Rainbows + Plants...who knew...

This past week, a major research paper was due for my horticulture class (vegetable crops). My topic, which my professor came up with, was about rainbows. More specifically, how rainbows are created, the pigments involved (and the perception of those colors), and how the pigments in rainbows are significant to vegetable crops. When I first read this topic, the first thing that ran through my mind was, "Oh man, how in the world am I going to get 5 single spaced pages out about rainbows?!?" I was panicked. But, once I got on the right track with the research it was hard for me to stop writing. Apparently, plants are able to perceive different colors, and many of the colors in the rainbow can have a great effect on the plant in many different ways. Green, for instance, is a color associated with the photosynthetic processes of the plant. Also, the colors that surround a plant can help stimulate plant growth. For example, research has shown that if you mulch tomato plants with red mulch, they grow much taller and more vigorously. I also truly began to understand not only the horticultural implications of such knowledge but also the economic impact for both large operation and small farmers.

I was pleasantly surprised at the wealth of knowledge I stumbled upon once I began to dig deeper into this topic. It has been a while since I've had to write a research paper, which could help explain my initial anxiety about the task. However, being assigned a topic with a surprising amount of hidden significance (and realizing that there is more to a rainbow than just a just a band of color with a pot of gold at the end).