Effect of solar radiation on crops

That sunlight is essential for most living beings is an idea that we all have clear. In plants, specifically , solar radiation plays an essential role in their main physiological processes . And, in fact, the main activity of plants, photosynthesis, depends directly on the sunlight they receive.

Effect of solar radiation on crops

However, it can also have a negative impact if the crop is not well protected. The first thing is to clarify the concept of ultraviolet light, UV: radiation with waves shorter than those perceptible by the human eye, present in the sun’s rays. Depending on the intensity of UV radiation, it will have a positive or negative impact on crops.

How is ultraviolet light classified?

UV radiation is mainly divided into three groups:

• UV-A (320 to 400nm): It is little absorbed by ozone in the atmosphere and reaches the earth’s surface in greater quantity. It is the one that causes less damage in agriculture.
• UV-B (280 to 320nm ): It is moderately absorbed by ozone in the atmosphere, which allows part of it to reach the earth’s surface.
• UV-C (100 to 280nm): Of the three, it is the most absorbed by ozone in the atmosphere, so it practically does not reach the earth’s surface.

Thus, UV-B is the one that causes negative effects on plants if it affects them in large quantities.

In the fruits, it produces breakage of the cell wall, which is commonly called ironing or ravaging.

The damage produced by the high temperatures that are reached in the summer months cause alterations in the production of proteins and the destruction of enzymes that are directly involved in the metabolic processes of plants.

How does UV radiation affect our crops?

The truth is that plants have developed certain defense mechanisms that help protect them from UV radiation. However, with the growing impact of climate change, these natural mechanisms are insufficient , leading to earlier and earlier damage at the cellular level.

How, then, can we help our crops to protect themselves from the sun?

• absorbing part of the radiation
• Moisturizing the tissues
• Reducing thermal shock