How plants can perceive the sound of rain and germinate faster

A study published by Scientific Reports constitutes the first direct evidence that plant seeds and seedlings can perceive the sounds of nature.

MIRA:

Plants are very perceptive and have evolved to detect and respond to stimuli from your environment, what helps your survival.

The MIT team conducted their tests with 8,000 rice seeds that were submerged in buckets of shallow water and some were exposed to the sound of dripping water. The size and height of each drop varied to imitate storms light, moderate and intense.

Furthermore, they used a hydrophone to measure the acoustic vibrations generated by the underwater droplets and compared them with recordings they had made in the field, for example, in puddles, ponds, wetlands and soil during storms.

The comparisons confirmed that the laboratory water droplets generated acoustic vibrations caused by rain, just like in nature.

The seed groups that had been exposed to the sound of water were able to germinate 30% to 40% faster than those who were not subjected to that sound, but who were otherwise in identical conditions.

Seeds closer to the surface were better able to perceive the sound of drops and grow faster, compared to seeds that were further submerged or further away.

The team discovered that when a raindrop hits the surface of a puddle or the ground, it generates a sound wave that makes vibrate the environmentincluding seeds submerged at shallow depths.

These vibrations can be strong enough to displace a seed’s statoliths, which are small gravity-sensitive organelles present in certain seed cells.

When statoliths are shaken, their movement is a signal for seeds and seedlings to grow and sprout, the researchers explained.

“What this study suggests is that seeds can perceive sound in ways that help them survive.“and the energy of the sound of rain”is enough to accelerate the growth of a seed”said Ncholas Makris of MIT and one of the signatories of the article.

These experiments demonstrated that there is a relationship between the sound of a drop of water and the growth capacity of a seed, points out the text.

The researchers propose that seeds capable of sensing rain could have a biological advantage: if they are close enough to the surface to respond to the sound of rain, they are likely to be at an optimal depth to absorb moisture and grow safely to the surface.

The team suspects that the sound of rain is similar to vibrations generated by other natural phenomena, such as wind, so they plan to investigate other natural vibrations and sounds that plants can perceive.