Amal Al-Sibai

Saudi Gazette

 

IN recent years, a popular, but highly debated belief that plants are affected by sound has emerged. What evidence supports this theory? And if science can show that sounds affect plants, negatively or positively, what implications can these findings have?



Well, it could open up limitless possibilities in a wide range of fields, from improved farming and agriculture, to environmental protection, and even advances in a more holistic approach to healthcare.



Scientists have pointed out that trees planted alongside freeways grow differently from trees planted in a quite environment, with noise considered as one factor in this difference.



Biologists, Heidi Appel and Rex Cocroft, at the University of Missouri at Columbia found that plants actually respond to the sound of a caterpillar eating its leaves. The plant could detect the ripple of sound vibrations that occurs. In their experiments, plants that were exposed only to the sound of caterpillars munching on leaves (in the absence of any actual caterpillars), the plant responded the same way it does when a real caterpillar is eating away at its leaves: it produces a high concentration of defense chemicals in its leaves that are toxic and repelling in taste.



Researchers concluded, “Although the mechanism of how plants can discern sounds is not known, a deeper investigation can lead to advances in agriculture and natural crop resistance-as opposed to spraying costly and harmful pesticides.”



A continent away, researchers in India conducted experiments on plants with interesting results. Vidya Chivukula and Shivaraman Ramaswamy conducted an experiment by growing groups of rose plants in equal growing conditions, but the only variable was the type of sounds the plants were exposed to on a daily basis. The sounds used were: harmonic Indian chants, Indian classical music, Western classical music, rock music, and a control group that was not exposed to any particular music.



The results showed that the plants exposed to harmonic chants thrived and grew better than all the other plants. The researchers measured an elongation of the plant, increased number of flowers, and a richer color of the flowers on these particular plants. Rock music, on the other hand, retarded the growth of plants.



In another study, researchers Katherine Creath and Gary Schwartz investigated the effects of music on seed germination. They repeated their experiment 5 times, each time confirming the link between music and improved growth into seedlings.



The researchers concluded, “Musical sound had a highly statistically significant effect on the number of seeds sprouted compared to the untreated control over all five experiments.”



Possibly the youngest scientist in this intriguing field is Aya Alzuabi, an 8th grader who wanted to put these theories to test, and she added her own hypothesis to the test as well. Alzuabi had been researching the whole idea that sounds can influence the growth of plants and she was intrigued by the study by Dorothy Ratallack, a musician.



Ratallack conducted the experiment on plants with different genres of music and also with playing hateful insults to one group of plants. The results were astounding. The plants exposed to soft classical music thrived, those exposed to rock music exhibited very slow growth, but the plants exposed to hateful, spiteful insults died.



Alzuabi, in her family’s small apartment, conducted a similar experiment on plants, but this time she introduced a new sound, the sound of the melodious recitation of the Holy Qur’an. Every week, she meticulously measured the growth of the plants, counted the leaves, took pictures, and recorded her results, just like what would be done in an expensive lab.



“I have childhood memories that every time I was ill or hurting, my mother would put her warm hand on me and read verses from the Holy Qur’an to me.  It helped me feel better, and I believe to physically get well. Could the recitation from the Holy Qur’an have some healing energy that helped me get better?” Alzuabi wondered.



By week 2 of Alzuabi’s experiment, the plant that was exposed to hateful remarks began to wilt and die. By far, the plant that had grown the most and the fullest was the plant that was exposed to the recitation of the Holy Qur’an. The plant exposed to rock music grew better than the plant that was left in silence, but slower than the plant exposed to recitation of the Qur’an.



About her findings, Alzuabi said, “This project can come in handy for anyone interested in gardening, plants, and greenery. If anyone wants to care for a plant they would want to know what kind of sounds to expose their plants to, to promote better growth. Also this experiment can be used on crops to help plants growth faster, without using fertilizers.



Using sounds on plants rather than fertilizer is much better for the environment. The chemicals in fertilizer are known to drain into the drinking water supply of some regions, which can cause water pollution and create many health problems.”



“I want to continue my research. If the rhythmic sound of the recitation of the Holy Qur’an promotes improved growth and health in plants, my next step is to study if the sound of the Holy Qur’an can have healing effects on humans? Can recitations from the Holy Qur’an be played to speed the recovery of sick patients in hospitals?” Alzuabi added.