Music for your plants, to make them healthy and beautiful plants.
Music applications for the garden, greenhouse and agriculture
How do plants respond to music?
Music, sound frequencies
or harmonic sound waves?
One of the first researchers in this field is Dorothy Retallack and she confirm that plants do respond to music.
There are a lot of different techniques of the use of sounds for helping plants growth. To learn about those completely different techniques study this website. If you have more questions after it you can call me or contact me by email at [email protected]
I'm agronomist and specialised in the study of the influence of music on plant growth. There are many applications for your garden, fields or greenhouse. It can replace all your fertilisers and pesticides. You want to know how? On this website you will find much information to explain how.
Yannick Van Doorne.
Photo : Sound installation in a vine yard in Switserland, installed in spring 2001. The music was done each morning and evening. It was special music using specefic resonance sound sequences to increase certain protein biosynthesis. You can read more about this technique on this site. It increased the sugar content of the grapes between 5 to 15%
It's important to become aware that the field of the influence of music is huge and complex. There is not one technique, but many different ways music, sound frequencies or special sounds can influence plant's life.
List of differents techniques and sounds that can influence plant life
1. Classic music influence
2. Protein and molecular music.
Protein music, special melodies to regulate biosynthesis.
Relation to quantum physics.
3. Sonic Bloom techniques developed by Dan Carlson
Bird songs.
4. Ultrasonics and infrasounds experiments.
5. Special resonance frequencies.
Electromagnetic and radio wave effects in relation to sound.
6. Emotional influences with music.
Response of plant growth and health to emotion and attention in relation to music
7. 432 hz tuned music and sound frequencies
"Divine sound is the cause of all manifestation.
The knower of the mystery of sound
knows the mystery of the whole universe."
~ Hazrat Inayat Khan
To go real deep in all those fields it will need several books or years of study.
This site is made ot give you an overvieuw and idea of the different techniques and how to use them.
First some history with the research of Dorothy in the seventies. She was one of the first to talk and do more research about this subject in more detail in the scientific community.
In the nineties I made my own research as agronomist at the university of Gent in Belgium. As a result of this research you can find my complete scientific study in a thesis published in 2000 in French and Dutch language. If you would like it in English you will need to find someone to take the time and help me to translate it.
I wish you a nice discovery of this passionnate field of research,
Yannick Van Doorne
Video below : Extract of th presentation of Yannick Van Doorne at the Eternal Knowledge festival 2012. The presentation is about music and plants, electroculture and pyramid technology.
You can find the DVD or download at http://www.pentos.tv/yannick-van-dorne-ancient-techniques-applied-to-food-production/
Click to set custom HTML
Video below : Extract from documentary where Cleve Backster shows an experiment where plants responds to the emotional stress or pain of a person. Experiments show that plants also reacts to emotions of the people around and to music.
1. Classic Music
Experiments from Dorothy Retallack, 1973
Did you know that your plants respond to music the same as human beings do?
It has been proven scientifically through many experiments that plants thrive on music, though there are some who do not agree with the theory.
Gardeners, however, have no doubt that fading flowers get a new lease of life by music and flowers blossom in their fullest glory listening to music.
1. Classic Music
Picture : In 1973, Dorothy Retallack's book The Sound of Music and Plants based on scientific experiments created ripples.
Retallack began her experiment at the Colorado Women's College in Denver. Using three separate laboratories containing the same species of plants, Retallack began her experiment. Piping in different types of music to each facility, she recorded the daily growth of each plant. The results were quite surprising. The plants in the laboratory where music was played daily for three hours a day grew twice as large and became twice as healthy as those in a music-free environment. On the other extreme, plants in the laboratory where music was played for eight hours a day died within two weeks of the start of the experiment.
Dorothy Retallack tried experimenting with different types of music. She played rock to one group of plants and, soothing music to another. The group that heard rock turned out to be sickly and small whereas the other group grew large and healthy. What's more surprising is that the group of plants listening to the soothing music grew bending towards the radio just as they bend towards the sunlight.
This experiment encouraged many individuals and organizations to exercise the act of playing music to plants. These connoisseurs of music warn you about the sort of music that you play. The plants will grow better if you play soft soothing music of old era instead of loud rock music of Gen X.
The noisy rock music will only make the plants grow feeble and sick. Preferably, play Mozart, Bach, or Beethoven to make your plant grow better. Another important point that we can pick up from Retallack's experiments is the duration of music. If you are keen on playing music to your plants, keep the time limit to be about three hour. This will make the plants grow healthy and properly. An overdose of music can seriously destroy the plants.
Although music is not an absolutely proven factor in plant development, several studies, along with Dorothy Retallack's groundbreaking series of experiments, have aided the musical development theory. If you are interested in exploring this option with your own garden, consult The Sound of Music and Plants or other resources to ensure you expose your plants to the optimal type of music for the appropriate amount of time.
In 1973, a woman named Dorothy Retallack published a small book called "The Sound of Music and Plants". Her book detailed experiments that she had been conducting at the Colorado Woman’s College in Denver using the school’s three Biotronic Control Chambers. Mrs. Retallack placed plants in each chamber and speakers through which she played sounds and particular styles of music. She watched the plants and recorded their progress daily. She was astounded at what she discovered.
Her first experiment was to simply play a constant tone. In the first of the three chambers, she played a steady tone continuously for eight hours. In the second, she played the tone for three hours intermittently, and in the third chamber, she played no tone at all. The plants in the first chamber, with the constant tone, died within fourteen days. The plants in the second chamber grew abundantly and were extremely healthy, even more so than the plants in the third chamber. This was a very interesting outcome, very similar to the results that were obtained from experiments performed by the Muzak Corporation in the early 1940s to determine the effect of "background music" on factory workers. When music was played continuously, the workers were more fatigued and less productive, when played for several hours only, several times a day, the workers were more productive, and more alert and attentive than when no music was played.
Dorothy Retallack and Professor Broman working with the plants used in music experiments.
For her next experiment, Mrs. Retallack used two chambers (and fresh plants). She placed radios in each chamber. In one chamber, the radio was tuned to a local rock station, and in the other the radio played a station that featured soothing "middle-of-the-road" music. Only three hours of music was played in each chamber. On the fifth day, she began noticing drastic changes. In the chamber with the soothing music, the plants were growing healthily and their stems were starting to bend towards the radio! In the rock chamber, half the plants had small leaves and had grown gangly, while the others were stunted. After two weeks, the plants in the soothing-music chamber were uniform in size, lush and green, and were leaning between 15 and 20 degrees toward the radio. The plants in the rock chamber had grown extremely tall and were drooping, the blooms had faded and the stems were bending away from the radio. On the sixteenth day, all but a few plants in the rock chamber were in the last stages of dying. In the other chamber, the plants were alive, beautiful, and growing abundantly.
"Chaos, pure chaos": plants subjected to Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix didn't survive
Mrs. Retallack’s next experiment was to create a tape of rock music by Jimi Hendrix, Vanilla Fudge, and Led Zeppelin. Again, the plants turned away from the music. Thinking maybe it was the percussion in the rock music that was causing the plants to lean away from the speakers, she performed an experiment playing a song that was performed on steel drums. The plants in this experiment leaned just slightly away from the speaker; however not as extremely as did the plants in the rock chambers. When she performed the experiment again, this time with the same song played by strings, the plants bent towards the speaker.
Next Mrs. Retallack tried another experiment again using the three chambers. In one chamber she played North Indian classical music performed by sitar and tabla, in another she played Bach organ music, and in the third, no music was played. The plants "liked" the North Indian classical music the best. In both the Bach and sitar chambers, the plants leaned toward the speakers, but he plants in the Indian music chamber leaned toward the speakers the most.
She went on to experiment with other types of music. The plants showed no reaction at all to country and western music, similarly to those in silent chambers. However, the plants "liked" the jazz that she played them. She tried an experiment using rock in one chamber, and "modern" (dischordant) classical music of negative composers Arnold Schönberg and Anton Webern in another. The plants in the rock chamber leaned 30 to 70 degrees away from the speakers and the plants in the modern classical chamber leaned 10 to 15 degrees away.
I spoke with Mrs. Retallack about her experiments a few years after her book was published, and at that time I began performing my own experiments with plants using a wood-frame and clear-plastic-covered structure that I had built in my back yard. For one month, I played three-hours-a-day of music from Arnold Schönberg’s negative opera Moses and Aaron, and for another month I played three-hours-a-day of the positive music of Palestrina. The effects were clear. The plants subjected to Schönberg died. The plants that listened to Palestrina flourished.
(article about Dorothy Retallack from http://www.dovesong.com/positive_music/plant_experiments.asp )
Video below : group of farmers in Panjab, India, use music for growing their crops. They don't use any pesticides anymore and replace it with music. Their crops are healthy and the yields improved. You put around one loudspeaker each 50 meters or 150 feet.
It has been proven scientifically through many experiments that plants thrive on music, though there are some who do not agree with the theory.
Gardeners, however, have no doubt that fading flowers get a new lease of life by music and flowers blossom in their fullest glory listening to music.
1. Classic Music
Picture : In 1973, Dorothy Retallack's book The Sound of Music and Plants based on scientific experiments created ripples.
Retallack began her experiment at the Colorado Women's College in Denver. Using three separate laboratories containing the same species of plants, Retallack began her experiment. Piping in different types of music to each facility, she recorded the daily growth of each plant. The results were quite surprising. The plants in the laboratory where music was played daily for three hours a day grew twice as large and became twice as healthy as those in a music-free environment. On the other extreme, plants in the laboratory where music was played for eight hours a day died within two weeks of the start of the experiment.
Dorothy Retallack tried experimenting with different types of music. She played rock to one group of plants and, soothing music to another. The group that heard rock turned out to be sickly and small whereas the other group grew large and healthy. What's more surprising is that the group of plants listening to the soothing music grew bending towards the radio just as they bend towards the sunlight.
This experiment encouraged many individuals and organizations to exercise the act of playing music to plants. These connoisseurs of music warn you about the sort of music that you play. The plants will grow better if you play soft soothing music of old era instead of loud rock music of Gen X.
The noisy rock music will only make the plants grow feeble and sick. Preferably, play Mozart, Bach, or Beethoven to make your plant grow better. Another important point that we can pick up from Retallack's experiments is the duration of music. If you are keen on playing music to your plants, keep the time limit to be about three hour. This will make the plants grow healthy and properly. An overdose of music can seriously destroy the plants.
Although music is not an absolutely proven factor in plant development, several studies, along with Dorothy Retallack's groundbreaking series of experiments, have aided the musical development theory. If you are interested in exploring this option with your own garden, consult The Sound of Music and Plants or other resources to ensure you expose your plants to the optimal type of music for the appropriate amount of time.
In 1973, a woman named Dorothy Retallack published a small book called "The Sound of Music and Plants". Her book detailed experiments that she had been conducting at the Colorado Woman’s College in Denver using the school’s three Biotronic Control Chambers. Mrs. Retallack placed plants in each chamber and speakers through which she played sounds and particular styles of music. She watched the plants and recorded their progress daily. She was astounded at what she discovered.
Her first experiment was to simply play a constant tone. In the first of the three chambers, she played a steady tone continuously for eight hours. In the second, she played the tone for three hours intermittently, and in the third chamber, she played no tone at all. The plants in the first chamber, with the constant tone, died within fourteen days. The plants in the second chamber grew abundantly and were extremely healthy, even more so than the plants in the third chamber. This was a very interesting outcome, very similar to the results that were obtained from experiments performed by the Muzak Corporation in the early 1940s to determine the effect of "background music" on factory workers. When music was played continuously, the workers were more fatigued and less productive, when played for several hours only, several times a day, the workers were more productive, and more alert and attentive than when no music was played.
Dorothy Retallack and Professor Broman working with the plants used in music experiments.
For her next experiment, Mrs. Retallack used two chambers (and fresh plants). She placed radios in each chamber. In one chamber, the radio was tuned to a local rock station, and in the other the radio played a station that featured soothing "middle-of-the-road" music. Only three hours of music was played in each chamber. On the fifth day, she began noticing drastic changes. In the chamber with the soothing music, the plants were growing healthily and their stems were starting to bend towards the radio! In the rock chamber, half the plants had small leaves and had grown gangly, while the others were stunted. After two weeks, the plants in the soothing-music chamber were uniform in size, lush and green, and were leaning between 15 and 20 degrees toward the radio. The plants in the rock chamber had grown extremely tall and were drooping, the blooms had faded and the stems were bending away from the radio. On the sixteenth day, all but a few plants in the rock chamber were in the last stages of dying. In the other chamber, the plants were alive, beautiful, and growing abundantly.
"Chaos, pure chaos": plants subjected to Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix didn't survive
Mrs. Retallack’s next experiment was to create a tape of rock music by Jimi Hendrix, Vanilla Fudge, and Led Zeppelin. Again, the plants turned away from the music. Thinking maybe it was the percussion in the rock music that was causing the plants to lean away from the speakers, she performed an experiment playing a song that was performed on steel drums. The plants in this experiment leaned just slightly away from the speaker; however not as extremely as did the plants in the rock chambers. When she performed the experiment again, this time with the same song played by strings, the plants bent towards the speaker.
Next Mrs. Retallack tried another experiment again using the three chambers. In one chamber she played North Indian classical music performed by sitar and tabla, in another she played Bach organ music, and in the third, no music was played. The plants "liked" the North Indian classical music the best. In both the Bach and sitar chambers, the plants leaned toward the speakers, but he plants in the Indian music chamber leaned toward the speakers the most.
She went on to experiment with other types of music. The plants showed no reaction at all to country and western music, similarly to those in silent chambers. However, the plants "liked" the jazz that she played them. She tried an experiment using rock in one chamber, and "modern" (dischordant) classical music of negative composers Arnold Schönberg and Anton Webern in another. The plants in the rock chamber leaned 30 to 70 degrees away from the speakers and the plants in the modern classical chamber leaned 10 to 15 degrees away.
I spoke with Mrs. Retallack about her experiments a few years after her book was published, and at that time I began performing my own experiments with plants using a wood-frame and clear-plastic-covered structure that I had built in my back yard. For one month, I played three-hours-a-day of music from Arnold Schönberg’s negative opera Moses and Aaron, and for another month I played three-hours-a-day of the positive music of Palestrina. The effects were clear. The plants subjected to Schönberg died. The plants that listened to Palestrina flourished.
(article about Dorothy Retallack from http://www.dovesong.com/positive_music/plant_experiments.asp )
Video below : group of farmers in Panjab, India, use music for growing their crops. They don't use any pesticides anymore and replace it with music. Their crops are healthy and the yields improved. You put around one loudspeaker each 50 meters or 150 feet.
