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Not a botanist, this research appeared new to me. This info, posted 11 May 2002, on Unexplained-Mysteries website,was originally brought to me by a fellow blogger.
The findings, released by the Institute for Applied Physics at the University of Bonn, could have important implications for farmers since, with the proper eavesdropping device, one can now distinguish between healthy and sick vegetables. Talking to plants, it seems, is not as rewarding as listening to them.
The Bonn scientists have developed laser-driven microphones that pick up sounds inaccessible to the human ear. When a leaf or a stem is sliced, the plant signals pain (or perhaps merely dismay) by releasing the gas ethylene over its entire surface.
Doctor Frank Kühnemann of Bonn University has been trapping the ethylene in a bell jar. The gas molecules are later bombarded with calibrated laser beams, which makes them vibrate. This produces a sound-wave picked up by the microphones. “The more a plant is subjected to stress, the louder the signal we get on our microphone,” he said.
By eavesdropping on plants it should be possible to develop an early warning system to detect pests and disease. Knowing the stress level of fruit and vegetables can also be an aid in efficient storing and transporting. Acoustical evidence demonstrates that apples emit higher levels of ethylene, which causes neighbouring plants to wilt. As a result, the scientists urged fruit producers to store apples separately.
When ripe fruit is packed with unripe, a substantial amount of fruit often ends up rotting even when the shipments are separated by type. The scientists in Bonn have solved this mystery: differences in ripeness are often invisible, but can be detected acoustically in the form of ethylene. It should therefore be sufficient to measure fruit with laser microphones to separate it into batches of appropriate ripeness before loading it on to ships and trucks."
Corroborated by research on Trees (ref book in French -to be traced )
"But the Bonn University team believes plants do more than chatter about aches and pains as if passing time in a doctor’s waiting room. The team also thinks plants warn each other about approaching danger. The “alarm signal” is a chemical message transmitted between individual plants: this too can be measured by the new equipment.
"But the Bonn University team believes plants do more than chatter about aches and pains as if passing time in a doctor’s waiting room. The team also thinks plants warn each other about approaching danger. The “alarm signal” is a chemical message transmitted between individual plants: this too can be measured by the new equipment."
Quoting Unexplained Mysteries:
"TREAD softly in the garden and pluck that rose with care: flowers cry when cut, cucumbers squeal and even healthy fruit gurgles according to new acoustic research on the stressful life of plants.The findings, released by the Institute for Applied Physics at the University of Bonn, could have important implications for farmers since, with the proper eavesdropping device, one can now distinguish between healthy and sick vegetables. Talking to plants, it seems, is not as rewarding as listening to them.
The Bonn scientists have developed laser-driven microphones that pick up sounds inaccessible to the human ear. When a leaf or a stem is sliced, the plant signals pain (or perhaps merely dismay) by releasing the gas ethylene over its entire surface.
Doctor Frank Kühnemann of Bonn University has been trapping the ethylene in a bell jar. The gas molecules are later bombarded with calibrated laser beams, which makes them vibrate. This produces a sound-wave picked up by the microphones. “The more a plant is subjected to stress, the louder the signal we get on our microphone,” he said.
Potential material for breakthrough Innovations
By eavesdropping on plants it should be possible to develop an early warning system to detect pests and disease. Knowing the stress level of fruit and vegetables can also be an aid in efficient storing and transporting. Acoustical evidence demonstrates that apples emit higher levels of ethylene, which causes neighbouring plants to wilt. As a result, the scientists urged fruit producers to store apples separately.
When ripe fruit is packed with unripe, a substantial amount of fruit often ends up rotting even when the shipments are separated by type. The scientists in Bonn have solved this mystery: differences in ripeness are often invisible, but can be detected acoustically in the form of ethylene. It should therefore be sufficient to measure fruit with laser microphones to separate it into batches of appropriate ripeness before loading it on to ships and trucks."
Corroborated by research on Trees (ref book in French -to be traced )
"But the Bonn University team believes plants do more than chatter about aches and pains as if passing time in a doctor’s waiting room. The team also thinks plants warn each other about approaching danger. The “alarm signal” is a chemical message transmitted between individual plants: this too can be measured by the new equipment.
"But the Bonn University team believes plants do more than chatter about aches and pains as if passing time in a doctor’s waiting room. The team also thinks plants warn each other about approaching danger. The “alarm signal” is a chemical message transmitted between individual plants: this too can be measured by the new equipment."
REFERENCE_en référence à :
- Plants Scream?? - Unexplained Mysteries Discussion Forums (afficher sur Google Sidewiki)TREES COMMUNICATE REFERENCEI
