Crops 'could have real ears'

Source: PA News

Playing Beethoven to growing rice has convinced scientists that plants can "hear", new research has revealed.

The research suggests that crops such as rice, wheat or barley might have real ears.

Plants are known to respond to light, the "touch" of the wind, and the "taste" of nutrients in the soil. There are also many anecdotal stories of plants reacting to sound. Some gardeners believe fading blooms can be revitalised by music, and the Prince of Wales is famous for his belief that plants grow better if you talk to them.

Now scientists say they have identified two genes in rice that respond to certain sounds.

The team, led by Mi-Jeong Jeong, from the National Institute of Agricultural Biotechnology in Suwon, South Korea, began by playing rice plants 14 different classical pieces including Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

At the same time, the researchers monitored the plants for changes in the activity of different genes. They found that the plants did not appreciate music as such, but were sensitive to sounds at specific frequencies.

Two particular genes, rbcS and Ald, became more active when exposed to sounds at 125 and 250 hertz, and less active at 50 hertz. A human being with ideal hearing is sensitive to a frequency range of 20 to 20,000 hertz.

The rice genes reacted to sounds below the pitch of normal human speech, falling within the range of bass instruments and lower piano or guitar notes.

When the tests were conducted in darkness, the genes still responded to sound, New Scientist magazine reported.

The researchers wrote in the journal Molecular Breeding that regulatory DNA associated with one of the genes could be attached to other plant genes, making them sound sensitive. This raised the possibility of farmers switching specific crop genes on or off simply by blasting their fields with sound.
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but they feel it not hear it

jami0mckay said:

So does that mean there's a party in wheat field tonight?

ZombieKitten said:

I Wanna see plants with EARS!!!

jami0mckay said:

I wanna see what Princes music does to the crops

chillichocaholic said:

makes it shrivel and die probably, I think plants like classical, with lots of bottom end like tubas

ZombieKitten said:

Lets just check....hey maybe P music is the reason for crop circles

chillichocaholic said:

test it on your peace lilies first before we cause a wheat shortage

ZombieKitten said:

depends on the plant. I think things like wheat prefer to listen to things like Free of Bryan Adams. Whereas bluebells and foxgloves like folk music

ZombieKitten said:

ZombieKitten said:

peace lillies like celine dion

jami0mckay said:

They must be deaf

chillichocaholic said:

try watching a peace lilly when Titanics on, they grow 4 milimetres

jami0mckay said:

jami0mckay said:

Maybe its because they saw Kiera or Leo or they think its Celine drowning instead

chillichocaholic said:

thats why my peace lillies high fived at the end of the film !

another mystery solved

ZombieKitten said:

play them prince's "kamasutra"

probably give you baby corn

IstenSzek said:

The corn in that field wouldn't have any taste then.

JediTodd said:

no YUK!

I've been commanding my plants to "GROW!!" for years and it works great!

NDRU said:

gosh! you have them well trained can you come over and see if it works on children too? (but say: "QUIET!" )

Now my secrets can NEVER be safe.

HobbesLeCute said:

what about sand or dirt? you can tell them!

ZombieKitten said:

"Hello dirt. I like beading and no one must know."

HobbesLeCute said:

god, even your robot doesn't know about that

ZombieKitten said:

hmm, I've only commanded children to "GROW!!" but it seems to work on them as well.