1. Classic Music : Grape Expectations: Vines May Love Vivaldi
by Nicole Martinelli 06.28.07
Just in through the grapevine: Music helps grow healthier plants.
That's the preliminary result of research by Italian scientists who have been examining vineyards exposed to classical music to see if sound makes the plants grow larger and more quickly.
While sound has long been thought to influence plant growth, this is the first time anyone has investigated the effects of music outdoors on Sangiovese vines, which are best known for producing grapes that go into Tuscany's famous Chiantis.
The effect of sound on plants apparently depends on frequency, intensity and exposure time. In 2001, Chinese researchers found that low-frequency sound does not damage cell structure but instead activates enzymes, increases cell-membrane fluidity and promotes DNA replication and cell cycling.
The testing ground for the Italian experiment is a postcard-worthy, 24-acre Tuscan winery called Il Paradiso di Frassina.
In 2006, the researchers set up speakers in front of young plants in wooden tubs and older plants in a small vineyard on an isolated area of the estate. Shoots and tendrils exposed to this sonic fertilizer were tested once a week from May until December, when the plants go dormant.
They examined, among other variables, chlorophyll and nitrate content with a handheld Konica Minolta Spad 502 meter; photosynthetic and transpiration rates were checked with a Ciras-I infrared gas analyzer.
"Sound exposure has some positive effects on vine growth in the vineyard, especially shoot growth," says lead researcher Stefano Mancuso, a professor of agriculture at the University of Florence. "The results aren't conclusive yet, but total leaf area per vine was always higher in sound-treated vines, both in the vineyard and in the pots. The silent control pot-grown vines also showed delayed development."
The lush, rolling terrain that doubles as an outdoor lab for testing sound is, in reality, pretty quiet.
Visitors often strain to hear music outside the test area, and sometimes estate owner Carlo Cignozzi turns the tunes up a bit for effect.
"How loud it is matters more to people than to plants," says Cignozzi, a fit 64-year-old whose slightly gruff manner belies his former life as a big-city lawyer. "It doesn't have to boom to keep plants happy and animals away."
The estate was wired for sound in 2001 when Cignozzi needed an ecological way to keep pests from ruining grapes. A lover of music who once serenaded grape pickers on an accordion, he noticed that plants seemed to mature faster under the influence of gentle sounds. Mozart, Haydn, Vivaldi and Mahler were staples on the initial playlist running 24 hours a day.
Powered by a 20-GB iPod in a wooden shed, sound wafts over the rest of the sun-drenched countryside from 15 large speakers cradled in trees or crouched in steel shelters on the ground.
Before the current round of experiments started, Cignozzi added some blues, country and nature sounds into the mix, "entirely to benefit human ears," namely those of his wife, Diana, and daughter, Gea, who go about their daily lives to an experimental soundtrack.
The winery, which produces three thoroughbred reds, may also bear conclusive evidence about the role of music by 2008. This time around, Mancuso and team shifted the tests to an area with flatter, more uniform terrain. They also set up a silent control area with noise barriers.
While researchers are mirroring experiments using control plants and nonmusical sounds in the lab, Mancuso says there are advantages to conducting this kind of fieldwork.
"We can't toast to proving our theories yet," he says, "but one of the nice things about this project is that there is still occasion for a good glass of wine."
Vineyard, University of Florence, Italy. (article http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/06/music_and_wine)
Just in through the grapevine: Music helps grow healthier plants.
That's the preliminary result of research by Italian scientists who have been examining vineyards exposed to classical music to see if sound makes the plants grow larger and more quickly.
While sound has long been thought to influence plant growth, this is the first time anyone has investigated the effects of music outdoors on Sangiovese vines, which are best known for producing grapes that go into Tuscany's famous Chiantis.
The effect of sound on plants apparently depends on frequency, intensity and exposure time. In 2001, Chinese researchers found that low-frequency sound does not damage cell structure but instead activates enzymes, increases cell-membrane fluidity and promotes DNA replication and cell cycling.
The testing ground for the Italian experiment is a postcard-worthy, 24-acre Tuscan winery called Il Paradiso di Frassina.
In 2006, the researchers set up speakers in front of young plants in wooden tubs and older plants in a small vineyard on an isolated area of the estate. Shoots and tendrils exposed to this sonic fertilizer were tested once a week from May until December, when the plants go dormant.
They examined, among other variables, chlorophyll and nitrate content with a handheld Konica Minolta Spad 502 meter; photosynthetic and transpiration rates were checked with a Ciras-I infrared gas analyzer.
"Sound exposure has some positive effects on vine growth in the vineyard, especially shoot growth," says lead researcher Stefano Mancuso, a professor of agriculture at the University of Florence. "The results aren't conclusive yet, but total leaf area per vine was always higher in sound-treated vines, both in the vineyard and in the pots. The silent control pot-grown vines also showed delayed development."
The lush, rolling terrain that doubles as an outdoor lab for testing sound is, in reality, pretty quiet.
Visitors often strain to hear music outside the test area, and sometimes estate owner Carlo Cignozzi turns the tunes up a bit for effect.
"How loud it is matters more to people than to plants," says Cignozzi, a fit 64-year-old whose slightly gruff manner belies his former life as a big-city lawyer. "It doesn't have to boom to keep plants happy and animals away."
The estate was wired for sound in 2001 when Cignozzi needed an ecological way to keep pests from ruining grapes. A lover of music who once serenaded grape pickers on an accordion, he noticed that plants seemed to mature faster under the influence of gentle sounds. Mozart, Haydn, Vivaldi and Mahler were staples on the initial playlist running 24 hours a day.
Powered by a 20-GB iPod in a wooden shed, sound wafts over the rest of the sun-drenched countryside from 15 large speakers cradled in trees or crouched in steel shelters on the ground.
Before the current round of experiments started, Cignozzi added some blues, country and nature sounds into the mix, "entirely to benefit human ears," namely those of his wife, Diana, and daughter, Gea, who go about their daily lives to an experimental soundtrack.
The winery, which produces three thoroughbred reds, may also bear conclusive evidence about the role of music by 2008. This time around, Mancuso and team shifted the tests to an area with flatter, more uniform terrain. They also set up a silent control area with noise barriers.
While researchers are mirroring experiments using control plants and nonmusical sounds in the lab, Mancuso says there are advantages to conducting this kind of fieldwork.
"We can't toast to proving our theories yet," he says, "but one of the nice things about this project is that there is still occasion for a good glass of wine."
Vineyard, University of Florence, Italy. (article http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/06/music_and_wine)
Photo : Experiment done by Enrico under supervision of the University of Florence. Left : untreated plants. Right : treated vine plants with classic music during several hours a day. The music treatment was special selected classic music masterpieces. The sound system was sponsored by Boose. You can observe that the plant on the right photo are a lot bigger and longer. There was a difference of more then 30% in length of the plants. The plants and vine yard that was treated had no need of pesticed because there was no sicknesses detected.
2. Protein and molecular music.
Protein music, special melodies to regulate biosynthesis.
Relation to quantum physics.
The Effects of Variable Sound Frequencies on Plant Growth and Development.
This is the title of the thesis or research I did in 1998-2000 at the high school and University of Gent in Belgium.
2. Protein and molecular music.
Special melodies to regulate biosynthesis.
Relation to quantum physics.
Below you find an summary of this research.
The effects of sound on living organisms. Applications in agriculture
By: Yannick Van Doorne, Ecosonic, Symphonie R&D
Abstract
This presentation deals with the role played by sounds and music in living organisms and more precisely in agriculture. We begin with a brief explanation of physical aspects of sounds. After that we discuss more deeply the nature of music as a tool to access greater knowledge. This lecture presents knowledge to open a new consciousness of the interrelationships between subjects and objects and resonant mechanisms in everything. The role of music as form of communication between people but also with other living organisms, specifically with plants, will be approached. Ancestral traditions and their knowledge frequently mention the role of sounds for the health of men, plants and animals.
After this introduction, a brief overview will be given of some discoveries and theories that explain the influence of music on plants. Some of them involve possible activation of certain genes, cavitation processes, and influence on the permeability of membranes with some sound frequencies or sequences.
There are also resonant mechanisms that can be very interesting for applications in agriculture and human health care.
Special attention will be given to a deeper explanation of the discoveries and implications of scale resonance and scale waves. The theory of scale resonance is a recent discovery by the independent researcher Joel Sternheimer a former student of the famous physicist Louis De Broglie. Sternheimer extended De Broglie's theories and after long research in quantum physics and interest in music he discovered what is often called "the music of elementary particles ". This is a theory that means a great breakthrough in the understanding of physics, molecular biology, as well as the whole science.
A few experiments in agriculture will be presented that explain with great significance the good sense of the discovery. Treating plant organisms with specific sound sequences permits the verification of the theory by stimulating or inhibiting certain specific protein syntheses by scale resonance. This application verifies the specificity of the predicted action of a protein by research on specific protein sound sequences. Following this discovery a technique is already patented internationally as "Method for epigenetic regulation of protein biosynthesis by scale resonance". Applications in agriculture have shown it's great accuracy.
With a few examples I will demonstrate the great importance of this discovery for science and also for explanations of some important problems in today's world. This approach would give us new knowledge that could maybe enhance our creativity to flourish. A new tool for a whole new way to perceive the world we live in.
YANNICK VAN DOORNE is the author of the first thesis on Genodics, following the discoveries of Joël Sternheimer, entitled "the influence of variable sound frequencies on the development and growth of plants". It was presented with success in June 2000 at the Technical University of Gent, Belgium. Since then he is engineer in agriculture and biotechnology and independent consultant under the business name ECOSONIC (now called Symphonie R&D). He works on development projects of applications following his research in agriculture and food-industry.
Présentation research and applications : Influence of sounds and music on plants
Sounds can manifest themselves in many forms and shapes. So even the possibilities how certain sounds influence the growth and the development of plant have many forms and shapes. In 2000 I graduated with a thesis called : "The influence of variable sound frequencies on the growth and development of plants". To graduate as engineer choosing such a subject was not so simple because of the originality and the unconventionality of the subject. At the beginning the some professors were even very opponent to the subject and one called it ridiculous to authorise such a research in a school that respects himself. The same professor that told this say at the final presentation of the thesis that he stayed with his viewpoint that such a subject was better in a frame of a doctorate-thesis than for a end year thesis. It is strange how the same professor changed his point of view during the research.
Certain sounds and even some kinds of music can influence plant growth in different ways. A lot of ancestral stories testify the role of music on plants and even much recent research.
One way is that certain sound frequencies could possibly activate certain genes in cells and so influence the growth and expression of the cells.
A second way is that sound frequencies resonate with objects. With every object a resonant sound frequency can be found and calculate so that when playing that sound the object would resonate. Resonant mechanisms can have profound impacts like glasses that break, even on plants we can found resonant mechanisms.
So the stomata can vibrate and stimulate there opening and the air exchange, stimulate the exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen with there environment. It is even through resonance with the stomata cavities that foliar nutrient and water uptake can be enhanced very effectively. This technique is famous as the Sonic Bloom applications of Dan Carlson. It helps plants growing in a very effective and musical way. The sound frequencies of nature sounds like songbirds in every day ion the early morning in springtime is probably significant for stimulating plants growth and seed germination. Scientific research of for example Weinberger et al. (1972) suggests and prove that in many ways.
Resonant mechanisms appears also with cell organelles. The resonance of cell organelles can influence their functions and the immediate neighbourhood. It is observed that around resonating objects the fluid moves more rapidly and is more intensely stirred. Some specific sound frequencies and oscillating sound frequencies enhance the cytoplasm movements within the cells. Those different scientific observations proves us the impacts that sounds can have on living organisms.
A third way sounds acts is with the cavitation phenomenon. Cavitation is a phenomenon caused by sounds in a liquid. Certain sound frequencies can causes the creation of microbubles that resonate with the sound. Those bubbles show very rapid resonance and they can also collapse causing important pressures that can causes damage to their neighbourhood like the cellwall or the cell contents. The oscillation of the micro-bubbles can causes microcurrents that could help the stirring or the translocation of cell cytoplasm, molecules and proteins.
A fourth way sounds interacts is the property of sound itself that exists as a wave propagating pressure variations. Those pressure variations can stimulate effects like movements of molecules like diffusion processes or stirring of liquids or air.
Another possibility how sounds interacts is by the phenomenon that is called "scale resonance". The explanation of the process of scale resonance is discovered by the independent quantum physicist Joel Sternheimer. Issue from research in quantum physics comparing with vibration patterns of music he observed that the elementary particles behave in many ways in certain patterns respecting patterns of harmony and vibratory organisation that we could find back in music. This made him developing a method to influence the protein biosynthesis by scale resonance using some specific decoded sound sequences stimulating or inhibiting the specific protein corresponding with. To explain how it is possible I would recall how it is commonly know how proteins are synthesised.
Proteins are composed of amino-acids. Those amino-acids we obtain through the decomposition of our food, the plants build their amino-acids themselves with the absorption of plant nutrients and the help of the energy of light during photosynthesis. The genetic program in each cell which is contained in the DNA is used to build the specific proteins necesarry with the amino-acids. From the DNA a messenger RNA, mRNA, is build as a copy containing the information to build a protein. The mRNA moves to a ribosome in the cell where the protein would be build with the information containing in the mRNA. A ribosome is a very stable place, a kind of bench on which protein biosynthesis would be performed. On the other hand in the cell there are many transfer RNA, tRNA that carry amino-acids and bring them to the ribosome. The mRNA moves over the ribosome and inform each time which amino-acid have to bound to each other for obtaining a chain of amino-acids that become then a protein. So the tRNA brings one after the other the specific amino-acid to the ribosome like informed by the mRNA. A second tRNa brings an amino-acid to the ribosome that is linked to the first, and a third amino-acid would be linked to the second and so on forming an amino-acid chain.
What is particularly interesting is what happens when at the moment when the amino-acid brought by its tRNA is being hooked onto the ribosome. Something happens that Joel Sternheimer discovered, namely that the amino-acid at that moment emits a signal. This signal is a wave of quantum nature which is precisely called a scaling wave. This means that it connects different scales together and more particularly the scale of each amino-acid to the scale of the processing protein.
This signal has a certain frequency and a certain wavelength.
It's wavelengtht is given by a very classical formula known as the Louis de Broglie equation, ( ******). The equation of motion of this wave is a scale wave equation which includes a scale parameter, because the wave also propagates in scale and therefore connects different scales together. The general solution of this wave is a sum of waves analogous to light waves, but with speeds that are different. There is a fastest one and another one twice as slow, and still another one three times as slow, and so on. Schematically we can observe in protein synthesis the processing protein chain on one side and the amino-acids on the other side. At a given moment a wave is emitted from an amino-acid, then a slower one will arrive after a time twice as long, and a third one will arrive after a time three times as long, and so on. One will get periodic superpositions of the vibrations of the amino-acids.
