Beijing, March 31 (Xinhua) -- Researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel published a study in the US academic journal Cell on March 30 pointing out that plants also make sounds, and even make more sounds when they are short of water or under other pressure, but their sounds are beyond the range of human hearing frequencies.
It's like pinching bubble wrap
The researchers customized a batch of well-sounded boxes in which tobacco and tomato plants were placed, and used a device that captures ultrasound to record the sounds that the two plants might make. They put some plants under stress, such as cutting the stems or not watering for days, while allowing other plants to grow unstressed.
This is a view of the Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden taken on May 22, 2022 in Cape Town, South Africa. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Lu Tiantian
The experimental results showed that both plants can emit ultrasonic waves with frequencies from 40 kilohertz to 80 kilohertz. According to CNN, the ultrasound is compressed into a sound that the human ear can hear, and it sounds like the bubble film used to popcorn blasting or pinching fragile packaging items.
Stressed plants make 30 to 50 sounds per hour, randomly spaced; In contrast, unstressed plants are much quieter, making an average sound of only about one per hour.
Researchers don't know how plants make sounds, but speculate that when subjected to certain stress, the water-bearing structures in plants break down, making sounds similar to bubble wrap or popcorn popping.
This is a baobab tree in the sunset in the western Madagascar town of Mandabay taken on May 2, 2013. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter He Xianfeng
The researchers used wheat, corn, cacti, vines and other plants to do similar experiments and found that they can also make sounds, and they make more sounds when stressed.
Lilach Goudani, one of the authors of the study, said: "With so many organisms responding to sound, there is no reason to think that plants are deaf and dumb. ”
Helps agricultural production
Using the results of the soundproof box experiment, the researchers developed a set of machine algorithms for identifying plant sounds, which were then repeated in a greenhouse. The results show that the machine algorithm can identify the sounds made by plants in greenhouses and show whether they are under stress.
Tourists visit the Botanical Pruning Park in the Belgian town of Dilby on August 21, 2021. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Zheng Huansong
The researchers say their findings open up new avenues for understanding plants and their interactions with the environment, which could have important implications for agriculture.
Although there is no evidence that plants make sounds intentionally or as a way to communicate information, Richard Calban, a botanist at the University of California, Davis, said the results improved understanding of how plants respond to stress, confirming a previous understanding of plants that "plants are organisms that can respond to complex behaviors."
Daniel Robert, a botanist at the University of Bristol in the United Kingdom, believes that plant sounds can be used by other organisms, such as female moths who catch the stress sounds of a tomato plant, may know that it is not suitable for laying eggs or foraging, so as to find a more suitable plant. (Osa Osa)