Sunday Times 2
Fennel is no fun, but chilli chats to basil
Scientists from the University of Western Australia may found evidence that plants can ‘talk’ each other using microscopic sounds.
A study looking into how chilli plants grow has discovered that when seedlings are put next to so-called ‘friendly’ plants, they grow stronger.
Yet, when the seedlings were put near ‘bad neighbours’, such as fennel, germination was hindered. The team, lead by researcher Dr Monica Gagliano, found that sprouting chilli plants grow more successfully next to ‘friendly’ neighbour, which in the chilli plant’s case was an adult basil plant.
Yet place them next a neighbour from hell, such as fennel, and germination is held back. The study even discovered that the plants recognise what kind of plant lives next door when they are still seeds. Gagliano said: ‘Our results show that plants are able to positively influence the growth of seeds by some as yet unknown mechanism.
‘Bad neighbours, such as fennel, prevent chilli seed germination in the same way. ‘We believe that the answer may involve acoustic signals generated using nanomechanical oscillations from inside the cell which allow rapid communication between nearby plants.’
© Daily Mail, London
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