If we look at the frequencies associated to each amino-acid and transpose them 76 octaves then we obtain audible frequencies. Those frequencies are musical, to each amino-acid corresponds a musical note. If we look at the succession of frequencies and musical notes corresponding to the succession of amino-acids in a protein and we enters it in a synthesiser then we obtain a melodie. Such a melodie is susceptible to stimulate the corresponding protein biosynthesis. Melodies in phase opposition will inhibit the protein biosynthesis. Proteins who share similar melodies will find themselves homologous, they will stimulate each other. It is also possible that proteins share melodies in phase and phase opposition so they tend to stimulate or inhibit each other. It is important to pay attention to those vibratory interactions between the synthesis of different proteins.
For example with these technique it is sometimes possible to predict the function of proteins comparing there vibratory sequence to each other. It would also be possible to predict some possible side-effects of medication or certain vibratory sequences more quickly. These techniques could permit a significant breakthrough in molecular biology and give new ways for studying and understanding the properties and the functions of the proteins.
The protein melodies or proteodies we can hear acoustically are transpositions 76 octaves down of the quantum melodies of proteins. When organisms, whatever plants or animals, listen to the melody of a protein transposed, a resonance phenomenon occurs, which is scale resonance and will stimulate or inhibit, in case of phase opposition, the corresponding protein synthesis.
By way of illustration of the scale resonance phenomenon I set up two experiences on tomato plants in the glasshouses of the University of Gent during the period of end January till end March.
One experience consists of subjecting two groups of 20 tomato plants in tropical glasshouses to drought conditions during two months and follow there growth responses. One group of them was treated daily with sound sequences or more precisely proteodies of the following proteins decreasing order ; extensins, dehydrine, cytochrome, thaumatine. The objectif was to observe the phenotepic responses of the epigenetic regulation, in this case stimulation, of the proteins. Extensins are very important in the elongation processes of plant cells, more extensins result in bigger cells causing bigger plants in the same development stage. Dehydrine is important as a major drought tolerance proteine. Plants produce dehydrine to protect them behind drought conditions and economise water resource. Plants with increase dehydrine synthesis are more tolerant behind dry conditions. The treatment of the tomato plants was only a few minutes a day. The results were that the treated plants grow as good as the others with the half of water needed, also they were a lot more dry tolerant. With the same water quantities given to the two plots, the plants treated grow a lot quicker and show a significant increase in length but with the same number of leaves that meant that they were in the same development stage. The importance of this application seems evident as a cheap technique to increase the drought resistance of the crops growing in arid conditions for example in Africa.
Another experiment was set up at the same time in a no-heated glasshouse. There were set up to groups of tomato plants, one of thirty and the other of eighteen plants. Before the group of thirty a sound speaker was placed as to treat the tomato plants to the specific sound sequencies. In that experiment the treated group was the one with the sound speaker just before them and the control group the one at the other side of the glasshouse and that was by this way also submitted to the sounds but because of there position with an very decreased intensity. The sounds sequences were the same as in the precedent experience with a major part composed of proteodies of extensines.
The results were that the treated plants grew much faster then the control. The treated plants measured 30 cm more then the untreated after only two months. It was a very significant difference of more then 20%.
The number of internods and flowers was the same in the two groups and that mean there were in the same development stage. So the length of the plants were different but not the stage of development. That means that the difference of length between the two plots could be explained by the developpement bigger plant cells rather then a increase in growth speed. It is interesting to point out the fact, that the stimulation of the synthesis of certain proteins, here extensines, by the corresponding specific sound sequences have phenotypic consequences that can be simply observed. The observations of differences in plant length corresponds and is by this way a confirmation of the predicted growth response of the plants submitted to the specific sound sequences of the extensines. This technique is by this non-invasive in his way of application method and measurement.
This method of scale resonance by submitting organisms to specific sound sequences to stimulate or inhibit the corresponding proteins is very useful as a tool to study the functions of the proteins.
It is also a very interesting technique to develop new ecological applications for agriculture to treat crops against diseases, to stimulate their growth in difficult climate conditions like to stimulate there drought resistance or certain specific properties of the plants like increasing active molecules for medicine applications.
Three years ago I saw a beautiful painting of Marc Chagall called "Le souvenir de la flute enchantée" and next to there was a little text of him with "The bible is a resonance of nature". It sounds like music in my ears.
Maybe life on earth began as a resonance of the whole universe surrounding us. Scale resonance seems a hopeful and endless field of research, opening our senses as a new way perceiving the interactions and the developement of the world wherein we live.
Figure : Number of internods and the lenght (in cm) during the experiment in the unheated glasshouse.
References
Sternheimer Joel. 1993. Lecture : Epigenetic regulation of protein biosynthesis by scale resonance. Kanagawa Science Academy and Teikyo Hospital (Tokyo). May 20.
Van Doorne Yannick. 2000. Thesis : Influence of variable sound frequencies on the growth and developpement of plants. Hogeschool Gent. Belgium. 22 June.
Coghlan A. 1994. Good vibrations give plants excitations; New Scientist. 28 May. p10.
Weinberger P. and Graefe U. 1973. The effect of variable sound-frequency sound on plant growth. Canadian Journal of Botany. Vol.51:1851-1856.
Photos below : Experiment with 6 minutes of special sound sequences to stimulate cell elongation by resonance stimulation with certain protein sysnthesis of the plants. The effect was an growth increase of 20% in two months and the proove of protein specific response because the plants were bigger but the development stage was the same. The growth increase was due to the increase in cell measurements without the increase in cell division. Experiment done in 1998-1999 by Yannick Van Doorne at the University of Agriculture in Gent in Belgium.
Photos below :
Left : rose leaf that was treated with certain specefic protein sound frequencies to stimulate plant growth and development. You see a very shiny healthy leaf. Almost all the new growed leaves were similar to this leaf after a few weeks to one month of treatment with the specific protein melody.
Right : the plants were sick one month before the treatment with sound, this is a sample of the leaves of the rose plants before. You see a very little sick leaf. Almost all the leaves were like this before the treatment.
Below left : roses in normal greenhouse without special music. You see a big difference in the size of the leaves and brightness of the green.
Below right : roses in greenhouse with the special music treatment. These experiments were done by Yannick VD in 2002-2003 in France.
The special music treatment with protein resonance frequencies was done every day for 30 minutes. If you want to use this music in your greenhouse, just contact me for more information.
Left : rose leaf that was treated with certain specefic protein sound frequencies to stimulate plant growth and development. You see a very shiny healthy leaf. Almost all the new growed leaves were similar to this leaf after a few weeks to one month of treatment with the specific protein melody.
Right : the plants were sick one month before the treatment with sound, this is a sample of the leaves of the rose plants before. You see a very little sick leaf. Almost all the leaves were like this before the treatment.
Below left : roses in normal greenhouse without special music. You see a big difference in the size of the leaves and brightness of the green.
Below right : roses in greenhouse with the special music treatment. These experiments were done by Yannick VD in 2002-2003 in France.
The special music treatment with protein resonance frequencies was done every day for 30 minutes. If you want to use this music in your greenhouse, just contact me for more information.
French Physicist discovered music, plant and protein biosynthesis relation
"French Physicist Creates New Melodies - Plant Songs"
Remember those song birds we used to hear in the fields? The sounds of animals in nature singing a symphony of soft and subtle sounds as all things flow together to create a living and vibrant concerto? Science is now showing that these sounds actually do influence the growth of plants. Researchers have demonstrated that plants respond to sounds in pro-found ways which not only influence their overall health but also increase the speed of growth and the size of the plant. Many people remember hearing in the late 1960's and 1970's about the idea that plants respond to music. There were lots of projects in high schools and colleges which successfully tested the effects of sound on plant growth. It was determined through repetitive testing that plants did respond to music and sound. The first book which brought this idea to most of us was: The Secret Life of Plants, by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird (Harper & Row 1973). In this best selling book a number of astounding revelations about plant growth were revealed. The idea that plants were influenced by sound in both positive and negative ways was demonstrated by several world class scientists at that time.
When we think of plants being affected by sunlight we are really looking at the effect of a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum on plants that portion which includes visible light. It should not surprise us that sound also impacts plant growth because it is, in essence, an extension to other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The science was first disclosed in an article by Andy Coghlan which appeared in New Scientist (May 28, 1994, p.10). The article confirmed old ideas by placing them in a scientific context. It tells an excellent story about the impact of sound on plant growth, bringing to light what was before considered esoteric or mysterious science. After reading this short article and those which follow in this issue of the Flashpoints a good deal more will be thought of "singing gardeners" and "plant communicators."
Many people remember reading accounts of plant growth being stimulated by sound waves. At that time, "talking" to plants and playing plants different types of music was used to influence growth. A number of people were using these techniques without being able to completely explain the phenomena. This article is part of that story a story which could have a profound impact on the way we grow and produce our food.
Eccentrics who sing to their plants? People playing melodies to organic matter with the expectation that it will help stimulate growth? These ideas were the thoughts of some "non-scientists" until French physicist and musician, Joel Sternheimer, discovered the mechanism for how plants respond to the stimulation of sound waves. Sternheimer composes musical note sequences which help plants grow and has applied for an international patent1 covering the concept.
The sound sequences are not random but are carefully constructed melodies. Each note is chosen to correspond to an amino acid in a protein with the full tune corresponding to the entire protein. What this means is that the sounds sequenced in just the right order results in a tune which is unique and harmonizes with the internal structure of a specific plant type. Each plant type has a different sequence of notes to stimulate its growth. According to New Scientist, "Sternheimer claims that when plants "hear" the appropriate tune, they produce more of that protein. He also writes tunes that inhibit the synthesis of proteins." In other words, desirable plants could be stimulated to grow while undesirable plants (weeds for instance) could be inhibited. This is done with electromagnetic energy, in this case sound waves, pulsed to the right set of frequencies thus effecting the plant at an energetic and submolecular level.
Sternheimer translates into audible vibrations of music the quantum vibrations that occur at the molecular level as a protein is being assembled from its constituent amino acids. By using simple physics he is able to compose music which achieves this correlation. Sternheimer indicated to New Scientist that each musical note which he composes for the plant is a multiple of original frequencies that occur when amino acids join the protein chain. He says that playing the right notes stimulates the plant and increases growth. This idea is particularly interesting because it may lead to the eventual obsolescence of fertilizers used to stimulate plant growth. This new method would be cheap and relatively easily provided throughout the world, thereby avoiding many of the problems associated with the extraction, shipping, environmental and economic costs of chemical fertilizers.
Playing the right tune stimulates the formation of a plant's protein. "The length of a note corresponds to the real time it takes for each amino acid to come after the next," according to Sternheimer, who studied quantum physics and mathematics at Princeton University in New Jersey.
In experiments by Sternheimer, he claims that tomatoes exposed to his melodies grew two-and-a-half times as large as those which were untreated. Some of the treated plants were sweeter in addition to being significantly larger. The musical sequences stimulated three tomato growth promoters, cytochrome C, and thaumatin (a flavoring compound). According to Sternheimer in the New Scientist, "Six molecules were being played to the tomatoes for a total of three minutes a day."
Sternheimer also claims to have stopped the mosaic virus by playing note sequences that inhibited enzymes required by the virus. This virus would have harmed the tomato plants.
The note sequences used by the inventor are very short and need only be played one time. For example, the sequence for for cytochrome C lasts just 29 seconds. According to Sternheimer, "on average, you get four amino acids played per second" in this series.
The inventor also issued a warning for those repeating his experiments. He warns to be careful with the sound sequences because they can affect people. "Don't ask a musician to play them," he says. Sternheimer indicated that one of his musicians had difficulty breathing after playing the tune for cytochrome C.
Plant stimulation by sound may have profound implications. The idea that a cheap source of "electromagnetic fertilizer" has been developed should be exciting for many third world countries. At a time when human progress can be made through simple solutions in agriculture, resources are being wasted in the extraction of mineral and oil compounds for fertilizers. If this method of fertilization were followed the human intellect would prove superior to physical capital in terms of distribution and production of this new technology.
The idea that sound can have a healing effect on humans is being explored by a number of independent scientists around the world. The know-ledge of the "sound effect on proteins" offers insights to health practitioners of the benefits to humans. In addition to the favorable economic factors, the increased vitality of the plant substances can positively impact the health of all humans that consume them.
The patent includes melodies for cytochrome oxidase and cytochrome C which are two proteins involved in respiration. It also includes sound sequences for troponin C which regulates calcium uptake in muscles. Further, a tune was developed for inhibiting chalcone synthase which is an enzyme involved in making plant pigments.
Remember those song birds we used to hear in the fields? The sounds of animals in nature singing a symphony of soft and subtle sounds as all things flow together to create a living and vibrant concerto? Science is now showing that these sounds actually do influence the growth of plants. Researchers have demonstrated that plants respond to sounds in pro-found ways which not only influence their overall health but also increase the speed of growth and the size of the plant. Many people remember hearing in the late 1960's and 1970's about the idea that plants respond to music. There were lots of projects in high schools and colleges which successfully tested the effects of sound on plant growth. It was determined through repetitive testing that plants did respond to music and sound. The first book which brought this idea to most of us was: The Secret Life of Plants, by Peter Tompkins and Christopher Bird (Harper & Row 1973). In this best selling book a number of astounding revelations about plant growth were revealed. The idea that plants were influenced by sound in both positive and negative ways was demonstrated by several world class scientists at that time.
When we think of plants being affected by sunlight we are really looking at the effect of a portion of the electromagnetic spectrum on plants that portion which includes visible light. It should not surprise us that sound also impacts plant growth because it is, in essence, an extension to other parts of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The science was first disclosed in an article by Andy Coghlan which appeared in New Scientist (May 28, 1994, p.10). The article confirmed old ideas by placing them in a scientific context. It tells an excellent story about the impact of sound on plant growth, bringing to light what was before considered esoteric or mysterious science. After reading this short article and those which follow in this issue of the Flashpoints a good deal more will be thought of "singing gardeners" and "plant communicators."
Many people remember reading accounts of plant growth being stimulated by sound waves. At that time, "talking" to plants and playing plants different types of music was used to influence growth. A number of people were using these techniques without being able to completely explain the phenomena. This article is part of that story a story which could have a profound impact on the way we grow and produce our food.
Eccentrics who sing to their plants? People playing melodies to organic matter with the expectation that it will help stimulate growth? These ideas were the thoughts of some "non-scientists" until French physicist and musician, Joel Sternheimer, discovered the mechanism for how plants respond to the stimulation of sound waves. Sternheimer composes musical note sequences which help plants grow and has applied for an international patent1 covering the concept.
