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B4 E) Creating the Ideal Conditions for Farming
B4 E) Creating the Ideal Conditions for Farming
Commercial farmers and gardeners try to create the conditions that are optimal for photosynthesis and plant growth. For example, most farmers and gardeners use greenhouses and they control the conditions in the greenhouses to ensure healthy growth for their plants. Here are some examples of the factors that farmers and gardeners try to control:
Controlling all of the factors above is very expensive. However, plants that are grown in these conditions produce bigger yields, which will make the farmer more money. However, the farmer will want to supply the plant with the right amount of all of these variables because if the farmer supplies the plant with too much of any of these variables, the growth of the plant will not increase, but the farmer will still have to pay for the cost of increasing these variables. For example, if the farmer was to spray too much fertiliser on the plants, the plants would not grow anymore but the farmer would have to pay for the fertiliser. This would be a waste of money and reduce the farmers profit.
- Temperature – a greenhouse traps the suns heat, which results in the temperature inside the greenhouse being higher than the temperature outside the greenhouse. This increases the rate of photosynthesis and ensures that temperature is not a limiting factor. In winter, gardeners may have heaters that increase the temperature of the greenhouse. Also, in the summer, the temperature inside the greenhouse may become too high and this could cause the enzymes in the plants to denature, which would result in the rate of photosynthesis falling. In order to ensure that the temperature inside greenhouses does not get too high, the farmer/ gardener will open windows and doors, which will bring in new air thus causing the temperature of the greenhouse to decrease.
- Light – commercial farmers may use artificial lights at night or during the evenings to increase the light intensity and therefore increase the rate of photosynthesis. It is only really commercial farmers that use artificial lights rather than amateur gardeners because the lights are expensive to purchase and run.
- Concentration of carbon dioxide – some farmers will increase the concentrations of carbon dioxide by using paraffin heaters. The burning of the paraffin produces carbon dioxide, which increases the concentration of carbon dioxide in the greenhouse. Carbon dioxide is one of the reactants in photosynthesis, so an increase in carbon dioxide increases the rate of photosynthesis if the concentration of carbon dioxide was the limiting factor. The burning of the paraffin also produces heat, which increases the temperature in the greenhouse.
- Water – plants are watered regularly to ensure that they have sufficient water. Also, the plants are not overwatered because too much water kills the plants because the roots will not be able to take in enough oxygen to be able to function properly.
- Pest control – a greenhouse keeps all of the plants enclosed, which means that fewer or no pests will enter the greenhouse. This means that fewer plants are eaten or lost to diseases, which increases the yield and profit for farmers.
- Minerals – farmers will usually fertilise the soil that the plants are growing in. They will usually use a fertiliser that contains nitrates or phosphates. Spreading fertilisers on the soil ensures that the plants have the necessary minerals for healthy growth.
Controlling all of the factors above is very expensive. However, plants that are grown in these conditions produce bigger yields, which will make the farmer more money. However, the farmer will want to supply the plant with the right amount of all of these variables because if the farmer supplies the plant with too much of any of these variables, the growth of the plant will not increase, but the farmer will still have to pay for the cost of increasing these variables. For example, if the farmer was to spray too much fertiliser on the plants, the plants would not grow anymore but the farmer would have to pay for the fertiliser. This would be a waste of money and reduce the farmers profit.