Can Plants Hear?

I think most people have the heard the myth that music helps plants grow. But somehow plant roots can detect the location of moving water that is hidden from their immediate vicinity. One scientist thinks that they can sense the vibrations (or sound) of the moving water.

There’s also some evidence that plants could tell the difference between wind vibrations and the sound of insects chewing on plant matter. The plants that were exposed to the insect noises produced more toxic/bitter compounds to defend against the chewing insects. Additionally, the “buzz” of bees near flowering plants makes the plants more prone to releasing pollen.

Nobody knows exactly how they’re able to interpret the vibrations – in animals, it’s obviously our brains that convert vibration into sound in our heads. But plants have no nervous system.

Do you think this knowledge could be useful to you? How so?

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The studies regarding music and plant growth were conclusive, or so I thought. Rock and roll killed the plants, classical made them grow, and country music did absolutely nothing. Which part of that could possibly be wrong or more far fetched than this latest information that you are presenting? :male_detective:

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I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen those studies. I’m pretty sure they’re hearsay.

I have heard of follow up tests on those claims, and they found no significant effects on plants when everything else was controlled.

I think a lot of the popularity of this idea stemmed from the publication of this book:

It does look like a lot of the experiments are flawed and have never been properly reproduced though.

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Thank you for the Elaboration as to where some of these “fringe” ideas entered the mainstream.
I was reminded also of the book Silent Spring, for some converse reason; what does the lack of noise in our environment tell us?
Just as science fiction becomes science, urban mythology often belies a deeper body of knowledge. Do I believe that plants can’t hear? No. Can empirical data convey every concept that we wish to articulate? Perhaps not.

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This sounds like a lot of the research that was done by Cleve Backster. Interesting stuff to say the least.

Evidence of a Primary Perception in Plant Life

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You’re the best Anne!
I’ve been so lucky to have curious, educated people around me bring this to the fore in the past. Thanks for the reeducation!
The one I still haven’t been able to decipher (not a scientist here-just play one at work lol) is the water study by the Japanese scientist. Water is sentient he claims.
If the scientific community decides that plants and water are “aware”, none of the people on this forum will be surprised, right?
The botany of desire book delved into these symbiotic relationships, but I’m also thinking about Plato’s allegory of the cave.
We don’t own consciousness, or perspective, only awareness.
Thanks for sharing!

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I would be, mainly because water is a simple molecule and has no mechanisms for awareness.

Plants are technically “aware” of their environment, in much the same way that cells are. Both use chemical signals and receptors to respond to stimuli. For cells, this is a relatively fast process, given how small cells are. But for large plants (or fungi), this can mean minutes to hours or days for a signal to pass. In animals, signals are sent via electrical impulses in neurons, which are much faster.

The reason this research is interesting is because the plants are somehow able to process the vibration of sounds in order to locate resources or identify predators. Animals have a central nervous system to process information. We don’t know what’s processing that information for plants.

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When you asked if this information might be useful to people on this forum I immediately thought Yes!
I love to know more about how little we know. It keeps me curious

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If you live in Oregon, you’ll definitely find this interesting:

Fungi are probably the most mysterious “kingdom” in existence because they are kind of difficult to locate and follow.

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I love this threat and This is totally my personal approach to this topic. I believe every living being has an important sensitivity to sounds and vibrations as the vibrations vibrates in the atomic level and possibly change the DNA of the living being (positive or negative) depends on the low or high vibrations that the plants receiving. I heard people who are growing with Zen technique where they created a zen garden on top of their indoor grow operation along with playing plants 432hz music all day. My personal opinion is i don’t think you can see a visible change of the plant but you can feel it when you consume it. Everything vibrates and everything changes through vibration. Look for the Rice experiment from youtube and you will even see how important to even choose your words (which your intentions creates certain vibration) to your plants. Rice Consciousness experiment, inspired by Dr Masaru Emoto - YouTube

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My good friend, Jeff Lowenfels, author of two bestsellers, Teaming with Microbes and Teaming with Nutrients, has a new book out, Teaming with Fungi. It is as good as his two previous books.

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@tom thank you for the book recommendation, we will have to check it out!

There is another grower on the forum (@satchi) that enjoyed reading Teaming with microbes, so I will add him to the conversation so he can get this new book. Here is what Satchi had to say about his favorite cannabis books:

Teaming with microbes and Secrets of the soil are 2 of my favorite books regarding the microbiology involved in horticulture. Bacteria and fungi are extremely interesting and complex. When you really start diving into the subject I personally think it really starts opening your mind to a more natural ways of working with plants and nature in general. The rate of growth you can achieve with Aerated compost teas is remarkable to say the least. I believe when I started learning about these functions of plant biology is when I really started becoming a better grower. Just a heads up Secrets of The Soil is a little out there for most people but still has some very interesting information and points of view. Also neither of these books are directly geared toward cannabis but both have principles that apply to all plants.

Link to his post: Books on cannabis cultivation - #2 by satchi - Growing - Growers Network Forum

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“If you want to find the secrets of the Universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” - Nikola Tesla, 1942

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Sounds like a hell of a lot more to me…

“Science views the blood-building and character-influencing UR-ORGANISM - “WATER” merely as a chemical compound and provides millions of people with a liquid prepared from this point of view, which is everything but healthy water.”

