Can music help plants grow? 

Playing a monotonous sound can stimulate the activity of a fungus that promotes plant growth, according to a recent study led by Flinders University. This finding raises the possibility that playing sounds or music could benefit crops and gardens.

The idea that music might help plants grow has been debated for years. The popular U.S. TV show MythBusters even conducted an experiment on the topic, playing both death metal and classical music for plants. 

While the plants exposed to music grew slightly better than those left in silence, the results were deemed inconclusive.

Music and plants: Exploring the possibilities 

However, with mounting challenges to the plant world such as erosion, deforestation, pollution, and an extinction crisis, scientists are increasingly concerned about the future of global biodiversity and crop production. 

According to a new study published in the journal Biology Letters, the potential role of acoustic stimulation in aiding ecosystem recovery and sustainable food systems is still largely unexplored.

Exposing a fungus to sound

Building on earlier research that exposed E. coli bacteria to sound waves, a team of Australian researchers aimed to assess the effect of sound on the growth and spore production of the fungus Trichoderma harzianum. 

This fungus is commonly used in organic farming due to its ability to protect plants from pathogens, improve nutrient content in soil, and promote overall plant growth.

White noise vs. silence 

For the study, the researchers created small sound booths containing petri dishes full of the fungi. Instead of playing pop music, they chose a white noise sound known as “Tinnitus Flosser Masker at 8 kHz,” which is commonly used in YouTube videos intended to relieve tinnitus or help babies sleep. 

The noise, described as resembling “the sound of an old-school radio in between channels,” was selected for experimental reasons, according to lead author Jake Robinson, a microbial ecologist at Flinders University.

“We chose this monotone for controlled, experimental reasons, but it might be that a more diverse or natural soundscape is better,” Robinson said, adding that more research would be needed to explore this.

In the experiment, the fungi were exposed to the sound at a level of 80 decibels for 30 minutes a day. After five days, the researchers observed that the fungi exposed to the sound had higher growth and spore production compared to those left in silence.

How might music stimulate plant growth?

While the study’s results are not definitive, the researchers proposed several potential explanations. 

One theory is that the acoustic waves might trigger the piezoelectric effect, which converts sound into an electrical charge that could stimulate fungal growth. 

Another possibility involves tiny receptors on the fungi’s membranes, known as mechanoreceptors. These receptors, similar to those in human skin that help with touch, might react to the sound waves, leading to a cascade of biochemical events that activate growth-related genes.

“It might be that sound waves stimulate these mechanoreceptors in the fungi, which then trigger a cascade of biochemical events that lead to genes being switched on or off – for instance, the kind of genes responsible for growth,” Robinson explained.

Future research directions

Robinson emphasized that while their preliminary research suggests fungi respond to sound, it is still unclear if this benefits plants. 

The next step, he said, would be to explore whether playing sound could influence entire microbial communities in the soil or even accelerate soil restoration processes.

“Can we influence soil or plant microbial communities as a whole? Can we speed up the soil restoration process by stimulating the earth with natural soundscapes? What impact might this have on the soil fauna? There are many important questions to keep us busy,” Robinson said.

Acoustic stimulation and plant growth

According to the researchers, the results indicate that acoustic stimulation influences plant growth-promoting fungal growth and potentially facilitates their functioning. 

“The mechanism responsible for this phenomenon may be fungal mechanoreceptor stimulation and/or potentially a piezoelectric effect; however, further research is required to confirm this hypothesis,” the experts noted. 

“Our novel study highlights the potential of acoustic stimulation to alter important fungal attributes, which could, with further development, be harnessed to aid ecosystem restoration and sustainable agriculture.”

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