Can Plants Hear?

Many pseudoscientific claims from the devotees and the researchers alike have been around for many years, but there hasn’t been enough evidence to back it up. Even the Depeche Mode had little success, but of late, there has been some research that provides steady ground for the believers.

In this article, we would like to point out researches that led us to believe that they are not entirely deaf.

IMPROVED TOLERANCE

An article published on 7th August 2014 titled “Biological Effect of Audible Sound Control on Mung Bean (Vigna radiate) Sprout” presented the impact of sound on mung bean sprouts. It focused on exposing them to 90 dB sound with a 2000 Hz frequency in a controlled environment. It resulted in a reduced germination period with an improved growth rate.

Another research paper titled Beyond Chemical Triggers: Evidence for Sound-Evoked Physiological Reactions in Plants mentions that exposing rice to around 0.8-1.5 kHz waves for an hour helped them develop stomatal conductance and drought tolerance.

DEVELOPING SWEETER NECTAR AIDING IN POLLINATION

A research paper from Tel Aviv University states that Oenothera Drummondi flowers, when exposed to the sound of a flying bee or something similar synthetically leads to them producing sweeter nectar within three minutes. It would improve their chance of cross-pollination, and it was not that they reacted similarly to other frequencies. They were unfazed otherwise.

PRODUCING CHEMICAL TOXINS

A 2014 study of the Arabidopsis presented an astonishing fact. The scientists exposed them to recordings of feeding insects and found out they immediately started producing more chemical toxins in a tryst to protect themselves.

CAN THEY HEAR?

It is not that plants can hear like humans and act accordingly. But these researches prove that they pay attention and react to situations which demand something from them, either to protect or to evolve.

#PlantSceince #Atrimed #PlantScienceFacts #PlantScienceFam