Light and Plant Growth: 1 (Topics in Plant Physiology, 1) - Softcover

Hart, J.W.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0045810230 ISBN 13: 9780045810239

Publisher: Springer, 1988

Synopsis

This comprehensive account of the (non-photosynthetic) influence of light on plants provides the non-specialist student with a readable text for courses in plant photophysiology. It explains the profound influence light has on plant growth and development, drawing on a wide range of disciplines (but assuming little background knowledge) and considering events at all scales from the molecular to the vegetation canopy. It introduces the nature of light and its interaction with biological materials, outlines the biochemistry of photomorphogenic photoreceptors and describes all the major photophysiological responses of plants. A wide range of topics are covered: the light environment, both natural and . artificial; blue-light photoreceptors as well as phytochrome; aspects, of photomorphogenesis (including germination, the greening process, seedling growth and development), photoperiodism and phototropism.
Although written primarily for the inexperienced non-specialist, the book offers enough information and reference material for the reader to gain access to recent research literature. All students of plant physiology - whether in plant science, biology, agriculture or forestry will find this text useful as a concise introduction to a key and hitherto somewhat neglected field.
James W Hart graduated from the University of Glasgow, where he also gained his doctorate, and then spent two years at Michigan State University. After a period of industrial work with Unilever on the commercial applications of tissue culture techniques, he joined the University of Aberdeen where he is now a lecturer in plant biochemistry and physiology

About this title

Product Description:

There are many recent works on the topic of light and plant growth. These have not only been written by experts, but are also, in the main, written for experts (or, at least, for those who already have a fair understanding of the subject). This book has its origins in a six-week course in plant photophysiology, and its aim is to provide an introduction to the subject at an advanced undergraduate level. The imagined audience is simply a student who has asked the questions: In what ways does light affect plant growth, and how does it do it? The book is limited to aspects of photomorphogenesis. Photo­ synthesis is only considered where its pigments impinge on photo­ morphogenic investigations, or where its processes provide illustrative examples of particular interactions between light and biological material. Chapter 1 gives a general account of the various ways in which light affects plant development, and introduces topics which are subsequently covered in greater detail. In all the chapters, are special topic 'boxes', consisting of squared-off sections of text. These are simply devices for presenting explanatory background material, or material that I myself find particularly intriguing.

Review:

A single author book on light and plant growth aimed at the non-specialist student would be welcome. When such a book is as lucid and readable at this it is doubly so. The text is readable and the diagrams clear. I would see the hardback edition as an essential acquistion for libraries in any university that teaches plant biology. - Journal of Experimental Botany

About this edition

• Publisher: Springer
• Publication date: 1988
• ISBN 10: 0045810230
• ISBN 13: 9780045810239
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224