? photosynthesis
Photosynthesis is a metabolic pathway that converts light energy into chemical energy. Its initial substrates are carbon dioxide and water; the energy source is sunlight (electromagnetic radiation); and the end-products are oxygen and (energy-containing) carbohydrates, such as sucrose, glucose ...


INTRODUCTION TO LIGHTING Lights & Plants
Plant growth, harvest, potency and even the time to flower are all dependent on the light they receive. Light quality, intensity and duration are all important. The following is a brief introduction to plants, light, lumens and PAR.
Light is a plants food, nutrients are only building blocks for the plant cells but it is light that provides the energy - so how does it work?
When light falls onto leaves it triggers the process of photosynthesis, which in simple terms is the process of turning light, which is radiant energy, into chemical energy. The amazing process of photosynthesis, turning light energy into chemical energy, is one of nature’s wonders. This energy transfer happens inside the plants cell structures called chloroplasts. The basic components of chloroplasts are individual membranous sacs which contain fats, proteins and pigments (stay with us - it is worth knowing!)
Pigments & Chemical Energy
Pigments play an important part. They absorb light in the photosynthesis process of turning light energy into chemical energy. Chlorophyll, for example, is an important pigment which absorbs red and blue wave lengths. There are different types of pigment and each absorbs different wavelengths of light. The light absorbed by the pigment causes a reaction, which produces chemical energy (it makes electrons out of the light, and the electrons use their charges to make sugar energy for the plant)
For those interested in the current theory of photosynthesis, it works something like this ~
The chemical energy produced by the chlorophyll (pigment) from light is sufficient to split the water molecules apart. This provides units of hydrogen (H) and hydroxide (OH). The hydroxide combines with carbon-dioxide, which is absorbed from the air, to produce carbohydrates, which provides the energy for plant growth. (and you thought there was nothing going on in your plants ~ for more details visit your library!)
So to summarise ~ light falls on the leaves which convert it into electrons and the plant uses these electrons (electricity) to make energy as sugar.

Light & Light Measurment
Light, its intensity, quality, its colour, spectrum, wavelength are therefore all-important factors, but how do we measure light and what are the most important components?
Light is measured in photons (which we, or at least I, do not really understand). Light actually hits objects, just like a spray of water, and the sun emits lots of light photons ~ to give you an idea of how many; the sun hits our body with over 12,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 photons every second and a plant needs about 20 photons to make a finished molecule of sugar.
So our scientists can count the number of photons hitting the plant and even predict how much of this energy will convert into flowers or fruits. Each industry has its own way of measuring light. Photographers use a light meter, the lighting industry uses lumens or lux and the gardening industry uses PAR. All are only measurements; the actual light coming from a lamp or the sun does not change ~ only the methods we use to measure are different.

Light Spectrums & Colours

Light from the sun is ideal but it is not the same as artificial light, where output quality, spectrum etc varies upon the type of lamp and how it is used. Many growers think that more lumens = better growth / yields, when in fact artificial light, even at its best in a HID or HPS lamp in not so good in terms of colours. Much of the light from the bulb is not used by the plant, mainly because it is not in the 400 to 700 nw (nanawave) spectrum, and plants can only see and use light in this range. Light quality and its colours are as important as lumens.
Light, as seen by plants is not a single colour but separate bands of active colours and the plant senses each colour-band of light as a separate signal. Each band of colour has a different effect on plants and the following are only a few of the functions which each band of light promotes.
Blue Light (350 – 500 NW) powers chlorophyll production, powers cell actively, energies the stomata movement and makes the plant follow light.
Green / Yellow Light (500 – 650 nw) ~ not much action from these bands of light.
Red Light (600 – 700 NW) makes sugar from CO2, powers chloroplast production, signals light and dark times among other functions.
Strong blue and red light photons (as above) are also needed for good carbon dioxide uptake.
The PAR scale measures all these coloured photons between 400nw & 700nw, the critical range for plants, as this is only range that plants can use light. If it is not in this range then it is wasted light.

