Israeli scientists from Tel Aviv University have recorded sound signals in stressed plants that are comparable in volume to human speech. The results of the study are published in the journal Cell.

The authors recorded, using microphones, the sound signals of tobacco and tomato plants that were in a state of dehydration or after cutting the stems. First, the recording was done in a soundproof chamber, and then in a more noisy greenhouse environment. After that, the information received was loaded into a machine learning algorithm that could distinguish between stressed, thirsty plants with cut stems.

The dehydrated specimens began to make sounds before they were visibly dehydrated, and the frequency of the sounds peaked after five days without water, then decreased again when the plants were completely dry. The types of sounds produced differed depending on the cause of the stress. The neural network accurately distinguished dehydration from cutting stress, and also determined which plant the signal comes from: a tomato or tobacco.

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The sounds themselves resembled pops or clicks, and one stressed plant emits about 30-50 such impulses per hour at random intervals. The exact mechanism of the sounds could not be identified, but the researchers believe that this may be due to the formation and bursting of air bubbles in the plant system.

At the same time, the frequency of these sounds turned out to be too high for perception by human ears, but, apparently, insects, some mammals and other plants can hear them. It is assumed that in this way there is an interaction between species, a kind of communication.

In addition, many other plants, such as corn, wheat, grapes and cacti, have been found to make similar sounds when they are under stress.