PHOTOVOLTAIC ROOT STIMULATION

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"Ah," you say, "I knew there'd be a catch. It is too good to be true." Not exactly, but the catch is that the root stimulator works best on plants that aren't exposed to much sunlight. Those studies I mentioned before showed that foliage exposed to bright sunlight receives little or no benefit from root stimulation.

Why? Probably because photosynthesis can supply enough energy in bright sunlight to serve all the plant's needs. Photovoltaics only offer a significant boost when other sources of light are reduced or unavailable. In other words, it probably wouldn't do much good to pepper your cornfield with Sun Stiks.

But remember that a solar cell does a more efficient job of converting sunlight into energy than does photosynthesis. PV, then, can generate usable amounts of electricity under lighting conditions that would be useless to the leaves of a plant (this includes fluorescent and tungsten lamps used for everyday indoor illumination). So imagine what a solar root stimulator might do for that fern hanging in the den!

PRACTICAL USES

Besides perking up light-starved houseplants, what practical applications might a PV root stimulator have? Well, for one, tests have shown that seeds placed within an electric field sprout more quickly and are more prolific. So if you used a solar disk on your starts, instead of having—say—only 50% of your seeds germinate, you could expect a success rate of 75% or better.

Second, root stimulation works particularly well on seedlings, so a solar cell could be able to help you germinate and raise your starts indoors before the spring thaw comes. When it finally warms up enough to put your young plants out, you'll have a good jump on a healthy garden, one that has hearty, substantial stock rather than fragile, underdeveloped seedlings.

More research needs to be done on this exciting new process. But if you want to do a bit of investigating yourself, the investment is small and the work's relaxing. Who knows, with a little imagination and honest effort, you just might come up with the application this technology is waiting for!

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