The sound sequences are not random but are carefully constructed melodies. Each note is chosen to correspond to an amino acid in a protein with the full tune corresponding to the entire protein. What this means is that the sounds sequenced in just the right order results in a tune which is unique and harmonizes with the internal structure of a specific plant type. Each plant type has a different sequence of notes to stimulate its growth. According to New Scientist, "Sternheimer claims that when plants "hear" the appropriate tune, they produce more of that protein. He also writes tunes that inhibit the synthesis of proteins." In other words, desirable plants could be stimulated to grow while undesirable plants (weeds for instance) could be inhibited. This is done with electromagnetic energy, in this case sound waves, pulsed to the right set of frequencies thus effecting the plant at an energetic and submolecular level.
Sternheimer translates into audible vibrations of music the quantum vibrations that occur at the molecular level as a protein is being assembled from its constituent amino acids. By using simple physics he is able to compose music which achieves this correlation. Sternheimer indicated to New Scientist that each musical note which he composes for the plant is a multiple of original frequencies that occur when amino acids join the protein chain. He says that playing the right notes stimulates the plant and increases growth. This idea is particularly interesting because it may lead to the eventual obsolescence of fertilizers used to stimulate plant growth. This new method would be cheap and relatively easily provided throughout the world, thereby avoiding many of the problems associated with the extraction, shipping, environmental and economic costs of chemical fertilizers.
Playing the right tune stimulates the formation of a plant's protein. "The length of a note corresponds to the real time it takes for each amino acid to come after the next," according to Sternheimer, who studied quantum physics and mathematics at Princeton University in New Jersey.
In experiments by Sternheimer, he claims that tomatoes exposed to his melodies grew two-and-a-half times as large as those which were untreated. Some of the treated plants were sweeter in addition to being significantly larger. The musical sequences stimulated three tomato growth promoters, cytochrome C, and thaumatin (a flavoring compound). According to Sternheimer in the New Scientist, "Six molecules were being played to the tomatoes for a total of three minutes a day."
Sternheimer also claims to have stopped the mosaic virus by playing note sequences that inhibited enzymes required by the virus. This virus would have harmed the tomato plants.
The note sequences used by the inventor are very short and need only be played one time. For example, the sequence for for cytochrome C lasts just 29 seconds. According to Sternheimer, "on average, you get four amino acids played per second" in this series.
The inventor also issued a warning for those repeating his experiments. He warns to be careful with the sound sequences because they can affect people. "Don't ask a musician to play them," he says. Sternheimer indicated that one of his musicians had difficulty breathing after playing the tune for cytochrome C.
Plant stimulation by sound may have profound implications. The idea that a cheap source of "electromagnetic fertilizer" has been developed should be exciting for many third world countries. At a time when human progress can be made through simple solutions in agriculture, resources are being wasted in the extraction of mineral and oil compounds for fertilizers. If this method of fertilization were followed the human intellect would prove superior to physical capital in terms of distribution and production of this new technology.
The idea that sound can have a healing effect on humans is being explored by a number of independent scientists around the world. The know-ledge of the "sound effect on proteins" offers insights to health practitioners of the benefits to humans. In addition to the favorable economic factors, the increased vitality of the plant substances can positively impact the health of all humans that consume them.
The patent includes melodies for cytochrome oxidase and cytochrome C which are two proteins involved in respiration. It also includes sound sequences for troponin C which regulates calcium uptake in muscles. Further, a tune was developed for inhibiting chalcone synthase which is an enzyme involved in making plant pigments.
Classic Music :
Some comments on the influence of music on plants.
Well, you have pruned, sprayed, mulched, watered and done everything else we could think of. Is there anything additional we could do to grow better roses? Perhaps. Have you tried music? Neither have I but by the time you read this I may be. For several years I have read about the effects of music on plant life and have often thought this would be my next experiment but have never gotten around to it. Now it begins to make sense; I just don’t want to overlook a bet or a single chance to improve production and quality of my plants.
Protoplasm, that living matter of which all plants are composed, is in a constant state of movement but science tells us this movement is lowest in early morning and late evening. We are also told sound waves, such as music, speed up protoplasmic movement in plant cells. This stimulation would result in the manufacture of more food which in turn would lead to more vigorous growth and greater production.
Music broadcast daily for about 30 minutes morning and evening over test plots of various vegetables, sugar cane and greenhouse grown flowers has brought about marked results in quality and increased yield. Last fall someone told me about a wheat farmer who had broadcast violin solos early every morning over his wheat field. The grain was so good and the yield so much better than in the quiet fields that he was really going into it in a big way.
Of course, results did not come about immediately and no doubt a continuous program was conducted where best results were obtained. But doesn’t it sound reasonable? If music can stimulate plants and make them grow better then let’s get our iPods and Mp3 players out there in the garden. What kind of music? I don’t know but perhaps “Moonlight and Roses” would be better for roses than rock and roll or Rap.
Do the plants under your bedroom window grow better than those farther away from the house? Then perhaps plants like your snoring. Do you have a stereo or Flat screen TV which sends sound waves over part of your garden or yard? Are the plants growing better in this area? You haven’t looked? Of course not, but let’s start watching. Maybe this is something good. Just think how little you knew about plant growth 20 years ago; in 20 years hence you will think those knowing no more about it than you do today are way behind the times. And they will be.
Look at your indour plants close to your loudspeakers. How are they going?
In the early morning in summer is a good time to give water. I know that is one sound wave all plants like in hot, dry weather; the vibration of the sprinkler, the rhythm of drops of water falling on the foliage.
Protoplasm, that living matter of which all plants are composed, is in a constant state of movement but science tells us this movement is lowest in early morning and late evening. We are also told sound waves, such as music, speed up protoplasmic movement in plant cells. This stimulation would result in the manufacture of more food which in turn would lead to more vigorous growth and greater production.
Music broadcast daily for about 30 minutes morning and evening over test plots of various vegetables, sugar cane and greenhouse grown flowers has brought about marked results in quality and increased yield. Last fall someone told me about a wheat farmer who had broadcast violin solos early every morning over his wheat field. The grain was so good and the yield so much better than in the quiet fields that he was really going into it in a big way.
Of course, results did not come about immediately and no doubt a continuous program was conducted where best results were obtained. But doesn’t it sound reasonable? If music can stimulate plants and make them grow better then let’s get our iPods and Mp3 players out there in the garden. What kind of music? I don’t know but perhaps “Moonlight and Roses” would be better for roses than rock and roll or Rap.
Do the plants under your bedroom window grow better than those farther away from the house? Then perhaps plants like your snoring. Do you have a stereo or Flat screen TV which sends sound waves over part of your garden or yard? Are the plants growing better in this area? You haven’t looked? Of course not, but let’s start watching. Maybe this is something good. Just think how little you knew about plant growth 20 years ago; in 20 years hence you will think those knowing no more about it than you do today are way behind the times. And they will be.
Look at your indour plants close to your loudspeakers. How are they going?
In the early morning in summer is a good time to give water. I know that is one sound wave all plants like in hot, dry weather; the vibration of the sprinkler, the rhythm of drops of water falling on the foliage.
Raga music : Experiments from India shows inrease in yield of Rice
The Sound of Music and Plants By: Lani Kaub
In 1950, when Professor Julian Huxley, (the biologist grandson, of Thomas Henry Huxley), and brother of novelist Aldous Huxley….was visiting Dr. T.C. Singh. Who was head of the Department of Botany, at Annamalai University. Which is south of the "Tamil-speaking" city of Madras. He found his host studying through a microscope, the live "streaming of protoplasm", in the cells "Hydrilla Verticillata", an aquatic plant of Asian origin, with transparent leaves.
Huxley was struck by the idea, that the magnification might be sufficient for his friend to see if the "streaming process", could be affected by sound.
Because the "streaming of protoplasm" in vegetation, begins to speed up after sunrise, Singh placed an electrically operated tuning fork, six feet from a Hydrilla. He microscopically observed that the fork's note, (broadcast for half an hour just before 6 am), caused the protoplasm to stream…..at a speed normally attained, only much later in the day.
He next asked his young assistant, a dancer and violinist, if she would play notes on her instrument, while standing near the Hydrilla. When the girl stroked her strings at a certain pitch, the protoplasm's streaming….was again accelerated.
Because the "Raga", (a traditional form of South Indian devotional song), has a tonal system which can produce a deep religious feeling, and specific emotions in a listener…..he decided to try it's tones on the Hydrilla. Lord Krishna, the eighth and principal avatar, and incarnation of the Hindu deity, "Vishnu", was reputed to have promoted with music, enthralling growth and bewitching verdure in "Vrindavan", ( a city on the banks of the Jamuna River, in north-central India, long famous for it's saint musicians).
A courtier of the famous Moghul emperor, "Akbar", is reported to have been able to perform such miracles, with his songs….as to bring on rain, light oil lamps, vernalize plants, and induce them to blossom…..simply by intoning "Ragas" at them.
Knowing this ancient lore….he asked his assistant to play the South Indian tune, "Maya-Malava-Ganla-Raga", to Mimosas…….After a fortnight, to his intense excitement, he discovered that the number of "stomata" per unit area, in the experimental plants, was 66 percent higher. The epidermal walls were thicker, the palisade cells were longer, and broader, than in "control" plants…….sometimes by as much as 50 percent.
Singh, then experimented on a vast number of species, such as: common astors, petunias, cosmos, and white spider lillies….along with such economic plants as onions, sesame, radishes, and sweet potatoes. Each of these species, he entertained for several weeks, just before sunrise……with more than a half a dozen "ragas", one per experiment. Played on the flute, violin harmonium, and veena. The music lasted a half hour daily….scaled at a high pitch, with frequencies between 100 and 600 cycles per second.
From this experiment, he was able to state that, "he had proven, beyond any shadow of doubt….that harmonic sound waves affect the growth, flowering, fruiting, and seed-yields of plants. As a result of his success….he began wondering whether "sound", properly prescribed, could spur field crops to greater yields……
From 1960 to 1963, via a loud speaker, he piped the "Charukesi Raga", on a gramophone to six varieties of early, medium, and late "paddy rice", growing in the fields of seven villages. They got harvests ranging consistently, from 25% to 60% higher, than the regional average. He also was able to musically provoke peanuts, and chewing tobacco, into producing nearly 50% more than normal.
Merely by "dancing" the "Bharata-Natyam", India's most ancient dance style, (without musical accompaniment), and performed by girls without trinkets on their ankles….the growth of Michaelmas daisies, marigolds, and petunias….was very much accelerated. Causing them to flower as much as a fortnight earlier than controls, presumably because of the Rhythm of the "footwork"…..transmitted through the earth.
"The stimulated plants are energized to synthesize greater quantities of food, during a given period of time, which naturally leads to greater yields." His method of musical stimulation, has even increased chromosome count of certain species of water plants, and the nicotine content of tobacco leaves.
Though the Indians of the subcontinent, both ancient and modern, appear to have been the first , to produce a significant effect on plants …..with music or sound, they are by no means the only ones. In the Milwaukee, Wisconsin suburb, a florist, "Arthur Locker", began piping music into the greenhouses in the late 1950s. The difference he observed in flower production, before and after, the broadcasts was sufficiently marked to convince him…..that music powerfully contributed to horticulture. His plants grew straighter, germinated quicker, and bloomed more abundantly. The colors of the flowers…were more striking to the eye, and the blooms lasted longer than usual!
There were many unresolved mysteries…."high frequency" waves, had been used successfully to control insects, in stored wheat. The same wheat, planted later….germinated faster….than untreated wheat.
The frequencies on the so-called sonic spectrum, unlike those on the electromagnetic spectrum, relate to "vibrations in matter", the medium in which they travel, and result from the rate of it's compression and expansion.
Thus, a sound wave can pass through the air, water, and fluids….an iron bar, a table top, a human being, or a plant.
Because human ears, can pick up only those frequencies, from 16 to about 20,000 cycles per second, they are known as "audio", or "sonic" frequencies. Below them, are "inaudible" subsonic frequencies. Some of which result from pressure applied slowly, such as that produced by a hydraulic jack. Which become so slow, that they are measured not in cycles per second, but in seconds per cycle. Above them, are "ultrasonic" frequencies, also inaudible, to the human ear. Affecting man's being….in a variety of ways, which are not fully known.
Extremely high frequencies on the spectrum, ranging from hundreds to thousands of millions of cycles per second, can be perceived as "heat", on the skin. Therefore, termed "thermal", though because they too, cannot be audibly detected, could just as well, be considered ultrasonic.
Peter Belton, a researcher for Canada's Dept. of Agriculture, had broadcast "ultrasonic" waves to control the European "cor n-borer" moth. Whose larvae extensively damage growing cor n. At first, they tested the hearing ability of the moths. It was obvious that they could hear the sounds, at about 50,000 cycles. (These high-pitched sounds, are much like those made by bats, the moth's natural enemy).
They planted 2 plots of corn, each10 feet by20, and divided them with sheets of plastic, 8 feet tall. Capable of stopping "this" sound frequency. Then they broadcast the bat-like sound, across two and a half plots, from dusk till dawn. Throughout the period, the moths lay their eggs. Nearly 50% of his r ipe cor n ears, were damaged by larvae in the "silent" plots.
But only 5% suffered injury, in the plots where the moths had supposedly suspected, "bats" might be lurking. A careful count, also revealed 60% fewer larvae in the "sound" plots, and the cor n was 3 inches taller.
"Ultrasonic" frequencies, markedly affect the germination and growth of barley, sunflower, spruce, jack pine, Siberian pea tree, and other seeds and seedlings. The experiments indicated, inexplicably, that enzyme activity, and respiration rates in plants, and their seeds, increased when they were stimulated by ultrasonic frequencies. Most plants responded best to a frequency of 5,000 cycles per second.
Plants have a natural love for music from India…..this is their favorite music! They also like classical music and new age….and Celtic. They are also fond of Jazz. But they are turned off to Rock Music! One might wonder whether the nationwide craze for "acid rock", among the younger generation….might not be deleterious to their development.
When plants are exposed to "hard rock", they will actually "turn away" from the sound waves….in revulsion.
Two doctors had reported to the California Medical Association, that of 43 musicians playing amplified hard rock music, 41, had suffered permanent hearing loss.
Musical sound lies within the very hearts of atoms…..
In his book, "The Symphony of Life", Donald Hatch Andrews, invites readers to join him, on an imagined journey…..inside a magnified calcium atom. Taken from the bone, beneath the tip, of his forefinger. Inside the atom, there are shrill tones….dozens of octaves above the highest tones of a violin. The music of the atomic nucleus, the tiny particle, at the center of the atom.
You find some more information in the book "Secret Life of plants" from Christopher Bird and Peter Tompkins.
