Why our crypts never flower?

[XnSdVd]

According to the link below, plants need infrared light to flower. And since our FLs PLs and MHs produce no infrared light, our crypts have to wait for months before they gather enough sunlight to bloom... Interesting. Can anyone think of where to find infrared bulbs that work with out tank lights?

And which end of the spectrum is UV light? Because i've seen UV lights at Azmi's shop for herps...

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/g...als/light.html

[Sunfire]

Aint UV light a really high frequency? Infrared is the other end of the frequency of light. I thought they gave out heat mostly.

[StanChung]

If I'm not mistaken, infrared is produced by heated objects. So theoretically, lamps that produce heat would produce infrared.

[CK Yeo]

erm... to be more exact, plants sense daylength through a mechanism in them that is affected by infra red and near-infra red light. That's why we have "long day" plants and "short day" plants which need a certain period of darkness (yes, not light) to flower.

I am not sure if it has been established that crypts are affected by daylength, but I have come across some literature suggest using Giberellin (GA3, I think, plant hormone) to try induce flowering.

ck

[|squee|]

I remember that my crypt flowered (well almost... the spathe thingy came up but withered) during last year's rainy December where there was considerably less "sunlight-time" for it.

[StanChung]

I think infrared is absorbed by water, so your ideas on gettign an infrared lamp may be for naught. Hang on, maybe you can stimulate the plants by draining tank water[during wc] till the crypt's leaves are exposed to this radiation?

[CK Yeo]

infrared is used in those toaster ovens and some electric grills. It heat things up.

If you still want to try it out, there are lights meant for herps or massage lamps available in the market.

For those interested, try searching plant physiology books for phytochrome signaling (PR, PFR) to appreciate the whole mechanism. If I remember correctly, it is not about how much infra red light the plant receives but how much near-infra red light it receives. The experiment went something like a few seconds of infra red light during night, will throw the plant off thinking that it was light all day long. Plants outdoors tend not to be disturbed in the night as compared to plants in our tanks. Some Echinodorus are known to be short day plants too. There may be other mechanisms out there now that I dun know of since I last learned about this.

ck