ABSTRACT
The production of plant products for human or animal use — digestible energy and other nutrients, oils, fibers, spices — is initially dependent upon the conversion of solar energy to chemical energy by photosynthesis. The theoretical potential maximum efficiency of this conversion at high light intensities is of the order of 5 to 6% and in most higher plants the production of 1 g of dry matter corresponds to the fixation of 17,000 to 21,000 J of chemically bound energy. 1