PAR

For growers PAR is all-important ~ and as important as lumens! PAR stands for > Photosynthetic Active Radiation. Photosynthetic, the light sensed by a leaf pigment. Active, the light that causes the leaf pigment to become active for making energy Radiation, another word for light & photon energy
PAR is a measurement scale used internationally as a metric light measurement and is becoming more and more relevant to growing and greenhouse light measurement. Why is it important to you? PAR is the measure of light that a plant actually senses and uses, and it is the light the plant sees and can use that is more important then the actual output lumen of the grow lamp!
* A large HID lamp may give out loads of lumens, but if it is too far away from your plant most are wasted (remember light intensity diminishes with distance) In addition the light a plant can use from these lamps is limited because the plant cannot see or use it because it is in the wrong spectrum.
So the main value of the PAR measurement is that it is the only measure that takes into account the actual light and light colours that the plant uses to energise its pigments and generate sugar energy, and it’s the sugar that makes your plants grow and produce such sweet fruits!

PAR and Fluorescent Lamps

In the past fluorescent lamps were always known to have excellent "daylight" colour output but not the same photon power as HID / HPS lamps. The spectrum from fluorescents was ideal for propagation/seedlings but not for real time growing, because they were small watt versions and did not have the lumen / photon output. (i.e. an average household fluorescent tube is only about 35 watts. Nice spectrum but low light output! )
HID and HPS lamps have large lumen / photon output but are poor on colours omitted, but these lamps were the best available lamps at the time. However they do generate lots of heat and can be expensive to operate. They also need separate ballasts, control contacts and systems.
Plantagrow CFL Lamps (CFL=Compact Fluorescent Lamps)
The development of high-output compact fluorescent means you can now get the correct colour spectrum, always associated with fluorescents, but with much higher light output. This means that CFLs are now capable of much, much higher lumen output with all the benefits of the ideal, spectrum output.
Photon strength is still not as strong as HID Lamps (although with our new reflectors we are getting there) but because these new lamps generate much less heat they can be placed just inches of the leaves, and this is a very, very important factor when using grow lamps

Light Intensity
Light intensity diminishes the further it has to travel. This is the same for HID, CFL or your normal household lamp. If you hold a light meter up close to any lamp and then slowly lower the meter, even a few inches, you will see the light measurement reduces dramatically. (If you can borrow, beg, steal or get access to a light meter please try this ~ you will be extremely surprised at the rate at which the light intensity reduces over a short distance)
Light from an HID or HPS lamp reduces by half for every foot it is away from the plants. So if your lamps are 2’ or 3’ above your plants much of the light is wasted. The problem with HID lamps is they are so hot you cannot place them close to your plants and much of the light, and your money, is wasted.
One benefit of using high-out put CFL’s is that they do not generate as much heat and can be kept almost on top of the plants producing the exact 100% PAR light, with no loss of intensity. So if you position these new lamps close to the leaves you get the benefit of 100% PAR light in the correct 400nw to 700nw range, giving the plant the correct light colours and light quality.



http://www.plantagrow.com/privacy.php

 

[9inch bigbud]

This is to end a ridiculous debate.


What is a plants food?

Is it Nutrients?
Light?
c02?
Carbon?
H20?


Plants dont really eat food so it is a ridiculous debate but a good debate nonetheless so let us know what you think. And lets try to keep it friendly.

ROLF plants get their carbon out of the air, its calld carbon dioxide gas around 300ppm in the air. why have you got C02 and carbon in the list? thay are the samething

