Scientists have made a paradigm-shifting discovery in the realm of plant acoustics: when disturbed, plants plead for aid, and their sounds can be heard!
In-depth details about after hearing “screams,” scientists conclude that plants cry when they are stressed
The tomato and tobacco plants showed this crying ability when cut or dried under observation in a greenhouse, according to a recent Tel Aviv University study.
According to a university news release, “we discovered that plants often generate noises when they are under stress and that each plant and each form of stress is associated with a particular identifiable sound.” Despite being inaudible to the human ear, a variety of creatures, including bats, mice, and insects, are likely able to hear the sounds that plants generate.
The study used ultrasonic microphones placed around 10 centimetres from plants to record noises at frequencies ranging from 20 to 250 kilohertz. Humans can only hear up to 16 kilohertz. The recordings were analysed using cutting-edge AI algorithms, and plants were identified based on the distinctive noises they produce.
According to Lilach Hadany, a mathematician at Tel Aviv University, “our findings show that the world around us is filled of plant sounds, and that these sounds hold information – for example, about water scarcity or injury.”
“We anticipate that adjacent animals such as bats, rodents, various insects, and potentially also other plants – that can hear the high frequencies and derive crucial information – are aware of the noises generated by plants in nature.”
These ground-breaking discoveries ultimately put some people at ease by supporting the theory that stressed plants vibrate.
When it was realised that these vibrations were distress cries, scientists spent years debating whether they could develop into sound waves.