You can read the book on following link : http://issuu.com/hunabkuproductions/docs/the_secret_life_of_plants_-_peter_tompkins-1973
In 1950, when Professor Julian Huxley, (the biologist grandson, of Thomas Henry Huxley), and brother of novelist Aldous Huxley….was visiting Dr. T.C. Singh. Who was head of the Department of Botany, at Annamalai University. Which is south of the "Tamil-speaking" city of Madras. He found his host studying through a microscope, the live "streaming of protoplasm", in the cells "Hydrilla Verticillata", an aquatic plant of Asian origin, with transparent leaves.
Huxley was struck by the idea, that the magnification might be sufficient for his friend to see if the "streaming process", could be affected by sound.
Because the "streaming of protoplasm" in vegetation, begins to speed up after sunrise, Singh placed an electrically operated tuning fork, six feet from a Hydrilla. He microscopically observed that the fork's note, (broadcast for half an hour just before 6 am), caused the protoplasm to stream…..at a speed normally attained, only much later in the day.
He next asked his young assistant, a dancer and violinist, if she would play notes on her instrument, while standing near the Hydrilla. When the girl stroked her strings at a certain pitch, the protoplasm's streaming….was again accelerated.
Because the "Raga", (a traditional form of South Indian devotional song), has a tonal system which can produce a deep religious feeling, and specific emotions in a listener…..he decided to try it's tones on the Hydrilla. Lord Krishna, the eighth and principal avatar, and incarnation of the Hindu deity, "Vishnu", was reputed to have promoted with music, enthralling growth and bewitching verdure in "Vrindavan", ( a city on the banks of the Jamuna River, in north-central India, long famous for it's saint musicians).
A courtier of the famous Moghul emperor, "Akbar", is reported to have been able to perform such miracles, with his songs….as to bring on rain, light oil lamps, vernalize plants, and induce them to blossom…..simply by intoning "Ragas" at them.
Knowing this ancient lore….he asked his assistant to play the South Indian tune, "Maya-Malava-Ganla-Raga", to Mimosas…….After a fortnight, to his intense excitement, he discovered that the number of "stomata" per unit area, in the experimental plants, was 66 percent higher. The epidermal walls were thicker, the palisade cells were longer, and broader, than in "control" plants…….sometimes by as much as 50 percent.
Singh, then experimented on a vast number of species, such as: common astors, petunias, cosmos, and white spider lillies….along with such economic plants as onions, sesame, radishes, and sweet potatoes. Each of these species, he entertained for several weeks, just before sunrise……with more than a half a dozen "ragas", one per experiment. Played on the flute, violin harmonium, and veena. The music lasted a half hour daily….scaled at a high pitch, with frequencies between 100 and 600 cycles per second.
From this experiment, he was able to state that, "he had proven, beyond any shadow of doubt….that harmonic sound waves affect the growth, flowering, fruiting, and seed-yields of plants. As a result of his success….he began wondering whether "sound", properly prescribed, could spur field crops to greater yields……
From 1960 to 1963, via a loud speaker, he piped the "Charukesi Raga", on a gramophone to six varieties of early, medium, and late "paddy rice", growing in the fields of seven villages. They got harvests ranging consistently, from 25% to 60% higher, than the regional average. He also was able to musically provoke peanuts, and chewing tobacco, into producing nearly 50% more than normal.
Merely by "dancing" the "Bharata-Natyam", India's most ancient dance style, (without musical accompaniment), and performed by girls without trinkets on their ankles….the growth of Michaelmas daisies, marigolds, and petunias….was very much accelerated. Causing them to flower as much as a fortnight earlier than controls, presumably because of the Rhythm of the "footwork"…..transmitted through the earth.
"The stimulated plants are energized to synthesize greater quantities of food, during a given period of time, which naturally leads to greater yields." His method of musical stimulation, has even increased chromosome count of certain species of water plants, and the nicotine content of tobacco leaves.
Though the Indians of the subcontinent, both ancient and modern, appear to have been the first , to produce a significant effect on plants …..with music or sound, they are by no means the only ones. In the Milwaukee, Wisconsin suburb, a florist, "Arthur Locker", began piping music into the greenhouses in the late 1950s. The difference he observed in flower production, before and after, the broadcasts was sufficiently marked to convince him…..that music powerfully contributed to horticulture. His plants grew straighter, germinated quicker, and bloomed more abundantly. The colors of the flowers…were more striking to the eye, and the blooms lasted longer than usual!
There were many unresolved mysteries…."high frequency" waves, had been used successfully to control insects, in stored wheat. The same wheat, planted later….germinated faster….than untreated wheat.
The frequencies on the so-called sonic spectrum, unlike those on the electromagnetic spectrum, relate to "vibrations in matter", the medium in which they travel, and result from the rate of it's compression and expansion.
Thus, a sound wave can pass through the air, water, and fluids….an iron bar, a table top, a human being, or a plant.
Because human ears, can pick up only those frequencies, from 16 to about 20,000 cycles per second, they are known as "audio", or "sonic" frequencies. Below them, are "inaudible" subsonic frequencies. Some of which result from pressure applied slowly, such as that produced by a hydraulic jack. Which become so slow, that they are measured not in cycles per second, but in seconds per cycle. Above them, are "ultrasonic" frequencies, also inaudible, to the human ear. Affecting man's being….in a variety of ways, which are not fully known.
Extremely high frequencies on the spectrum, ranging from hundreds to thousands of millions of cycles per second, can be perceived as "heat", on the skin. Therefore, termed "thermal", though because they too, cannot be audibly detected, could just as well, be considered ultrasonic.
Peter Belton, a researcher for Canada's Dept. of Agriculture, had broadcast "ultrasonic" waves to control the European "cor n-borer" moth. Whose larvae extensively damage growing cor n. At first, they tested the hearing ability of the moths. It was obvious that they could hear the sounds, at about 50,000 cycles. (These high-pitched sounds, are much like those made by bats, the moth's natural enemy).
They planted 2 plots of corn, each10 feet by20, and divided them with sheets of plastic, 8 feet tall. Capable of stopping "this" sound frequency. Then they broadcast the bat-like sound, across two and a half plots, from dusk till dawn. Throughout the period, the moths lay their eggs. Nearly 50% of his r ipe cor n ears, were damaged by larvae in the "silent" plots.
But only 5% suffered injury, in the plots where the moths had supposedly suspected, "bats" might be lurking. A careful count, also revealed 60% fewer larvae in the "sound" plots, and the cor n was 3 inches taller.
"Ultrasonic" frequencies, markedly affect the germination and growth of barley, sunflower, spruce, jack pine, Siberian pea tree, and other seeds and seedlings. The experiments indicated, inexplicably, that enzyme activity, and respiration rates in plants, and their seeds, increased when they were stimulated by ultrasonic frequencies. Most plants responded best to a frequency of 5,000 cycles per second.
Plants have a natural love for music from India…..this is their favorite music! They also like classical music and new age….and Celtic. They are also fond of Jazz. But they are turned off to Rock Music! One might wonder whether the nationwide craze for "acid rock", among the younger generation….might not be deleterious to their development.
When plants are exposed to "hard rock", they will actually "turn away" from the sound waves….in revulsion.
Two doctors had reported to the California Medical Association, that of 43 musicians playing amplified hard rock music, 41, had suffered permanent hearing loss.
Musical sound lies within the very hearts of atoms…..
In his book, "The Symphony of Life", Donald Hatch Andrews, invites readers to join him, on an imagined journey…..inside a magnified calcium atom. Taken from the bone, beneath the tip, of his forefinger. Inside the atom, there are shrill tones….dozens of octaves above the highest tones of a violin. The music of the atomic nucleus, the tiny particle, at the center of the atom.
You find some more information in the book "Secret Life of plants" from Christopher Bird and Peter Tompkins.
You can read the book on following link : http://issuu.com/hunabkuproductions/docs/the_secret_life_of_plants_-_peter_tompkins-1973
Vedic music from India to Harmonize the Environment and increase Rice Yields.
The following studies indicate the ability of Vedic Music to create a harmonizing, life-supporting influence in the physical and mental health of the individual, as well as in the environment.
RASMUSSEN, S., ORME-JOHNSON, D., and WALLACE, R.K., 1990, USA. Integrating effect on the brain functions of humans: the electrical potentials of the activity of the brain before and during the listening of Gandharva Veda music were analyzed by a computer, for frequencies as Delta–, Theta–, Alpha– and Beta–waves. While listening to Gandharva Veda music, a clear increase of the electrical potentials within the Theta–wave–range (frequencies 4–8) can be observed. A similar effect has been found during the practice of Transcendental Meditation, where it correlates with a state of relaxation and the experience of bliss.
OLSON-SORFLATEN, T., Dissertation,1995, USA. Balancing of the physiology, decreased tension, decreased irritability, less lethargy, and increased brain wave activity in the Alpha–, Beta–, and Theta ranges verify the relaxing and integrating effects of this music, which have also been found during the practice of Transcendental Meditation.
SINGH, T. C. N., Gnanam A: Studies on the effect of sound waves of Nadeshwaram [a traditional Gandharva Veda wind instrument] the growth and yield of paddy, Annamalai University, 1965; 16:78–99; and SINGH, T. C. N., On the Effect of Music and Dance on Plants, Bihar Agricultural College Magazine, Volume 13, no. 1, 1962–1963:
In the early 1950’s, Dr T. C. N. Singh of the Department of Botany at Annamalai University, Madras, India, discovered under microscope that plant protoplasm was moving faster in the cell as a result of the sound produced by an electric tuning fork. This discovery led to his conclusion that sound must have some effect on the metabolic activities of the plant cell.
Inspired by these results and by stories of ancient sages who were able to induce plants to blossom by intoning certain Ragas (melodies) of Gandharva Veda, Dr Singh began a series of experiments on a large number of species, such as common astors, petunias, cosmos, and white spider lillies, along with food plants such as sesame, radishes, and sweet potatoes. For several weeks, just before sunrise, he played to each of these species more than six Gandharva Veda Ragas, one per experiment. The music lasted half an hour daily, scaled at a high pitch, with frequencies between 100 and 600 cycles per second. It was played on several traditional Gandharva Veda instruments—the flute, violin harmonium, and veena.
From the results of this experiment he was able to state that he had proven, beyond any shadow of doubt, that Gandharva Veda sound waves affect the growth, flowering, fruiting, and seed-yields of plants.
From 1960 to 1963, Dr Singh played the Gandharva Veda Charukesi Raga via a loudspeaker on a gramophone to six varieties of early, medium, and late ‘paddy rice’, growing in the fields of seven villages. They yielded harvests ranging consistently, from 25% to 60% higher than the regional average.
His method of musical stimulation also increased chromosome count of certain species of water plants.
Books to read about music and plants
The Sound and Music of Plants (De Vorss and Company, 1973) documents research on the effects of various types of sound and music on the growth and health of plants. A monotonous tone played for several hours was totally destructive of plant life, as was rock music. Western classical music had mixed effects. When Gandharva Veda was played, the plants responded most positively—they flourished.
The Secret Life of Plants (Harper and Row, 1989) also documents research on the effects of various types of sound and music on the growth and health of plants. When Gandharva Veda music was played to plants, the plant which was closest to the source of sound virtually embraced the loudspeaker. When hard-rock music was played, the plants moved away from the source of sound.
You can find such harmonizing vedic music at http://www.maharishi-gandharva.com/
RASMUSSEN, S., ORME-JOHNSON, D., and WALLACE, R.K., 1990, USA. Integrating effect on the brain functions of humans: the electrical potentials of the activity of the brain before and during the listening of Gandharva Veda music were analyzed by a computer, for frequencies as Delta–, Theta–, Alpha– and Beta–waves. While listening to Gandharva Veda music, a clear increase of the electrical potentials within the Theta–wave–range (frequencies 4–8) can be observed. A similar effect has been found during the practice of Transcendental Meditation, where it correlates with a state of relaxation and the experience of bliss.
OLSON-SORFLATEN, T., Dissertation,1995, USA. Balancing of the physiology, decreased tension, decreased irritability, less lethargy, and increased brain wave activity in the Alpha–, Beta–, and Theta ranges verify the relaxing and integrating effects of this music, which have also been found during the practice of Transcendental Meditation.
SINGH, T. C. N., Gnanam A: Studies on the effect of sound waves of Nadeshwaram [a traditional Gandharva Veda wind instrument] the growth and yield of paddy, Annamalai University, 1965; 16:78–99; and SINGH, T. C. N., On the Effect of Music and Dance on Plants, Bihar Agricultural College Magazine, Volume 13, no. 1, 1962–1963:
In the early 1950’s, Dr T. C. N. Singh of the Department of Botany at Annamalai University, Madras, India, discovered under microscope that plant protoplasm was moving faster in the cell as a result of the sound produced by an electric tuning fork. This discovery led to his conclusion that sound must have some effect on the metabolic activities of the plant cell.
Inspired by these results and by stories of ancient sages who were able to induce plants to blossom by intoning certain Ragas (melodies) of Gandharva Veda, Dr Singh began a series of experiments on a large number of species, such as common astors, petunias, cosmos, and white spider lillies, along with food plants such as sesame, radishes, and sweet potatoes. For several weeks, just before sunrise, he played to each of these species more than six Gandharva Veda Ragas, one per experiment. The music lasted half an hour daily, scaled at a high pitch, with frequencies between 100 and 600 cycles per second. It was played on several traditional Gandharva Veda instruments—the flute, violin harmonium, and veena.
From the results of this experiment he was able to state that he had proven, beyond any shadow of doubt, that Gandharva Veda sound waves affect the growth, flowering, fruiting, and seed-yields of plants.
From 1960 to 1963, Dr Singh played the Gandharva Veda Charukesi Raga via a loudspeaker on a gramophone to six varieties of early, medium, and late ‘paddy rice’, growing in the fields of seven villages. They yielded harvests ranging consistently, from 25% to 60% higher than the regional average.
His method of musical stimulation also increased chromosome count of certain species of water plants.
Books to read about music and plants
The Sound and Music of Plants (De Vorss and Company, 1973) documents research on the effects of various types of sound and music on the growth and health of plants. A monotonous tone played for several hours was totally destructive of plant life, as was rock music. Western classical music had mixed effects. When Gandharva Veda was played, the plants responded most positively—they flourished.
The Secret Life of Plants (Harper and Row, 1989) also documents research on the effects of various types of sound and music on the growth and health of plants. When Gandharva Veda music was played to plants, the plant which was closest to the source of sound virtually embraced the loudspeaker. When hard-rock music was played, the plants moved away from the source of sound.
You can find such harmonizing vedic music at http://www.maharishi-gandharva.com/
Does music affect plant growth?
