Plant lovers believe that talking to plants helps them grow. Scientists have discovered there could be a grain truth in this belief. Researchers have discovered that plants emit sounds when they are stressed. The noises are akin to a human cry or scream. The scientists believe the sounds are specific enough us to be able to interpret them and to attend to their needs. Unfortunately, plant sounds are at too high a frequency the human ear to pick . Humans can only hear frequencies of to 16 kilohertz. The scientists used special AI algorithms to detect ultrasonic sounds emitted plants that were to 250 kilohertz. The AI also differentiated different types of plant sounds.
The research was conducted an acoustic chamber an adapted greenhouse Israel's Tel Aviv University. Scientists discovered that vibrations from stressed tobacco and tomato plants turned sound waves. Lead researcher Professor Lilach Hadany said: "Plants usually emit sounds when they are stress. Each plant and each type stress is associated a specific identifiable sound." She suggested that fields of crops could be quite noisy, saying: "While imperceptible to the human ear, the sounds emitted plants can be heard …bats, mice, and insects." Interpreting these sounds could help us understand when crops are dehydrated. Farmers could irrigate their crops more efficiently, and thus conserve water.
