Have you ever heard plants screaming?

According to a recent research study published in the journal "Cell," researchers from Tel Aviv University of Israel have found evidence suggesting that plants also scream when in distress. This is well defined by the researchers based on the evidence collected when they recorded the sound created by plants at ultrasonic frequencies beyond the hearing range of humans. While these sounds are different from the sounds made by humans, they are the kind of popping and clicking noise. Researchers believe that this is the way plants try to convey their messages to the outer world.

The lead author of this study, Lilach Hadany, defines that even if humans are unable to perceive their sound, they carry messages to other organisms like insects and animals. They use their sound to respond to threats and conditions like drought and injuries. To find out how plants respond to stress, they conducted a study in which they observed tomato and tobacco plants producing sound under both different stress conditions and various environmental challenges inside the acoustic chamber and greenhouse. While facing stress, plants showed noticeable visual changes in their phenotypes, like changes in color and shape.

Under such stressed conditions, they also release volatile organic compounds, which are responsible for creating resistance among these plants, and they release certain chemicals and send vibrations into the air. Although it is still unclear whether other organisms might be able to hear it, it has been reported that plants produce vibrations when they undergo stress.

To unravel this the scientists placed the recording apparatus with two microphones to capture these vibrations created by plants. By using machine learning models they could tell the difference between normal plants, plants under stress of cuts, and droughts, just by listening to their sounds. Using machine learning models that could tell them about their environment we could tell the difference between plants that were stressed from drought, cut, or healthy ones, just by listening to their sounds.

This suggests that studying plant sounds could help them understand more about how plants interact with their environment and evolve. It could also be useful for monitoring plant health in farming. This research study has opened new doors in the field of agriculture. In the future, it is expected to be very helpful in increasing crop yield and understanding the various physiological conditions of plants.

References:

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2023.03.009

(Input from various resources)

(Rehash/Akashita Panjla/MSM)