Ben, a 19-year old teenager was very fond of playing violin and was pretty good at it as well. Interestingly, he had a few houseplants in his room balcony (where he used to play his violin) and he used to water them regularly. After a while he observed that those plants had grown better than the other plants in the house, even though the regular watering was same for all. He wondered about it and came up with a hypothesis, that it might actually be the violin music.
Well, his inference may not be incorrect, as there have been experiments which compel us to believe that music does affect plant growth. It is because plants are living organisms. They do have feelings and can sense. Just like the 'touch me not' which recoils and folds within itself at a slight touch.
Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose, an Indian scientist probably had an inkling that the sound of music does wonders for plant growth. He performed some experiments which show how music affects plant growth. Scientists from all over the world have researched on the question 'how does music affect plants?'.
So, does music affect plant growth? Well, yes, it could be said that music does affect plant growth. It is just like what music therapy is for human beings. Check out why most of us believe so.
Impact of Music on Plants
Various experiments are a major evidence of the fact that music, does in fact affect plant growth. Dorothy Retallack published a small book on this, in 1973, which was based on her experiments of the music effects on plants, in a Colorado College, in Denver. She found out that, out of the plants in three different chambers, with different conditions, those exposed to soothing music grew better than the others. In one case, the plants had bent towards the music playing device! These plants were lush green with healthy stems.
However, if there is a constant monotone that is being played, then it does not significantly affect plant growth. But if it is mild, classical music, definite change of rate can be observed, in the growth of plants. It is a lengthy process, though. How music affects plant growth, cannot be observed within days of the plant being exposed to music. It takes weeks to identify the effects of music on plants.
Classical Music and Plant Growth
Classical music, for that matter has had a prominent effect on plant growth. The Ragas (a formation with a group of notations) in Indian classical music, are believed to have worked wonders for plant growth. In addition to that, the occident has also been a witness to experiments on how does music affect plants. The vibrations of the music created are responsible for plant growth.
But everything said and done, even if music is believed to affect plant growth, it is somewhat controversial. The naysayers hold that there are no sensory devices in plants, like the ears or the brain. Music is all about vibrations, but then, they may not be so powerful that they can initiate an improved growth in plants.
So, does music affect plant growth? This is still a question mark in the fraternity of scientists. But hey, what is the problem in believing that yes, music does affect plants? Who knows our belief will give such an incredible power to the music we play, that it will compel the plants to flourish. How beautiful it would be! Even when the sun leaves them, melodies will always be there to cheer our green friends up!
Plant research of Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose He forwarded a theory for the ascent of sap in plants in 1927, his theory contributed to the vital theory of ascent of sap. According to his theory, electromechanical pulsations of living cells were responsible for the ascent of sap in plants.
He was skeptical about the then, and still now, most popular theory for the ascent of sap, the tension-cohesion theory of Dixon and Joly, first proposed in 1894. The 'CP theory', proposed by Canny in 1995,validates this skepticism. Canny experimentally demonstrated pumping in the living cells in the junction of the endodermis.
In his research in plant stimuli, he showed with the help of his newly invented crescograph that plants responded to various stimuli as if they had nervous systems like that of animals. He therefore found a parallelism between animal and plant tissues. His experiments showed that plants grow faster in pleasant music and their growth is retarded in noise or harsh sound. This was experimentally verified later on.
His major contribution in the field of biophysics was the demonstration of the electrical nature of the conduction of various stimuli (wounds, chemical agents) in plants, which were earlier thought to be of a chemical nature. These claims were experimentally proved by Wildon et al. (Nature, 1992, 360, 62–65). He also studied for the first time action of microwaves in plant tissues and corresponding changes in the cell membrane potential, mechanism of effect of seasons in plants, effect of chemical inhibitor on plant stimuli, effect of temperature etc. He claimed that plants can "feel pain, understand affection etc.," from the analysis of the nature of variation of the cell membrane potential of plants, under different circumstances.
Well, his inference may not be incorrect, as there have been experiments which compel us to believe that music does affect plant growth. It is because plants are living organisms. They do have feelings and can sense. Just like the 'touch me not' which recoils and folds within itself at a slight touch.
Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose, an Indian scientist probably had an inkling that the sound of music does wonders for plant growth. He performed some experiments which show how music affects plant growth. Scientists from all over the world have researched on the question 'how does music affect plants?'.
So, does music affect plant growth? Well, yes, it could be said that music does affect plant growth. It is just like what music therapy is for human beings. Check out why most of us believe so.
Impact of Music on Plants
Various experiments are a major evidence of the fact that music, does in fact affect plant growth. Dorothy Retallack published a small book on this, in 1973, which was based on her experiments of the music effects on plants, in a Colorado College, in Denver. She found out that, out of the plants in three different chambers, with different conditions, those exposed to soothing music grew better than the others. In one case, the plants had bent towards the music playing device! These plants were lush green with healthy stems.
However, if there is a constant monotone that is being played, then it does not significantly affect plant growth. But if it is mild, classical music, definite change of rate can be observed, in the growth of plants. It is a lengthy process, though. How music affects plant growth, cannot be observed within days of the plant being exposed to music. It takes weeks to identify the effects of music on plants.
Classical Music and Plant Growth
Classical music, for that matter has had a prominent effect on plant growth. The Ragas (a formation with a group of notations) in Indian classical music, are believed to have worked wonders for plant growth. In addition to that, the occident has also been a witness to experiments on how does music affect plants. The vibrations of the music created are responsible for plant growth.
But everything said and done, even if music is believed to affect plant growth, it is somewhat controversial. The naysayers hold that there are no sensory devices in plants, like the ears or the brain. Music is all about vibrations, but then, they may not be so powerful that they can initiate an improved growth in plants.
So, does music affect plant growth? This is still a question mark in the fraternity of scientists. But hey, what is the problem in believing that yes, music does affect plants? Who knows our belief will give such an incredible power to the music we play, that it will compel the plants to flourish. How beautiful it would be! Even when the sun leaves them, melodies will always be there to cheer our green friends up!
Plant research of Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose He forwarded a theory for the ascent of sap in plants in 1927, his theory contributed to the vital theory of ascent of sap. According to his theory, electromechanical pulsations of living cells were responsible for the ascent of sap in plants.
He was skeptical about the then, and still now, most popular theory for the ascent of sap, the tension-cohesion theory of Dixon and Joly, first proposed in 1894. The 'CP theory', proposed by Canny in 1995,validates this skepticism. Canny experimentally demonstrated pumping in the living cells in the junction of the endodermis.
In his research in plant stimuli, he showed with the help of his newly invented crescograph that plants responded to various stimuli as if they had nervous systems like that of animals. He therefore found a parallelism between animal and plant tissues. His experiments showed that plants grow faster in pleasant music and their growth is retarded in noise or harsh sound. This was experimentally verified later on.
His major contribution in the field of biophysics was the demonstration of the electrical nature of the conduction of various stimuli (wounds, chemical agents) in plants, which were earlier thought to be of a chemical nature. These claims were experimentally proved by Wildon et al. (Nature, 1992, 360, 62–65). He also studied for the first time action of microwaves in plant tissues and corresponding changes in the cell membrane potential, mechanism of effect of seasons in plants, effect of chemical inhibitor on plant stimuli, effect of temperature etc. He claimed that plants can "feel pain, understand affection etc.," from the analysis of the nature of variation of the cell membrane potential of plants, under different circumstances.
Classic music for Orchids
Photo : Orchid plant at my home, there is my loudspeaker right above the Orchid plant and i listen mostly to calm classic music. They were up to 52 flowers on one branch. Photo taken in winter of 2009.
Everyday, orchids growing in Flora Exotica, the orchidarium located on the India Carbon Limited (ICL) campus, listen to songs by Lata Mangeshkar, Anup Jalota, Jagjit Singh, Ghulam Ali and Pankaj Udhas. ICL is a company producing petroleum coke in Guwahati. Spread over three hectares, the orchid plantation area is dotted with sound boxes attached to a hi-fi music system of a 1,000 watts. Every morning (6 am-9 am) and evening (3 pm-5 pm) the sound system plays devotional songs, ghazals, religious chants and even instrumental music to the orchids.
"Orchids, like other plants, like to listen to music. The music is essential for their growth and flowering. The vibration of the music helps in the growth of the buds of the plants," says Dr K N Bhagawati, former head of plant pathology at Assam Agricultural University. Bhagawati has been associated with the ICL plantation for the last 12 years. Music was introduced in the orchidarium in 1997, six years after it was set up.
Research indicates that plants thrive if soothing music is played in the background. However, they shrivel and die if exposed to loud and heavy music. Almost 30 years ago, a woman teaching at Colorado University (USA) conducted several experiments on plants and concluded that plants thrived while listening to classical music - particularly the sitar.
Recently, a Japanese company created a gadget - Plantone - that gauges the electrical activity in plants and can register a plant's response when exposed to music. The device has two sensor clips that are attached to the leaves of the plant.
Everyday, orchids growing in Flora Exotica, the orchidarium located on the India Carbon Limited (ICL) campus, listen to songs by Lata Mangeshkar, Anup Jalota, Jagjit Singh, Ghulam Ali and Pankaj Udhas. ICL is a company producing petroleum coke in Guwahati. Spread over three hectares, the orchid plantation area is dotted with sound boxes attached to a hi-fi music system of a 1,000 watts. Every morning (6 am-9 am) and evening (3 pm-5 pm) the sound system plays devotional songs, ghazals, religious chants and even instrumental music to the orchids.
"Orchids, like other plants, like to listen to music. The music is essential for their growth and flowering. The vibration of the music helps in the growth of the buds of the plants," says Dr K N Bhagawati, former head of plant pathology at Assam Agricultural University. Bhagawati has been associated with the ICL plantation for the last 12 years. Music was introduced in the orchidarium in 1997, six years after it was set up.
Research indicates that plants thrive if soothing music is played in the background. However, they shrivel and die if exposed to loud and heavy music. Almost 30 years ago, a woman teaching at Colorado University (USA) conducted several experiments on plants and concluded that plants thrived while listening to classical music - particularly the sitar.
Recently, a Japanese company created a gadget - Plantone - that gauges the electrical activity in plants and can register a plant's response when exposed to music. The device has two sensor clips that are attached to the leaves of the plant.
Plantone device from Epoch Inc. to show music response of plants
This is a gadget from Japan.
Are your ferns drooping more than usual? Perhaps a bit of music may perk it up, for it is a known fact that music plays an important role in plant growth. But plants are choosy about the kind of music they want to hear.
Experiments show that plants thrive if soothing instrumental music is played in the background. On the other hand they shrivel and die if exposed to heavy metal or rock music. And now a Japanese company has created a gadget that puts you in touch with the 'feelings' of plants.
This gadget gauges the electrical activity in plants and can register a plant's response when exposed to music. The device is called the Plantone and has two sensor clips that are attached to the leaves of the plant.
When the device's lamp turns red, it means a strong electrical current has passed within the plant's cells. It signifies a positive response. A green light on the other hand occurs when the cell electrical signals are weak, signifying a negative or unhappy response.
Are your ferns drooping more than usual? Perhaps a bit of music may perk it up, for it is a known fact that music plays an important role in plant growth. But plants are choosy about the kind of music they want to hear.
Experiments show that plants thrive if soothing instrumental music is played in the background. On the other hand they shrivel and die if exposed to heavy metal or rock music. And now a Japanese company has created a gadget that puts you in touch with the 'feelings' of plants.
This gadget gauges the electrical activity in plants and can register a plant's response when exposed to music. The device is called the Plantone and has two sensor clips that are attached to the leaves of the plant.
When the device's lamp turns red, it means a strong electrical current has passed within the plant's cells. It signifies a positive response. A green light on the other hand occurs when the cell electrical signals are weak, signifying a negative or unhappy response.
3. Sonic Bloom and Bird song frequencies
Sonic Bloom is a technique developed by Dan Carlson rom the USA, Minnesota.
You can find his original site : http://originalsonicbloom.com/background.htm
"Sonic Bloom will BOOST the Size, IMPROVE the Taste, INCREASE
the Nutrients, EXTEND the Shelf Life, SHORTEN the Growing Season
and MULTIPLY the Harvest of YOUR Home Garden or Farm Crops!"
How does Sonic Bloom works ?
This is a technology that combines the use of sound (in the range of birdsong frequencies) to open the stomata of plants with the application of an organic foliar nutrient to realize the plants' genetic potential.
The sound (which is essentially a synthesized version of birdsong), causes the stomata or breathing holes under the leaves to open wider, thus allowing in more carbon dioxide and nutrients. Better results can be obtained by using the proprietary organic foliar nutrient spray that takes advantage of the open breathing holes to feed the plant more effectively.
With your music CD and you spray bottle in your hands you are ready to use Sonic Bloom and break all of your growing records !
Sonic bloom is a technique that uses a specific sound frequency wobble around 3 to 5000 Hz. When you don't know the sound and you hear the sound from far away, you would be thinking their is a special bird singing all the time. This happened at a vine farm where the agronomist didn't know I have put that system in the field, he told me there is a strange bird singing each morning all the time. I told him it was my loudspeaker tweeter programmed with this special sound that went on and of each morning. :-)
It is observed that the use of this sound during a foliar spray that it increases by more then 50% the nutrient uptake on the leaves. In laboratory it can be up to 700%. Imagine the effects on the plants.
The sound also increase protoplasma streaming in the cells of the plants, enhancing metabolism and growth.
I you use this sound n the morning before sunlight, the sound will activate the protoplasma streaming and activity. This can be very interesting for orchards in spring time, because it also increase frost resistance. When the cells are activated, they are a lot more resistant to frost. This can sometimes saves a whole harvest from frost.
I confirm it works great. Several farmers that I adviced for it have told me their good results, closer to the loudspeakers there was a lot less damage then far away.
Dan Carlson from Sonic Bloom enterprise always impose to use his foliar nutrient solution with his speakers. But by experience I have made some tests with regular nutrient solutions and it works too. But you have to be carefull to choose a nutrient solution of natural origin, well balanced and non-toxic at high doses. The best is a foliar nutrient solution based on ascophyllum nodosum algae without any other additive. Additives are mainly toxic at high doses. You have to imagine that with the sounds the solution uptake will be increased by double or triple, so the quality of the solution is very important to be beneficial for the plants.
• The SONIC BLOOM system is a unique concept involving the foliar application of a formulated nutrient solution. Absorption into the plants of this nutrient is enhanced by audio stimulation.
• The concentrated foliar nutrient spray, containing plant extracts, trace minerals and amino acids, is totally organic. It contains no fish or animal products and is not a fertilizer.
• When used in conjunction with the specially developed sound generator, SONIC BLOOM technique has produced remarkable yields and high quality, nutritious, healthy fruit, vegetables, nuts and herbs as well as outstanding flowers and rapid tree growth.
