Wildlife Discovery:Why plants need sunlight

Besides water and mineral nutrients, plants need light if they are to grow and flourish. Have you ever seen wondered why some people grow flowers or place flowerpots around their house? They want their homes to look beautiful. However, some people place plants inside their houses or on the verandah where the sun doesn’t reach. After a while, these plants stop looking great and eventually die even when they are watered all the time.For plants to flourish they should experience the photosynthesis process. Photosynthesis is what protects plants from becoming malnourished. Our Science lessons teach us that Photosynthesis is what allows plants to synthesise glucose from water and carbon dioxide, with the release of oxygen. The green plant pigment called chlorophyll plays an important role in this reaction, which occurs in the presence of sunlight.In other words, plants cannot live without sunlight and darkness is deadly for them. Any plant that finds itself in darkness will use all its nutrients to develop shoots in the search for light. This happens to mature plants as well as germinating seeds and bulbs. It is only until a well-lit environment is found that a plant will unfold its green leaves and start photosynthesising.