JAKARTA - Plants or plants as we can see are silent, without making a sound. But when he lacks water or is damaged, he will vibrate and make a sound.
"Even on quiet grounds, there are actually voices that we don't hear, and the voices carry information," said senior author of the paper and evolutionary biologist and theorist at Tel Aviv University, Lilach Hadany in an official statement quoted Monday, April 3.
The plant's sound has a volume comparable to normal human conversation. The frequency of these sounds is too high to be detected by human ears, but may be heard by insects, other mammals, and possibly other plants.
Ultrasonic vibrations have previously been recorded from plants, but this is their first evidence of airing, a fact that makes them more relevant to other organisms in the environment.
"Pares interact with insects and other animals all the time, and many of these organisms use sound to communicate, so it would be very non-optimal if the plants didn't use sound at all," Hadany said.
The researchers used microphones to record tomatoes, healthy and depressed tobacco, first in a soundproof room and then in a more noisy greenhouse environment.
Two methods were chosen to make sound, namely by not watering it for several days and cutting the stem.
After recording the plants, the researchers trained machine learning algorithms to differentiate between pressureless plants, thirsty plants, and plants when the stems were cut.
As a result, the researchers found stressed plants emitting more sound than stressless plants.
The sound of plants resembling explosions or clique sounds, and one depressed plant emits about 30 to 50 sounds of this click per hour at an apparently random interval. However, the unstressed plant emits much less sound.
"When tomatoes are not stressed at all, they are very quiet," said Hadany.
Water-deficient plants began to emit sound before they looked dehydrated, and sound frequency peaked after five days without water before decreasing again when the plants were completely dry.
The type of sound issued is different from the cause of stress. The machine learning algorithm is able to accurately distinguish between dehydration and stress due to cuts and can also distinguish whether the sound comes from tomatoes or tobacco plants.
Although research is focused on tomatoes and tobacco plants because they are easy to grow and standardize in laboratories, researchers also note various other plant species.
We found that many plants, wheat, wine, and cactus plants, for example, emitted sounds when stressed, "explained Hadany.
The exact mechanism behind these voices is unclear, the researchers argue it may be due to the formation and rupture of air bubbles in the plant's vascular system, a process called cavity.
According to the researchers, the sound recording of this plant can be used in agricultural irrigation systems to monitor plant hydration status and help distribute water more efficiently.
Because researchers don't know how or why plants make sounds, they can't say whether plants are deliberately trying to communicate. Thus, animals and other plants may be able to obtain useful information from them.
Tikus and men can hear the high notes of the sound of tomatoes. And as some look to put larvae on the tomato plant, they may be able to listen to outline which plants can provide the best chance for their young to survive
"Currently we are investigating the response of other organisms, both animals and plants, to these sounds, and we are also exploring our ability to identify and interpret sounds in truly natural environments," Hadany said in a study published in the journal Cell.
To hear the sound of the plant, click here.
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