The documented benefits of SONIC BLOOM include:
•Stimulates plant growth more effectively than any other known agent
• Dramatically increases flowering and fruiting productivity leading to increased yields
• Better uniformity of fruit and vegetable size
• Stimulates the genetic memories of cells to produce dynamic adaptations to unfavorable environmental factors leading to excellent crops in unsuitable climates
• Higher brix and nutrient levels
• Superior taste
• Longer shelf and storage life
• Increased resistance to pests and diseases by strengthening the plant's immune system
• One to three weeks' earlier maturity of produce, permitting farmers to beat their competition to market
Over the past 25 years, plant breeding scientist, Dan Carlson, has developed SONIC BLOOM. The complex organic, seaweed-based formula is most effective when applied to the leaves of plants and trees as a fine spray, or to seeds as a carefully-timed soak.
The oscillating frequency generator (Sound Unit) produces acoustic energy which stimulates plant metabolism at the cellular level, resulting in a greatly increased foliar uptake rate of moisture and nutrients - an effect which is quickly reflected in increased seed germination, root growth, plant growth and overall increased production.
When the SONIC BLOOM sound system and foliar nutrient spray are used simultaneously, there is a substantial increase in the absorption of nutrients by the plants as compared to the absorption rate in plants treated with conventional foliar methods.
The foliar fertilization is intended as a supplement to a regular fertilization program and will not, by itself, provide all the nutrients normally required by plants.
The foliar spray and sound treatment program is detailed in spray manuals. Mostly it consists of a treatment each week. The best cost effective treatments is around 3 to 5 treatments spaced by one or two weeks. Do not spray more then once a week.
You can use the sound every day or onldy during the foliar spray treatments. The sound is started 30 minutes before treatment and stopped 2 hours after start. You can let the sound play also the whole day, but be carefull to put the sound of at midday during the hottests hours in the summer. This is because when the sound is on at very hot hours, it can increase the evapotranspiration of the plants, and so increase water need, this increase drougth risks at hot days. Best is to do the treatments early in the morning or late in the evening.
Below video : Sonic Bloom technique explained. Results and testimonials.
You can find his original site : http://originalsonicbloom.com/background.htm
"Sonic Bloom will BOOST the Size, IMPROVE the Taste, INCREASE
the Nutrients, EXTEND the Shelf Life, SHORTEN the Growing Season
and MULTIPLY the Harvest of YOUR Home Garden or Farm Crops!"
How does Sonic Bloom works ?
This is a technology that combines the use of sound (in the range of birdsong frequencies) to open the stomata of plants with the application of an organic foliar nutrient to realize the plants' genetic potential.
The sound (which is essentially a synthesized version of birdsong), causes the stomata or breathing holes under the leaves to open wider, thus allowing in more carbon dioxide and nutrients. Better results can be obtained by using the proprietary organic foliar nutrient spray that takes advantage of the open breathing holes to feed the plant more effectively.
With your music CD and you spray bottle in your hands you are ready to use Sonic Bloom and break all of your growing records !
Sonic bloom is a technique that uses a specific sound frequency wobble around 3 to 5000 Hz. When you don't know the sound and you hear the sound from far away, you would be thinking their is a special bird singing all the time. This happened at a vine farm where the agronomist didn't know I have put that system in the field, he told me there is a strange bird singing each morning all the time. I told him it was my loudspeaker tweeter programmed with this special sound that went on and of each morning. :-)
It is observed that the use of this sound during a foliar spray that it increases by more then 50% the nutrient uptake on the leaves. In laboratory it can be up to 700%. Imagine the effects on the plants.
The sound also increase protoplasma streaming in the cells of the plants, enhancing metabolism and growth.
I you use this sound n the morning before sunlight, the sound will activate the protoplasma streaming and activity. This can be very interesting for orchards in spring time, because it also increase frost resistance. When the cells are activated, they are a lot more resistant to frost. This can sometimes saves a whole harvest from frost.
I confirm it works great. Several farmers that I adviced for it have told me their good results, closer to the loudspeakers there was a lot less damage then far away.
Dan Carlson from Sonic Bloom enterprise always impose to use his foliar nutrient solution with his speakers. But by experience I have made some tests with regular nutrient solutions and it works too. But you have to be carefull to choose a nutrient solution of natural origin, well balanced and non-toxic at high doses. The best is a foliar nutrient solution based on ascophyllum nodosum algae without any other additive. Additives are mainly toxic at high doses. You have to imagine that with the sounds the solution uptake will be increased by double or triple, so the quality of the solution is very important to be beneficial for the plants.
• The SONIC BLOOM system is a unique concept involving the foliar application of a formulated nutrient solution. Absorption into the plants of this nutrient is enhanced by audio stimulation.
• The concentrated foliar nutrient spray, containing plant extracts, trace minerals and amino acids, is totally organic. It contains no fish or animal products and is not a fertilizer.
• When used in conjunction with the specially developed sound generator, SONIC BLOOM technique has produced remarkable yields and high quality, nutritious, healthy fruit, vegetables, nuts and herbs as well as outstanding flowers and rapid tree growth.
The documented benefits of SONIC BLOOM include:
•Stimulates plant growth more effectively than any other known agent
• Dramatically increases flowering and fruiting productivity leading to increased yields
• Better uniformity of fruit and vegetable size
• Stimulates the genetic memories of cells to produce dynamic adaptations to unfavorable environmental factors leading to excellent crops in unsuitable climates
• Higher brix and nutrient levels
• Superior taste
• Longer shelf and storage life
• Increased resistance to pests and diseases by strengthening the plant's immune system
• One to three weeks' earlier maturity of produce, permitting farmers to beat their competition to market
Over the past 25 years, plant breeding scientist, Dan Carlson, has developed SONIC BLOOM. The complex organic, seaweed-based formula is most effective when applied to the leaves of plants and trees as a fine spray, or to seeds as a carefully-timed soak.
The oscillating frequency generator (Sound Unit) produces acoustic energy which stimulates plant metabolism at the cellular level, resulting in a greatly increased foliar uptake rate of moisture and nutrients - an effect which is quickly reflected in increased seed germination, root growth, plant growth and overall increased production.
When the SONIC BLOOM sound system and foliar nutrient spray are used simultaneously, there is a substantial increase in the absorption of nutrients by the plants as compared to the absorption rate in plants treated with conventional foliar methods.
The foliar fertilization is intended as a supplement to a regular fertilization program and will not, by itself, provide all the nutrients normally required by plants.
The foliar spray and sound treatment program is detailed in spray manuals. Mostly it consists of a treatment each week. The best cost effective treatments is around 3 to 5 treatments spaced by one or two weeks. Do not spray more then once a week.
You can use the sound every day or onldy during the foliar spray treatments. The sound is started 30 minutes before treatment and stopped 2 hours after start. You can let the sound play also the whole day, but be carefull to put the sound of at midday during the hottests hours in the summer. This is because when the sound is on at very hot hours, it can increase the evapotranspiration of the plants, and so increase water need, this increase drougth risks at hot days. Best is to do the treatments early in the morning or late in the evening.
Below video : Sonic Bloom technique explained. Results and testimonials.
Pictures below : Sonic Bloom treated plants. Left grapes in Belgium.
Middle picture : red beets. Left treated with Sonic Bloom, right untreated.
Picture right : Test results over twenty years with sonic Bloom on walnut trees It doubles the growth rate easely, even more. Fruit trees can bear fruit a lot sooner the first years and grow much more rapidly.
Middle picture : red beets. Left treated with Sonic Bloom, right untreated.
Picture right : Test results over twenty years with sonic Bloom on walnut trees It doubles the growth rate easely, even more. Fruit trees can bear fruit a lot sooner the first years and grow much more rapidly.
4. Ultrasonics for plant growth
by TJ Byers
Photo : The results of one experiment showed a dramatic increase in growth rate with ultrasound stimulation.
4. Ultrasonics for plant growth
ULTRASONICS
Sound is vibration that travels through air. Without those molecules of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, etc., there would be no sound: A telephone ringing in outer space would go unanswered even if an astronaut happened to be floating by, because no one could hear it. Sound vibrations come in a wide range of frequencies. The audio range—which extends up to about 20,000 vibrations per second (cycles per second or CPS)—includes those frequencies that people can hear. Of course, some individuals do hear better than others. Women, in particular, can usually detect noises that are of too high a frequency for men to hear. And most animals exhibit hearing capabilities superior to those of humans. Many insects, for example, can produce and hear frequencies that are beyond our limitations.
When the frequency of a sound extends beyond our normal hearing limit, we have ultrasound. Fig. 1 illustrates the sound frequency range from 0 to 50,000 CPS and shows the hearing capabilities of humans and several animals.
ACCELERATED PLANT GROWTH
The possibility that plants might respond to sound waves was explored to some extent more than a century ago. Charles Darwin, the famous evolutionary theorist, was convinced that sound could benefit plant growth. He even attempted—without success—to stimulate plant growth with notes from the bassoon and other musical instruments. Similar tests were performed by the eminent German plant physiologist Wilhelm Pfeffer, with the same negative results.
Early experiments were largely confined to using frequencies in the audio range, and most of those tests were done with frequencies so low that they could actually be felt by humans. It wasn't until the development of electronic oscillators that scientists were able to experiment with ultrasonic plant growth acceleration. The better-equipped researchers discovered that the effect only becomes noticeable at frequencies higher than 20,000 CPS and that the benefit continues to increase up to about 50,000 CPS.
ACTUAL RESULTS
The report I ran across discussed the effects of bathing radishes in ultrasound. One flat of seeds was placed in an environmentally controlled chamber with 50,000 CPS ultrasound piped in at an output of about one watt; the second group (called a control) was set in an identical chamber but did not receive exposure to ultrasound. Artificial lighting was switched on in both chambers for 12 hours each day (during which time the experimental flat received ultrasound). Both groups were watered and cared for equally.
After about seven days, the seeds in both trays began to sprout. One week is just about the normal germination period for radishes, so up to that point in the experiment, ultrasound didn't seem to offer any benefit.
It soon became apparent, though, that the seedlings receiving ultrasound treatment were growing much more rapidly than their control counterparts. In fact, by the fourteenth day the experimental plants were half again as tall as the ones in the "quiet" chamber.
The experiment continued for 28 days, the same period of time used in the photovoltaic root stimulation tests. By the end of the test, the plants treated with ultrasonic vibrations had grown an average of 87% taller than their control cousins. (The actual growth rates are shown in graphic form in Fig. 2.) Repetitions of the experiment were run to confirm the initial results, and some of the later tests showed growth rate increases of as much as 150%!
It isn't exactly clear why ultrasound stimulates plant growth. Evidence seems to support the theory that the sound acts as a catalyst, activating the production of plant hormones called auxins. As was the case with photovoltaic root stimulation, however, concrete explanations will have to wait for further research.
LET'S GIVE IT A TRY
Since seeing is believing, you'll probably want to stage your own experiment. This test will be a little more involved than the one we used for photovoltaic stimulation, but it's still not difficult to perform.
Your first (and main) problem will be obtaining an ultrasonic generator of suitable quality. Commercial generators are too expensive for most of us to buy simply to satisfy our curiosity, but you might be able to use one owned by a high school or college. Also, most TV repair shops keep an ultrasound generator on hand, even though they rarely need it. (If you try to strike a deal to borrow or rent a generator from one of these sources, be sure that the unit has an output of at least one-half watt.)
And there's yet another possible source of high-frequency sound. Have you seen advertisements for rodent-repelling machines? Such devices are simply frequency generators that supposedly scare away the varmints by flooding a room with high-intensity ultrasound. These devices could be just the ticket . . . except that they, too, are pretty pricey. Better ones cost up to $100, and the $20 models probably won't work for our purposes. If you already own a good-quality "rat ridder", though, it will serve well for your experiment.
If none of the above possibilities bear fruit, you can build your own ultrasonic generator. It's not a difficult electronics project, and the device can be assembled for under $20 from parts available at a local Radio Shack store. The schematic (Fig. 3) shows the layout; the only other thing you'll need is a 12-volt power supply. Either a battery eliminator or a car battery will work.
There's some evidence that higher frequencies stimulate greater growth, so you might experiment with your homemade generator by changing the value of the capacitor listed as C1. If you substitute a capacitor smaller than the one shown, the frequency will increase. Also, don't be tempted to use a conventional speaker instead of the tweeter called for in the design. Normal speakers aren't capable of reproducing the high frequencies that we're looking for.
For your experiment to have any validity, the two groups of plants you use will have to be well separated from each other. The ultrasonic generator will fill an entire room with the high-pitched squeal, but walls and doors will block quite a bit of the noise. Still, distance provides the best assurance that your control group isn't benefiting from the ultrasonic stimulation.
During the course of your experiment, you might find it interesting to change the timing cycle from that used in the original research. Unlike photovoltaic stimulation, ultrasound also benefits plants that are in bright sunlight. Tests have even shown that, with ultrasonic treatment, plants will grow in the dark!
ANOTHER CATCH
As your experiment progresses, you'll discover that ultrasonically stimulated plants show some side effects. Though treated plants do grow taller, they seem to do so at the expense of fullness of foliage. The control plants will be robust but short, while the experimental group will be tall, spindly, and darkly pigmented. Apparently, the stimulated plants aren't able to absorb nutrients fast enough to keep up with their accelerated growth rate.
Once the sound is removed, however, the plants will produce normal foliage. And if your results are similar to the ones I've investigated, the experimental plants will remain larger than their normal counterparts.
What is the answer to conquering this apparent problem of plant starvation? I don't know . . . but maybe some clever research by one of MOTHER's readers will turn up some clues. I wonder what would happen if you combined photovoltaic root stimulation with ultrasound.
The Effects of Ultrasound
Unfortunately, ultrasound isn't without side effects. Though there is no strong evidence that the high-frequency waves are damaging to humans, scientists are exercising some caution about its widespread use. Also, though the frequency used for plant stimulation is well above the limit of human hearing, some animals can perceive it and may be hurt.
For rabbits, mice, gerbils, and monkeys, continued exposure to this sort of sound can cause lackluster appetite, loss of weight, and (in extreme cases) even death. If you have pets, you should keep in mind that ultrasound is earsplitting to those creatures that can hear it.
(article about Ultrasonics from http://theseilers.homeip.net/MotherEarthNews/MEN_CD/Archive/1984-05-01/69552.html)
ABILITY of Plants TO HEAR (extract from a research article with a certain sound frequency)
Mordecai Jaffe (Wake Forest University) used an instrument that made a loud "warble" and got a doubling in the growth of dwarf pea plants. Jaffe suspects that the plant hormone gibberellic acid, which is instrumental in shoot elongation and seed germination, is involved in the "hearing" response. When Jaffe added chemicals to the pea plants inhibiting the biosynthesis of this hormone, he was unable to reproduce the original effects.
