Israeli scientists have proved that plants "squeak" with ultrasound from stress

Scientists at Tel Aviv University have proven that plants can express their stress with ultrasonic signals that can be detected from a distance. The scientists trained a machine learning algorithm to recognize whether drought or damage caused the plants to be stressed based on the sounds they make. This information was published in the journal Cell.

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Plants, like other living organisms, respond to stressful stimuli, such as drought, damage or lack of nutrients. This can be manifested not only in changes in color and shape, but also in the release of volatile chemical compounds, electrical signaling, and even vibration, which is caused by the formation and bursting of tiny air bubbles in the xylem. Scientists from Tel Aviv University drew attention to the fact that plant sounds are unexplored and confirmed that plants can emit ultrasonic signals under stress.

The researchers recorded the sounds from the plants using two sensitive microphones capable of picking up ultrasound in the range of 20-150 kilohertz. The plants - tomato and tobacco - were placed in acoustically isolated chambers and either left alone, exposed to drought without watering for a long time, or damaged by cutting their stems.

The results of the study showed that plants emit sounds that depend on their condition and stress state. For example, after a plant was exposed to stressful conditions, it began to emit more ultrasonic signals compared to a calm state. Using a machine learning algorithm, the scientists were able to distinguish between the different types of stress that the plant was under.

These discoveries have great potential for applications in agriculture and the environment. For example, by using ultrasonic signals from plants, stressful conditions such as drought can be detected in time to respond to them, reducing the impact on the crop. It can also help in the study of ecological processes and the detection of various harmful factors at different levels, from farmland to large forests.

The next step for researchers is to further investigate the mechanism of ultrasound signaling in plants and its functional role in different situations. This can lead to new discoveries and understanding of the interaction between plants and the environment, as well as to the development of new methods to increase yields and preserve the environment.

Earlier, we wrote about what vegetables, flowers and trees can be planted in April.

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