"But what does modern, de-naturised civilization care, as long as it receives a suitably hygienised, clear liquid to shower, wash its dishes, clothes and cars. Once down the plug-hole in company with all manner of toxic chemicals and detergents, all is comfortingly out of sight and out of mind.

Although the chlorination of drinking and household water-supplies ostensibly removes the threat of water-borne diseases, it does so, however, to the detriment of the consumer. In its function of water sterilizer or disinfectant, chlorine eradicates all types of bacteria, beneficial and harmful alike. More importantly, however, it also disinfects the blood (about 80% water) or sap (ditto) and in doing so kills off or seriously weakens many of the immunity-enhancing micro-organisms resident in the body of those organisms constantly forced to consume it. This eventually impairs their immune systems to such a degree that they are no longer able to eject viruses, germs and cancer cells, to which the respective host-bodies ultimately fall victim.

The appearance of AIDS, therefore, and the enormous increase in all forms of disease, cancer in particular, would have come as no surprise to Viktor Schauberger. Apart from the other inevitable disturbances to the ecology and the environment occasioned by humanity’s unthinking activities, he foresaw it all as early as 1933.

“For a person who lives 100 years in the future, the present comes as no surprise.”

Apart from other factors (some cannot be defined quantitatively), encompassing such aspects as turbidity (opaqueness), impurity, and QUALITY, the most crucial factor affecting the health and energy of water is TEMPERATURE.

As a liquid, the behaviour of water differs from all other fluids. The latter become consistently and steadily denser with cooling, water reaches its densest state at a temperature of +4° Celsius (+39.2° Fahrenheit), below which it grows less dense. In contrast, water’s behaviour is anomalous, because it reaches its greatest density at a temperature of +4°C (+39.2°F). This is the so-called “anomaly point”, or the point of water’s anomalous expansion, which is decisive in this regard and has a major influence on its QUALITY. Below this temperature it once more expands. This highest state of density is synonymous with its highest energy content, a factor to be taken carefully into account, since energy can also be equated with life or life-force. Therefore if water’s health, energy and life-force are to be maintained at the highest possible level, then certain precautions must be taken, which will be addressed later.

Conceived in the cool, dark cradle of the virgin forest, water ripens and matures as it slowly mounts from the depths. On its upward way it gathers to itself trace elements and minerals. Only when it is ripe, and not before, will it emerge from the bowels of the Earth as a spring. As a true spring, in contrast to a seepage spring, this has a water temperature of about +4°C (+39.2°F). Here in the cool, diffused light of the forest it begins its long, life-giving cycle as a sparkling, lively, translucent stream, bubbling, gurgling, whirling and gyrating as it wends its way valleywards. In its natural, self-cooling, spiraling, convoluting motion, water is able to maintain its vital inner energies, health and purity. In this way it acts as the conveyor of all the necessary minerals, trace elements and other subtle energies to the surrounding environment. Naturally flowing water seeks to flow in darkness or in the diffused light of the forest, thus avoiding the damaging direct light of the sun. Under these conditions, even when cascading down in torrents, a stream will only rarely overflow its banks. Due to its correct natural motion, the faster it flows, the greater its carrying capacity and scouring ability and the more it deepens its bed. This is due to the formation of in-winding, longitudinal, clockwise - anti-clockwise alternating spiral vortices down the central axis of the current, which constantly cool and re-cool the water, maintaining it at a healthy temperature and leading to a faster, more laminar, spiral flow…" Viktor Schauberger Article by Callum Coats. Gratitude from World Living Water Systems Ltd

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I don’t disagree that water is important! As far as molecules go, it is quite extraordinary. And people definitely need to build their immune systems by exposing themselves to harmless/beneficial bacteria.

But I find it hard to attribute any kind of conscious thought (or information processing) to a single molecule. Even a transistor the size of a virus can only process a single unit of information.

I understand your perspective Hunter, we’ve all pretty much been similarly
conditioned by psyience!

Are you aware that the so-called force of ‘Gravity’ has not been
scientifically proven? Or, that the existence of the aether has not been
dis-proven?

Perhaps it would be useful to ask what your assumptions are and verify them
before coming to conclusions?
Your first assumption seems to be a materialistic underpinning to
“Reality”. Have you considered or tested the perspective that
“Consciousness” instead is the basis?

Your second assumption seems to be related, which is the truth of the
atomic theory of matter. Have you considered or tested others?
Maybe this book ‘The Evolution of Matter’ from 1907, which was banned
during the Manhattan Project because it falsified the Atomic Theory of
matter will help you explore:

The cool thing about this book is that the second half includes experiments
you can try yourself. That’s what Nikola Tesla did in order to reach his
own understanding of what he was told in school…

Best,
Joe

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One could always experiment for themselves by getting a Floranium Lamp, which leverages the Backster Effect, and watch it while you play different music: http://floranium.lightartvision.com/

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FWIW, here’s a summary of an excellent scientific study into the nature of consciousness by three Stanford PHD scientists. The actual book (Conscious Acts of Creation), also includes a technical description of the experiments sufficient to re-create them:

http://www.ioe.hk/contents/TillerConActsCreation.pdf

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