What do you understand by photoperiodism and vernalisation? Describe their significance.
Photoperiodism refers to the response of plants with respect to the duration of light. On the basis of its response to the duration of light, a plant is classified as a short-day plant, a long-day plant or a day-neutral plant. Photoperiodism helps in studying the response of flowering in various crop plants with respect to the duration of exposure to light. Vernalisation is the cold-induced flowering in plants. In some plants, exposure to low temperatures is necessary for flowering to be induced. The winter varieties of rye and wheat are planted in autumn. They remain in the seeding stage during winters and flower during summers. However, when these varieties are sown in spring, they fail to flower.