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis[α] is a metabolic pathway that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight.[1] Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of Bacteria, but not in Archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, but not all organisms that use light as a source of energy carry out photosynthesis, since photoheterotrophs use organic compounds, rather than carbon dioxide, as a source of carbon.[2] In plants, algae and cyanobacteria photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide and water, releasing oxygen as a waste product. Photosynthesis is crucially important for life on Earth, since as well as it maintaining the normal level of oxygen in the atmosphere, nearly all life either depends on it directly as a source of energy, or indirectly as the ultimate source of the energy in their food.[2][β] The amount of energy trapped by photosynthesis is immense, approximately 100 terawatts :[3] which is about six times larger than the yearly power consumption of human civilization.[4] In all, photosynthetic organisms convert around 100,000,000,000 tonnes of carbon into biomass per year.[5]
Although photosynthesis can occur in different ways in different species, some features are always the same. For example, the process always begins when energy from light is absorbed by proteins called photosynthetic reaction centers that contain chlorophyll. In plants these proteins are held inside organelles called chloroplasts, while in bacteria they are embedded in the plasma membrane. Some of the light energy gathered by chlorophylls is stored in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The rest of the energy is used to remove electrons from a substance such as water. These electrons are then used in the reactions that turn carbon dioxide into organic compounds. In plants, algae and cyanobacteria these reactions are called the Calvin cycle, but different sets of reactions can be found in bacteria, such as the reverse Krebs cycle in Chlorobium. Many photosynthetic organisms have adaptations that concentrate or store carbon dioxide, this helps reduce a wasteful process called photorespiration that would otherwise consume part of the sugar produced during photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis evolved early in the evolutionary history of life, when all forms of life on Earth were microorganisms. Although the dates are difficult to estimate with any accuracy, the first photosynthetic organisms probably evolved about 3,500 million years ago, and used hydrogen or hydrogen sulfide as sources of electrons, rather than water.[6] Cyanobacteria appeared later, around 3,000 million years ago, and changed the Earth forever when they began to oxygenate the atmosphere, beginning about 2,400 million years ago.[7] This new atmosphere allowed the evolution of complex life such as protists. Eventually, about 550 million years ago, one of these protists formed a symbiotic relationship with a cyanobacterium, producing the ancestor of the plants and algae.[8] The chloroplasts in modern plants are the descendants of these ancient symbiotic cyanobacteria.

 

[ilovekasey17]

Nah. I consider light to the plant to be as air is to us. Obviously we need it or we would die, but it's not our food. I don't think light is plant food either. I consider the CO2 the plan't food.

 

[mindphuk]

Where's the option for none of the above?



Autotrophic plants use light energy to make all the organic compounds they
require from carbon dioxide, water, and about 14 mineral nutrients they absorb
from their environment. Therefore, they don't really produce metabolic wastes
to the extent that heterotrophs do. Heterotrophs digest food. Plants do not
need to digest with the exception of a few species of carnivorous plants that
obtain mineral nutrients by digesting insects and small animals.

The term food is not even a term that should be applied to autotrophic plants.
Food is something that is digested and provides energy. Plants are food for
animals and other heterotrophs but they do not produce food for themselves.
Heterotrophs get energy and organic nutrients (amino acids, fatty acids,
carbohydrates, vitamins) from other organisms (food). Autotrophic plants get
energy from light and synthesize their organic nutrients from carbon dioxide
and water.

David Hershey, Faculty, Botany, NA
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2002-02/1013824497.Bt.r.html

 

[9inch bigbud]

Where's the option for none of the above?



Autotrophic plants use light energy to make all the organic compounds they
require from carbon dioxide, water, and about 14 mineral nutrients they absorb
from their environment. Therefore, they don't really produce metabolic wastes
to the extent that heterotrophs do. Heterotrophs digest food. Plants do not
need to digest with the exception of a few species of carnivorous plants that
obtain mineral nutrients by digesting insects and small animals.

The term food is not even a term that should be applied to autotrophic plants.
Food is something that is digested and provides energy. Plants are food for
animals and other heterotrophs but they do not produce food for themselves.
Heterotrophs get energy and organic nutrients (amino acids, fatty acids,
carbohydrates, vitamins) from other organisms (food). Autotrophic plants get
energy from light and synthesize their organic nutrients from carbon dioxide
and water.

David Hershey, Faculty, Botany, NA
http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2002-02/1013824497.Bt.r.html

thats contradicting what you are trying to say 1st

Autotrophic plants use light energy to make all the organic compounds they
require from carbon dioxide, water, and about 14 mineral nutrients they absorb
from their environment.

2nd

Heterotrophs get energy and organic nutrients (amino acids, fatty acids,
carbohydrates, vitamins) from other organisms (food)

and 3rd

Autotrophic plants get
energy from light and synthesize their organic nutrients from carbon dioxide
and water.

energy is food we eat food that gives us energy and we grow from eating it. plants absorb (becase it has no mouth) energy in the form of light which it uses to synthesize their organic nutrients from carbon dioxide and water and it makes it grow.

 

[BCtrippin]

ccome on it make perfect sense it just easyer to say we give plans food instead of saying we give plants somthing to help it to grow.

I wouldnt necessarily associate food with plants. Plants dont need food. But anyway, If anything would be considered "food" it would be the carbon. Plants make their own food. Clearly you dont understand what your Copy and Pasting from Wiki....

