{"id":3009,"date":"2019-12-18T00:08:57","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T08:08:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/pal-question-638\/"},"modified":"2023-08-08T14:13:48","modified_gmt":"2023-08-08T21:13:48","slug":"music-and-plant-growth","status":"publish","type":"pal","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/hortlib\/pal\/music-and-plant-growth\/","title":{"rendered":"music and plant growth"},"content":{"rendered":"

How does music affect plant growth?<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Washington State University professor of horticulture Linda Chalker-Scott
\nuses the example of a book on the effect of music on plants as an instance
\nof ‘bad science’ in one of her articles<\/a>. In other words, the idea is not based on repeated
\nexperiments, and has not been put to the test of attempts to prove or
\ndisprove it. Many student science fair projects<\/a> pursue this question. There are many other scientists discussing this, and sites on the topic, too.<\/p>\n

The TV show Mythbusters Episode 23<\/a> has dealt with this question.<\/p>\n

There are also two<\/a> questions<\/a> exploring this at the MadSci network, a scientist-staffed question site. Here is an excerpt from the MadSci network’s discussion:
\n
\nExperiments on the effects of sound or music on plants are very difficult
\nbecause you need a lot of replication (number of plants for each
\ntreatment) and
\nidentical environments for each treatment other than the music or sound
\nlevel.
\nThat is difficult to achieve even for a professional botanist much less
\nin a
\nhome or classroom. You also need a statistical analysis to determine if
\nthe
\ngrowth differences are real or just due to natural variability. No
\nbotanist has
\nyet found a beneficial effect of music or sound on plant growth that is
\nreliably repeatable and statistically significant.<\/em><\/p>\n

The idea that plants grew better with certain kinds of music apparently
\narose in the best selling book, ‘The Secret Life of Plants.’ That book
\nwas filled with incorrect information. Botanists have failed to find that
\nplants grow better or worse with a particular type of music or that music
\nhas any effect on plants.
\nWhile the stories in ‘The Secret Life of Plants’ are intriguing, they are
\nnot based on careful scientific experiments. For accurate scientific
\ndetails on plants try a college botany textbook (Stern, 1991) or popular
\nbooks on plants written by scientists (Attenborough, 1995; Wilkins,
\n1988).<\/p>\n

Reference:<\/p>\n

Attenborough, D. 1995. The Private Life of Plants<\/em>. Princeton, NJ:
\nPrinceton University Press.<\/p>\n

Stern, K.L. 1991. Introductory Plant Biology<\/em>. Dubuque, Iowa: Wm. C.
\nBrown.<\/p>\n

Wilkins, M. 1988. Plantwatching: How Plants Remember, Tell Time, Form
\nRelationships and More<\/em>. New York: Facts on File.<\/p>\n

Professor Ross Koning, who teaches Plant Physiology at Eastern
\nConnecticut State University has addressed this question at length<\/a>, too. Here is an excerpt from that site (now archived), as well:<\/p>\n

“If plants don’t have music appreciation, do they respond to sound?
\nIt is possible for a plant to respond to the vibrations accompanying
\nsounds. A short bibliography at the bottom of this page gives you some
\nreferences…but to almost ‘nothing to report.’ I emphasize again that
\nwhile there ARE responses to sound\/vibration in plants, there is NO
\ncontrolled study published on the MUSICAL TASTES or MUSIC APPRECIATION by
\nplants in reputable journals.<\/p>\n

One plant that responds to sound-induced vibration is Mimosa pudica, also
\nknown as the ‘sensitive plant.’ Vibrations induce electrical signals
\nacross the leaflets of this plant, and cells at the base of the leaflets
\nrespond to these action potentials osmotically. This response results in
\na sharp change in the turgor pressure in these pulvinus cells, and that
\npressure change, in turn, results in the folding of the blade at the
\npulvinus. Another pulvinus at the base of the petiole may also respond if
\nthe vibration is severe enough. This kind of response is known as
\nseismonasty.<\/p>\n

How would this plant respond in terms of growth if its leaves were kept
\nclosed by constant vibration? If you think very long about photosynthesis
\nin leaves as the driving force for growth, you will realize that
\ncontinuous leaflet closure would inhibit rather than stimulate the growth
\nof the plant. Indeed loud sounds (vibrations really) have been reported
\nto negatively impact plant growth (reference below).”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

How does music affect plant growth?   Washington State University professor of horticulture Linda Chalker-Scott uses the example of a book on the effect of music on plants as an instance of ‘bad science’ in one of her articles. In other words, the idea is not based on repeated experiments, and has not been put to the test of attempts to prove or disprove it. Many student science fair projects pursue this question. There are many other scientists discussing this,…<\/p>\n

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