In a first, scientists have found evidence regarding the sounds that plants make when facing external stress or pain.
The research claims that plants can make sounds when they are deprived of water or are forced to endure bodily harm but the same is not audible to human ears.
Interestingly though, the low decibel sound can be heard by bats, mice and probably some other plants.
The research was carried out by the University of Tel Aviv using tobacco and tomato plants that made sounds that could be recorded from a distance of 10 centimetres.
The researchers, speaking about this discovery, said:
We recorded ~65 dBSPL ultrasonic sounds 10 cm from tomato and tobacco plants, implying that these sounds could be detected by some organisms from up to several meters away.
Speaking about how they developed machine learning models that recorded the sounds, they continued and explained:
We developed 35 machine learning models that were capable of distinguishing between plant sounds and general noises, and identifying the condition of the plants – dry, cut, or intact – based solely on the emitted sounds. Our results suggest that animals, humans, and possibly even other plants, could use sounds emitted by a plant to gain information about the plant’s condition.
Even though it has been noted that a few plants respond to insect touch, this study further legitimizes the theory that plants are more sensitive than human beings.