 

[BCtrippin]

Where's the option for none of the above?http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/2002-02/1013824497.Bt.r.html

I forgot to add a couple things to the poll like...Plants dont eat food, and I dont give a f*ck...but its too late now.

 

[9inch bigbud]

I wouldnt necessarily associate food with plants. Plants dont need food. But anyway, If anything would be considered "food" it would be the carbon. Plants make their own food. Clearly you dont understand what your Copy and Pasting from Wiki....

i understand it o.k.

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis[α] is a metabolic pathway that converts carbon dioxide into organic compounds, especially sugars, using the energy from sunlight.[1] Photosynthesis occurs in plants, algae, and many species of Bacteria, but not in Archaea. Photosynthetic organisms are called photoautotrophs, but not all organisms that use light as a source of energy carry out photosynthesis, since photoheterotrophs use organic compounds, rather than carbon dioxide, as a source of carbon.[2] In plants, algae and cyanobacteria photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide and water, releasing oxygen as a waste product. Photosynthesis is crucially important for life on Earth, since as well as it maintaining the normal level of oxygen in the atmosphere, nearly all life either depends on it directly as a source of energy, or indirectly as the ultimate source of the energy in their food.[2][β] The amount of energy trapped by photosynthesis is immense, approximately 100 terawatts :[3] which is about six times larger than the yearly power consumption of human civilization.[4] In all, photosynthetic organisms convert around 100,000,000,000 tonnes of carbon into biomass per year.[5]
Although photosynthesis can occur in different ways in different species, some features are always the same. For example, the process always begins when energy from light is absorbed by proteins called photosynthetic reaction centers that contain chlorophyll. In plants these proteins are held inside organelles called chloroplasts, while in bacteria they are embedded in the plasma membrane. Some of the light energy gathered by chlorophylls is stored in the form of adenosine triphosphate (ATP). The rest of the energy is used to remove electrons from a substance such as water. These electrons are then used in the reactions that turn carbon dioxide into organic compounds. In plants, algae and cyanobacteria these reactions are called the Calvin cycle, but different sets of reactions can be found in bacteria, such as the reverse Krebs cycle in Chlorobium. Many photosynthetic organisms have adaptations that concentrate or store carbon dioxide, this helps reduce a wasteful process called photorespiration that would otherwise consume part of the sugar produced during photosynthesis.
Photosynthesis evolved early in the evolutionary history of life, when all forms of life on Earth were microorganisms. Although the dates are difficult to estimate with any accuracy, the first photosynthetic organisms probably evolved about 3,500 million years ago, and used hydrogen or hydrogen sulfide as sources of electrons, rather than water.[6] Cyanobacteria appeared later, around 3,000 million years ago, and changed the Earth forever when they began to oxygenate the atmosphere, beginning about 2,400 million years ago.[7] This new atmosphere allowed the evolution of complex life such as protists. Eventually, about 550 million years ago, one of these protists formed a symbiotic relationship with a cyanobacterium, producing the ancestor of the plants and algae.[8] The chloroplasts in modern plants are the descendants of these ancient symbiotic cyanobacteria.

in other words plants could not take carbon in, in the 1st place with out the energy from the light, that triggers the start of photosynthesis

 

[mindphuk]

thats contradicting what you are trying to say 1st
2nd
and 3rd
energy is food we eat food that gives us energy and we grow from eating it. plants absorb (becase it has no mouth) energy in the form of light which it uses to synthesize their organic nutrients from carbon dioxide and water and it makes it grow.

energy =/= food
Energy is obtained from food so you can call food an energy storage device but it is stretching the definitions of energy and food to call them one and the same as well as ignoring the non-energy aspects of food like nutrients.

 

[9inch bigbud]

I forgot to add a couple things to the poll like...Plants dont eat food, and I dont give a f*ck...but its too late now.

no they dont eat food they obsorb light energy.

 

[9inch bigbud]

energy =/= food
Energy is obtained from food so you can call food an energy storage device but it is stretching the definitions of energy and food to call them one and the same as well as ignoring the non-energy aspects of food like nutrients.

just look up photosynthesis.

 

[BCtrippin]

in other words plants could not take carbon in, in the 1st place with out the energy from the light, that triggers the start of photosynthesis

Humans and animals could not take in food without OXYGEN to sustain us in the first place.

