SAEDNEWS: Plants Cry When They Are Under Stress And Some Animals Can Probably Hear These Sounds.
According to SAEDNEWS, citing to a study published in Cell, plants produce sounds in the air when they are thirsty or under stress. The authors found that plants needing water or those whose stems had recently been cut produced approximately 35 sounds per hour, while well-hydrated and uncut plants were much quieter, producing only about one sound per hour.
The reason you have probably never heard the sound of a thirsty plant is that these sounds are ultrasonic (around 20 to 100 kilohertz). This means they are too high-pitched for most humans to hear. However, some animals may be able to detect these sounds. Bats, mice, and moths may live in a world filled with plant sounds, and a previous study by the same research team showed that plants also respond to sounds produced by animals.
To eavesdrop on plants, scientists placed tobacco and tomato plants inside small boxes equipped with microphones. The microphones captured the sounds produced by the plants. These sounds were particularly noticeable in plants experiencing stress due to lack of water or cutting.
Scientists reported that when sped up, these sounds resemble the popping of popcorn or a series of very short clicks.
Plants do not have vocal cords or lungs, and the current theory about how they produce sounds focuses on their xylem, the tubes that transport water and nutrients from the roots to the stems and leaves.
Water inside the xylem is held together by surface tension, similar to water being drawn through a drinking straw. When an air bubble forms or collapses inside the xylem, it may create a small popping sound. The formation of these bubbles is more likely during periods of stress. Scientists stated that the exact mechanism behind this process requires further investigation.
The team developed a machine learning model with 70 percent accuracy based on plant sounds to determine whether a plant had been cut or was suffering from dehydration. The results highlight the potential role of these findings in acoustic monitoring of plants in agriculture and horticulture.
Researchers had previously investigated whether plants could hear sounds and found that evening primrose flowers release sweeter nectar when exposed to the sound of a flying bee. Therefore, could plant sounds be an important feature of ecosystems that influence the behavior of both plants and animals? According to Graham Pyke, a biologist at Macquarie University in Australia, evidence for this idea is still unclear. He doubts that animals actually listen to the distress sounds of plants, explaining that it is unlikely they can detect these sounds from such distances and that the sounds are very faint. Further research is needed to clarify this possibility.
These studies showed that plants under water stress or physical damage release detectable sounds, which could have important implications for plant monitoring in gardening and agriculture.
