For some, the phrases ‘plant biology’ or ‘plant physiology’ or even the word botany brings to mind scary images. Certainly these sciences can be very complex and studying them is reserved for the truly motivated or professional. Despite this, having a little basic knowledge of some plant biology can benefit the average gardener, and grasping the basic concepts is actually quite easy.
With that said, we look at a branch of horticulture called ‘Hydroponics‘. But before one can cultivate well it’s essential to have some knowledge of the needs of plants. That’s where botany proves its worth.
Plants are living things, however they have some obvious and improtant differences from animals.Chief among those is the ability to absorb nutrients and generate what they need. Many plants, for example, absorb sunlight and turn it into energy through photosynthesis. As for nutrients, plants can extract chemical elements from their environment and turn it into food for themselves.
Animals, by contrast have to get their food from other sources, either other animals or plants. Sunlight provides them with warmth but not energy to power their functions. There are exceptions, as there are throughout biology. Some extremely small organisms that are sometimes thought of as animals can perform plant-like activities. These hybritd creatures are usually extreme exceptions though.
The primary mechanism that most plants use to perform those needed activities is photosynthesis. It can be represented by a simple chemical equation:
6CO2 + 12H2O + light = C6H12O6 + 6O2 + 6H2O
By using light, the plant is able to combine twelve molecules of water (12H2O) with 6 molecules of carbon dioxide (6CO2). The chemical reaction produces glucose (C6H12O6), a type of sugar. Like animals, plants then break down the glucose to provide them withthe energy they need to sustain them. A by-product of this chemical reaction also creates 6 oxygen molecules (6O2) and 6 water molecules (6H2O).
This basic chemical process gives plants what they need to be self-sufficient.They take in available energy, pull nutrients from the surrounding and produce their own energy and food. It would be great if humans could do the same!
But there’s much more to the plant’s life than just energy production and food consumption. In order to perform those functions plants have to be sturdy and to breathe.
In order to carry out essential processes, the plant has to have a stable structure. With hydroponics, there is no soil so this physical support needs to be considered. Externally it’s supplied by the medium by either supporting trays, strings, rockwool, etc. Internally, the plant’s own cells provide that support, using available elements.
For example, the same calcium that supports our bones aids in building a plants cell walls. These cells allow the plant to withstand forces like wind and gravity by building up tissues that resist.
Like us, plants also need to breathe in order to live. Many of us are taught in elementary school that plants take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen. That’s true. What isn’t so commonly known is that plants also breathe in oxygen – they just exhale more oxygen than they breathe in.
While plants don’t use lungs to breathe, they do however have pores, called stoma, which they use to breathe in oxygen and carbon dioxide and exhale oxygen. This process called cellular respiration is critical for the plants to grow their roots.
These are only a few of the many fascinating features of plants that give them the ability to provide food, beauty and delightful smells to their fortunate caretakers: hydroponics gardeners.
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