Light to a Plant is more like Oxygen to a Human. Not food.

Your really stretching definitions. Not trying to be an ass bro. You said it yourself, "light just initiates the reaction"

Its not the "food" itself though.

 

[BCtrippin]

energy =/= food
Energy is obtained from food so you can call food an energy storage device but it is stretching the definitions of energy and food to call them one and the same as well as ignoring the non-energy aspects of food like nutrients.

I couldnt say it any better. This guy knows what he's talking about.

 

[mindphuk]

just look up photosynthesis.

You've posted the definition enough times already here and the other thread and it still doesn't make your case. What do you think is synthesized by photosynthesis?

 

[9inch bigbud]

Humans and animals could not take in food without OXYGEN to sustain us in the first place.

Light to a Plant is more like Oxygen to a Human. Not food.

Your really stretching definitions. Not trying to be an ass bro. You said it yourself, "light just initiates the reaction"

Its not the "food" itself though.

i know plants dont eat food but they need energy from light so if there was such a thing as food then light would be it not what you put in the ground. light would not be the air plants, take in air through the roots and leaf = resperation.

The energy released in respiration is used to synthesize ATP to store this energy. The energy stored in ATP can then be used to drive processes requiring energy, including biosynthesis, locomotion or transportation of molecules across cell membranes. Because of its ubiquity in nature, ATP is also known as the "universal energy currency".

The production of ATP using the energy of sunlight is called photophosphorylation. Only two sources of energy are available to living organisms: sunlight and oxidation-reduction (redox) reactions. All organisms produce ATP, which is the universal energy currency of life.
In photophosphorylation, light energy is used to create a high-energy electron donor and a lower-energy electron acceptor. Electrons then move spontaneously from donor to acceptor through an electron transport chain.

Size of this preview: 800 × 456 pixels
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Description Thylakoid membrane.png English: Light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis at the thylakoid membrane.




think thats sorted all the above Q's out

 

[BCtrippin]

think thats sorted all the above Q's out

How can you be so ignorant? Your posting stuff that proves your claims wrong....

Copy + Paste does not make you smart or prove any of your points.

 

[9inch bigbud]

How can you be so ignorant? Your posting stuff that proves your claims wrong....

Copy + Paste does not make you smart or prove any of your points.

LOL no it just makes it faster than having to type it all out. proves me wrong? HAHA he who says the light is the air for plants you are the i cant be botherd with you so play your stupid little games making new posts like this one and hopping to get back up because you clearly dont know what your talking about and when its made clear to you that fuck all grows with out light and to prove that

#1 is Environment!!!! It doenst matter how much light you try to blast on your plants if you dont have enough airflow to match photosynthesis. Higher c02 levels means your plants can process more light.

#2 ENVIRONMENT AGAIN!!!!! I dont care what anyone says, Everyone overlooks environment. C02, Temp, Humidity, Airflow!!!

#3 Genetics. If you dont have good genetics then it doesnt matter how much light, c02, nutes, whatever, it doesnt matter what you use if you dont have solid genetics.

#4 NUTRIENTS!!!!! A proper diet is KEY for good growth. Not just NPK but the 14 other trace elements that your Chronic needs!

And finally.... #5 Lighting. If you have Everything else the way you want it, then start adding more light.

https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/178493-1000-hps-vs-2x-400-a-6.html#post2325434

lighting is last on your list well thought out that one without a grow light its not a grow room its just a dark room with seeds and nutes in it.

 

[BCtrippin]

lighting is last on your list well thought out that one without a grow light its not a grow room its just a dark room with seeds and nutes in it.

That statement shows just how Ignorant you are.

Dude, Lighting is fucking standard, what are you Slow?

Where does it say in that quote to grow without light, it CLEARLY says to upgrade environment and get everything else the way you want it before adding MORE lights.

Do you not know how to read or are you seriously this ignorant?

Of course theres gonna be a fucking light in the grow room. That isnt a list of REQUIRMENTS its what I think is most important in order of Ungrading your grow room.

Now it seems like your just looking to argue. Seriously, You actually went out of your way to go find that post so you could read it and assume Im saying to grow without light...

Jesus Christ your getting ridiculous.

I have also always said thats my personal opinion.