Photo : The results of one experiment showed a dramatic increase in growth rate with ultrasound stimulation.
4. Ultrasonics for plant growth
ULTRASONICS
Sound is vibration that travels through air. Without those molecules of nitrogen, oxygen, carbon dioxide, etc., there would be no sound: A telephone ringing in outer space would go unanswered even if an astronaut happened to be floating by, because no one could hear it. Sound vibrations come in a wide range of frequencies. The audio range—which extends up to about 20,000 vibrations per second (cycles per second or CPS)—includes those frequencies that people can hear. Of course, some individuals do hear better than others. Women, in particular, can usually detect noises that are of too high a frequency for men to hear. And most animals exhibit hearing capabilities superior to those of humans. Many insects, for example, can produce and hear frequencies that are beyond our limitations.
When the frequency of a sound extends beyond our normal hearing limit, we have ultrasound. Fig. 1 illustrates the sound frequency range from 0 to 50,000 CPS and shows the hearing capabilities of humans and several animals.
ACCELERATED PLANT GROWTH
The possibility that plants might respond to sound waves was explored to some extent more than a century ago. Charles Darwin, the famous evolutionary theorist, was convinced that sound could benefit plant growth. He even attempted—without success—to stimulate plant growth with notes from the bassoon and other musical instruments. Similar tests were performed by the eminent German plant physiologist Wilhelm Pfeffer, with the same negative results.
Early experiments were largely confined to using frequencies in the audio range, and most of those tests were done with frequencies so low that they could actually be felt by humans. It wasn't until the development of electronic oscillators that scientists were able to experiment with ultrasonic plant growth acceleration. The better-equipped researchers discovered that the effect only becomes noticeable at frequencies higher than 20,000 CPS and that the benefit continues to increase up to about 50,000 CPS.
ACTUAL RESULTS
The report I ran across discussed the effects of bathing radishes in ultrasound. One flat of seeds was placed in an environmentally controlled chamber with 50,000 CPS ultrasound piped in at an output of about one watt; the second group (called a control) was set in an identical chamber but did not receive exposure to ultrasound. Artificial lighting was switched on in both chambers for 12 hours each day (during which time the experimental flat received ultrasound). Both groups were watered and cared for equally.
After about seven days, the seeds in both trays began to sprout. One week is just about the normal germination period for radishes, so up to that point in the experiment, ultrasound didn't seem to offer any benefit.
It soon became apparent, though, that the seedlings receiving ultrasound treatment were growing much more rapidly than their control counterparts. In fact, by the fourteenth day the experimental plants were half again as tall as the ones in the "quiet" chamber.
The experiment continued for 28 days, the same period of time used in the photovoltaic root stimulation tests. By the end of the test, the plants treated with ultrasonic vibrations had grown an average of 87% taller than their control cousins. (The actual growth rates are shown in graphic form in Fig. 2.) Repetitions of the experiment were run to confirm the initial results, and some of the later tests showed growth rate increases of as much as 150%!
It isn't exactly clear why ultrasound stimulates plant growth. Evidence seems to support the theory that the sound acts as a catalyst, activating the production of plant hormones called auxins. As was the case with photovoltaic root stimulation, however, concrete explanations will have to wait for further research.
LET'S GIVE IT A TRY
Since seeing is believing, you'll probably want to stage your own experiment. This test will be a little more involved than the one we used for photovoltaic stimulation, but it's still not difficult to perform.
Your first (and main) problem will be obtaining an ultrasonic generator of suitable quality. Commercial generators are too expensive for most of us to buy simply to satisfy our curiosity, but you might be able to use one owned by a high school or college. Also, most TV repair shops keep an ultrasound generator on hand, even though they rarely need it. (If you try to strike a deal to borrow or rent a generator from one of these sources, be sure that the unit has an output of at least one-half watt.)
And there's yet another possible source of high-frequency sound. Have you seen advertisements for rodent-repelling machines? Such devices are simply frequency generators that supposedly scare away the varmints by flooding a room with high-intensity ultrasound. These devices could be just the ticket . . . except that they, too, are pretty pricey. Better ones cost up to $100, and the $20 models probably won't work for our purposes. If you already own a good-quality "rat ridder", though, it will serve well for your experiment.
If none of the above possibilities bear fruit, you can build your own ultrasonic generator. It's not a difficult electronics project, and the device can be assembled for under $20 from parts available at a local Radio Shack store. The schematic (Fig. 3) shows the layout; the only other thing you'll need is a 12-volt power supply. Either a battery eliminator or a car battery will work.
There's some evidence that higher frequencies stimulate greater growth, so you might experiment with your homemade generator by changing the value of the capacitor listed as C1. If you substitute a capacitor smaller than the one shown, the frequency will increase. Also, don't be tempted to use a conventional speaker instead of the tweeter called for in the design. Normal speakers aren't capable of reproducing the high frequencies that we're looking for.
For your experiment to have any validity, the two groups of plants you use will have to be well separated from each other. The ultrasonic generator will fill an entire room with the high-pitched squeal, but walls and doors will block quite a bit of the noise. Still, distance provides the best assurance that your control group isn't benefiting from the ultrasonic stimulation.
During the course of your experiment, you might find it interesting to change the timing cycle from that used in the original research. Unlike photovoltaic stimulation, ultrasound also benefits plants that are in bright sunlight. Tests have even shown that, with ultrasonic treatment, plants will grow in the dark!
ANOTHER CATCH
As your experiment progresses, you'll discover that ultrasonically stimulated plants show some side effects. Though treated plants do grow taller, they seem to do so at the expense of fullness of foliage. The control plants will be robust but short, while the experimental group will be tall, spindly, and darkly pigmented. Apparently, the stimulated plants aren't able to absorb nutrients fast enough to keep up with their accelerated growth rate.
Once the sound is removed, however, the plants will produce normal foliage. And if your results are similar to the ones I've investigated, the experimental plants will remain larger than their normal counterparts.
What is the answer to conquering this apparent problem of plant starvation? I don't know . . . but maybe some clever research by one of MOTHER's readers will turn up some clues. I wonder what would happen if you combined photovoltaic root stimulation with ultrasound.
The Effects of Ultrasound
Unfortunately, ultrasound isn't without side effects. Though there is no strong evidence that the high-frequency waves are damaging to humans, scientists are exercising some caution about its widespread use. Also, though the frequency used for plant stimulation is well above the limit of human hearing, some animals can perceive it and may be hurt.
For rabbits, mice, gerbils, and monkeys, continued exposure to this sort of sound can cause lackluster appetite, loss of weight, and (in extreme cases) even death. If you have pets, you should keep in mind that ultrasound is earsplitting to those creatures that can hear it.
(article about Ultrasonics from http://theseilers.homeip.net/MotherEarthNews/MEN_CD/Archive/1984-05-01/69552.html)
ABILITY of Plants TO HEAR (extract from a research article with a certain sound frequency)
Mordecai Jaffe (Wake Forest University) used an instrument that made a loud "warble" and got a doubling in the growth of dwarf pea plants. Jaffe suspects that the plant hormone gibberellic acid, which is instrumental in shoot elongation and seed germination, is involved in the "hearing" response. When Jaffe added chemicals to the pea plants inhibiting the biosynthesis of this hormone, he was unable to reproduce the original effects.
Stevie Wonder
A 1973 book entitled The Secret Life of Plants -- A fascinating account of the physical, emotional, and spiritual relations between plants and man helped rekindle fascination with the ephemeral side of the plant world.
Stevie Wonder released a brilliant double album entitled Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants which served as the sound track for the 1978 Documentary Film, The Secret Life Of Plants.
Our suggestion: Try playing Stevie Wonder's "Secret Life" record to your plants!
Stevie Wonder released a brilliant double album entitled Journey Through The Secret Life of Plants which served as the sound track for the 1978 Documentary Film, The Secret Life Of Plants.
Our suggestion: Try playing Stevie Wonder's "Secret Life" record to your plants!
One of the first music in the market to grow plants with
Corelli-Jacobs - Music to Grow Plants
If your plants need any help growing, I guess that this would do the job. Dr. George Milstein thought that this was really a good idea.
George Milstein, a New York horticulturist, has determined that music helps plants grow. 'The secret,' he says, 'is a high frequency sound that blends right in with the music. I believe that the sound waves cause the plants to keep their pores open longer and wider, allowing a greater exchange with the air around them.' So once a day for forty-five minutes he plays music for his plants, and he has been so successful that he now has produced a record called Music to Grow Plants By. (Captain James Conely in Air University Review March-April 1972)
The music is orchestral sorta-funk lounge, the type of music used in movies and TV shows back in the 1970s when this record came out and also found on "library" records.
Note: The music is credited to Corelli-Jacobs on the record's label. There doesn't seem to be any information about them on the Internet.
Listen to this music on this link or on the link below : http://www.robertkelleyphd.com/MusicToGrowPlants.mp3
If your plants need any help growing, I guess that this would do the job. Dr. George Milstein thought that this was really a good idea.
George Milstein, a New York horticulturist, has determined that music helps plants grow. 'The secret,' he says, 'is a high frequency sound that blends right in with the music. I believe that the sound waves cause the plants to keep their pores open longer and wider, allowing a greater exchange with the air around them.' So once a day for forty-five minutes he plays music for his plants, and he has been so successful that he now has produced a record called Music to Grow Plants By. (Captain James Conely in Air University Review March-April 1972)
The music is orchestral sorta-funk lounge, the type of music used in movies and TV shows back in the 1970s when this record came out and also found on "library" records.
Note: The music is credited to Corelli-Jacobs on the record's label. There doesn't seem to be any information about them on the Internet.
Listen to this music on this link or on the link below : http://www.robertkelleyphd.com/MusicToGrowPlants.mp3
History from 1963 : Music experiments to grow Corn
Ten years before the publication of The Secret Life of Plants (1973) and Dorothy Retallack’s The Sound of Music and Plants, guess which publication was exploring whether or not Rhapsody in Blue would make corn grow faster? Well, if you want old school geekery, you can’t do much better than Popular Mechanics. The following story (my condensation and paraphrasing) by Clifford B. Hicks appeared in the May, 1963 issue: In 1960, George E. Smith, a farmer and botanist living near Normal, Illinois, heard from the farm editor of his local paper that experiments conducted in India showed rice plants exposed to classical music growing faster and higher. Smith immediately started his own music trials on corn and soybeans. In the greenhouse, plants exposed to Gershwin 24 hours a day grew faster and weighed more. In the spring, Smith tried it outside, again with Gershwin, as well as sustained single notes. At harvest time, the plots exposed to music yielded at least 20 bushels an acre more than those grown in nature’s usual ambience. Smith also found that plants did even better exposed to a single high or low note—thus suggesting that sound waves were warming the soil and stimulating growth. Plants too close to the speakers experienced some foliage damage, but there was a difference in yields of 30 bushels an acre between the “silent” plots and the plots exposed to a single low note.
Smith was convinced that sound waves had an effect on plant growth, but refused to voice any definitive conclusions, and, at the end of the article, was planning to experiment further.
One wonders what came of it all. I don’t hear Gershwin or any other sustained sound coming from our local corn fields; I think it’s safe to say that the practice never made it into the mainstream. Now that corn production is bigger than ever, I wonder if this or other eccentric means of increasing volume will be revived.
Smith was convinced that sound waves had an effect on plant growth, but refused to voice any definitive conclusions, and, at the end of the article, was planning to experiment further.
One wonders what came of it all. I don’t hear Gershwin or any other sustained sound coming from our local corn fields; I think it’s safe to say that the practice never made it into the mainstream. Now that corn production is bigger than ever, I wonder if this or other eccentric means of increasing volume will be revived.
CDs with Music selections and new creations for your Plants
I'm editing regularly new music selections and new creations of beautiful music for plants.
If you want to discover them, you can purchase CDs.
You can contact me, if you want more information about music and plants, how to do, how to set up experiments, which music to use in your garden, at home, for your orchids or for yours crops.
You can contact me at
email : [email protected]
phone : (+33) 6 88 08 68 94 (France)
skype : yannicksonic
Looking forward to talk to you,
Yannick Van Doorne, agronomist.
Below video : TV documentary from more then 30 years ago about the relation between music, feelings and plants. Amasing.
If you want to discover them, you can purchase CDs.
You can contact me, if you want more information about music and plants, how to do, how to set up experiments, which music to use in your garden, at home, for your orchids or for yours crops.
You can contact me at
email : [email protected]
phone : (+33) 6 88 08 68 94 (France)
skype : yannicksonic
Looking forward to talk to you,
Yannick Van Doorne, agronomist.
Below video : TV documentary from more then 30 years ago about the relation between music, feelings and plants. Amasing.
Big Wind Chime tuned to 432 hz, resonates with the natural sound frequencies of nature
Big wind chime in hard wood and stainless stell tubes. Each tube is tuned to the musical notes in harmony with 432 Hz tuning. The result is a beautiful magical natural music that brings balance and harmony all around.
Th length of the biggest tube is around 110 cm, this gives you an idea of the size of the windchime. It sounds like in a church.
Price 150 euros and 15 euros for international transport anywhere in the world, outside France.
For inside France the price is 150 euros and 6 or 9 euros of transport.
Th length of the biggest tube is around 110 cm, this gives you an idea of the size of the windchime. It sounds like in a church.
Price 150 euros and 15 euros for international transport anywhere in the world, outside France.
For inside France the price is 150 euros and 6 or 9 euros of transport.
€
185.00
.
Below you find some Scientific Articles
about the research of the influence of music, sounds, sound frequencies on plant growth, development, see germination and living cells.
One of the most interesting articles is the one from Weinberger and Measures you find in the list below.
Below you find some Scientific Articles
about the research of the influence of music, sounds, sound frequencies on plant growth, development, see germination and living cells.
One of the most interesting articles is the one from Weinberger and Measures you find in the list below.
weinberger_improving_plant_growth_1971.pdf | |
File Size: | 325 kb |
File Type: |
tanshen-study_music_plants_mais_2009.pdf | |
File Size: | 608 kb |
File Type: |
creath.__measuring_effects_of_music_using_a_seed_germination_bioassay.pdf | |
File Size: | 556 kb |
File Type: |
favoured_frequency_patent_charnoe_1977.pdf | |
File Size: | 141 kb |
File Type: |
effect_of_sound_stimulation_on_cell_cycle_of_chrysanthemum.pdf | |
File Size: | 204 kb |
File Type: |
turkey_university-music_root_growth_onion-2007.pdf | |
File Size: | 556 kb |
File Type: |
marciariley-musicplants_study.pdf | |
File Size: | 235 kb |
File Type: |