My mother was right all along - plants can 'hear'!

My mother put her ‘green fingers’ down to the way she spoke kindly and encouragingly to her plants

While plants don't have ears, research shows they can "hear" in their own unique way. Using specialised cellular structures, they detect sound vibrations—like the munching of a caterpillar or the rumble of rain—and respond with physical or chemical changes.

While traditional "play music to your plants" ideas are often anecdotal or overblown, scientific experiments have documented several remarkable acoustic responses in the plant kingdom:

• Insect Defence: When certain plants, like Arabidopsis, "hear" the specific sound of a caterpillar chewing their leaves, they ramp up the production of defensive, foul-tasting chemicals to deter the pests.

  
  

• Locating Water: Studies have shown that the roots of some plants, such as garden peas, can detect and grow directly toward the sound of flowing water.

  
  

• Better Germination: Research from MIT has revealed that heavy sound waves—like the natural sound of falling rain—can actually cause seeds like rice to sprout much faster.

  
  

• Pollen Release: Sweet peas exposed to the recorded buzzing sound of a bee will rapidly boost the amount of sugar in their nectar, attracting more pollinators.

  
  

Scientists believe plants sense these acoustic vibrations via specialised mechanoreceptors or tiny, hair-like structures on their leaves. These structures detect pressure changes and turn them into electrical and chemical signals the plant can use to survive.

References

• Scientific American. (n.d.). Can plants hear? Scientific American.

• The Conversation. (n.d.). Can plants hear? Latest research offers new insights. The Conversation.