The Daily Garden
  • Home
  • Garden Word of the Day
  • Monthly Chores
  • DIY Chickens

Garden Word of the Day

Chlorophyll

1/20/2017

0 Comments

 
We've all heard the word, but how many of us really know what is going on inside our plants? What is chlorophyll and how does it convert right into energy?

Chlorophyll is a collection of green pigments that makes plant (and algae) life possible. Pigments are materials that change the appearance of reflected light by absorbing specific wavelengths. As light strikes a leaf, first the blue wavelength and then the red wavelength are absorbed, and the green is reflected. That’s why, to us, most plants look green.

Picture
Seen through a microscope, chlorophyll is found in chloroplasts. Photo by Kristian Peters (Wikipedia)

Discovery of chlorophyll

The word chlorophyll (you can spell it with one “l” if you prefer), comes from two Greek words that mean green (chloros) and leaf (phyllon). Chlorophyll is the reason photosynthesis works. This was first figured out in 1817 by two men, Pierre Joseph Pelletier and Joseph Bienaimé Caventou, ages 29 and 22, respectively. (Certainly not what I was doing in my 20’s…)


Plant cell review

Before we get into the amazing way that chlorophyll helps plants collect energy from the sun, let’s have a quick review of plant cells: Plant cells are very similar to animal cells in that they both have a nucleus that contains DNA, a storage vacuole, a mitochondria to keep everything functioning, a cell membrane that filters what goes in and out, and a jelly-like cytoplasm that holds all the parts. Plant cells are different from animal cells because they have rigid, rectangular cell walls and organelles called chloroplasts. Chloroplasts contain a lot of chlorophyll. This is where the really amazing stuff happens.


Chloroplasts 

Chloroplasts have their own DNA and they are something like living solar panels within plant cells. According to Wikipedia, “Chloroplasts cannot be made by the plant cell and must be inherited by each daughter cell during cell division.” How crazy is that? I wonder if that makes them the oldest living thing?


Photosynthesis and chlorophyll molecules

You can learn a lot more about photosynthesis and chlorophyll molecules elsewhere, but the basic idea is that light energy is absorbed by chlorophyll molecules that are held along and in structures called photostems, in a process called resonance energy transfer. (Stay with me! We’re almost through the tough part!) The absorbed energy is handed over to an electron in something called charge separation. The energy is then oxidized (or rusted) off the electron and handed over to other molecules in an electron transport chain. The original electron is then grounded with the aid of a water molecule. It’s really mind-boggling, isn’t it? So what does this have to do with gardening?


Chlorophyll in the garden

If you understand how plants get their energy, you can help them stay healthy. For example, if your plants are dusty, the process of photosynthesis doesn’t work as well as it might because the chlorophyll can’t absorb light energy. (And spider mites will be more of a problem.) Or, if you are growing endive, celery, or fennel, you may want to block light from reaching the chlorophyll, for white, tender leaves, stalks, or bulbs. If chlorosis (or yellowing) is seen, you will know that something is causing a lack of chlorophyll. Chlorosis can indicate bacterial or fungal disease, physical injury, improper soil pH, iron or manganese deficiency (the former is very common in the Bay Area, the latter is not). Excessive levels of other nutrients, such as potassium, magnesium, and phosphorus can also cause chlorosis.


The more we learn about the amazing processes that are going on in the garden, the better we can care for the plants in our gardens and landscapes. (And you'll be even better at Scrabble!)
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Welcome!

    You can grow a surprising amount of food in your own yard. Ask me how!

    ​~ Kate
    ​

    Sign up for the Daily Garden!

    Index

    All
    Artichokes
    Asparagus
    Beans
    Beets
    Beneficial Insects
    Berries
    Bok Choy
    Broccoli
    Brussels Sprouts
    Bulbs
    Cabbage
    Carrots
    Cauliflower
    Celeriac
    Celery
    Chickens
    Chickpeas
    Children's Activities
    Collards
    Compost & Mulch
    Container Gardening
    Corn
    Cover Crops
    Cucamelons
    Cucumbers
    Currants
    Eggplant
    Endives
    Fennel
    Fenugreek
    Flowers
    Fruit & Nut Trees
    Garden Design
    Garlic
    Grain
    Grapes
    Groundcherry
    Guava
    Herbs
    Hops
    Horseradish
    Irrigation
    Jerusalem Artichokes
    Kale
    Kiwifruit
    Lawns
    Lettuce
    Melons
    Mint
    Native Plants
    Onions
    Parsley
    Parsnips
    Peanuts
    Peas
    Peppers
    Pests & Diseases
    Pineapples
    Plants 101
    Potatoes
    Pruning
    Pumpkins
    Quarantine
    Raised Bed Gardening
    Rhubarb
    Shade Gardening
    Sorghum
    Spinach
    Squash
    Strawberries
    Succulents
    Sunburn
    Sunflowers
    Sweet-potatoes
    Tomatillos
    Tomatoes
    Turnips
    Vines
    Weeds
    Wheat
    Zucchini

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015

Proudly powered by Weebly
  • Home
  • Garden Word of the Day
  • Monthly Chores
  • DIY Chickens