plants and music

[WVSFielding]

out of curiosity, i was wondering if music can have an effect on a plants growth, if you give it all the same growing conditions but change the music will it grow differently? >

[thedarkshade]

What do you mean? Just to play the music near plants or 'inject' it somehow?

I know no explanation about this, but I'm skeptical such thing could be possible. After all, music is no factor that can influence plant in any way possible. They don't literally feel it!

[DrP]

This was being discussed the other day:

 

http://www.scienceforums.net/forum/showthread.php?t=31118

[thedarkshade]

Yeah DrP, I saw that immediately after I had posted in this thread:doh:!

[Edtharan]

Yes, music can have a beinificial effect on plants:

 

Take some sheet music, mulch it up and spread it around the bas of a plant.

 

Well, ok, I was only making a joke.

 

As far as I have heard, there has been no study done that actually deomnstrates a positive effect of music on plants. Sound waves might provide (extremely small) stresses on plant tissue, but whether or not this has a positive or even negative effect (or any effect at all) is unknown and would most liekly differ from plant to plant.

 

And one would wonder: why would plants react favourably to somndes that we find plesent? There are many noises made by other animals that we might find unplesent (the sound some birds make comes to mind, or the whine of a mosquito). Why should a sound that is plesent to us be favourable to a plant?

[CaptainPanic]

Sound = vibrations.

 

Plants need CO2 from air to grow. More CO2 can mean more growing (in some cases, like in greenhouses, CO2 can be a limiting factor for growth, it is not always the case).

 

If the mass transfer is the problem, then plants would benefit from wind. But also sound could create a mixing of air on a small level. It could perhaps break the small stagnant layer of air around leaves. This could (slightly) improve the take up of CO2, and therefore the growth of plants.

 

I did not read this, I just made it up myself... but it's not so far fetched, is it?

[papasmurf]

check out one of my favorite episodes of The Mythbusters and you shall find your answer

[thedarkshade]

check out one of my favorite episodes of The Mythbusters and you shall find your answer

Why don't you save time to the OP and tell him the answer?

 

Besides, who knows which is your favorite episode:rolleyes:

[iNow]

Besides, who knows which is your favorite episode

 

Don't be such a jerk, shade. He's probably talking about episode 23 where they explicitly tested this idea:

 

http://mythbustersresults.com/episode23

[WVSFielding]

Nerds.....

[iNow]

You know it, chess champion!

[CaptainPanic]

Nerds.....

 

^^ That's a compliment, right?

 

I remember the Mythbusters episode: metal / hardrock was the best for plants. (It happens to be also the most noisy... which agrees with my theory of music increasing CO2 / O2 mass transfer).

 

The mythbusters could tackle the problem once and for all by taking at least 2 greenhouses with identical music but at a different volume. I would expect the louder music to generate better growth results.