I've heard (from more than one source) that music has the ability to help flowers grow. I'm interested to know if anyone has found any evidence to support this claim and how so. And also if it has also been tested on trees, or other living things, and with what sorts of results.
It's a myth.
Oh, I suppose you can concoct some semi-plausible argument involving vibrations of the air or some such, but that's not really about music, now is it?
...I seem to remember MythBusters did some experiment involving talking to plants, but it's pretty much in the same bag of woo as playing music to them. Any physical interaction is still between plant cells and moving air molecules.
Oh, by the way, I guess I should explain what I mean by "woo" more precisely for those of us with anus-related issues (Myself not only among them, but pretty damned near the top)
It may well be that (rhythmically) shaking a plant cell may facilitate faster cell division and/or alter cell growth directly or through for instance positively affecting transport of nourishment to the cell in question. However, whether the shaking is done through sound waves bouncing off the stem or "ye olde shaking machine" may very well be completely irrelevant.
The woo part stems from plants not being human, thus having no "human appreciation" of what music is, nor for that matter having a nervous system with which to perceive sound waves as music. And that's not even going into the realm of personal taste. For example, I'm reasonably confident that several HAFers would characterize some of what I consider music as "terrible racket."
So, yeah... Nonsense, if by music you mean music. Maybe-possibly-depends if by music you "simply" mean inducing vibrations in the system.
MOD ACTION: Merged own successive posts. -Asmo
Quote from: WogglebugLovingFilms on December 14, 2016, 06:45:30 AM
I've heard (from more than one source) that music has the ability to help flowers grow. I'm interested to know if anyone has found any evidence to support this claim and how so. And also if it has also been tested on trees, or other living things, and with what sorts of results.
Asmodean's answer is correct, but I'll provide a source: "Does music have any effect on plant growth, if so why and how?" |
UCSB [University of California, Santa Barbara] ScienceLine (http://scienceline.ucsb.edu/getkey.php?key=1495)
QuoteThere is no evidence to suggest that music has any effect on plant growth. Some people believe that it does in a mystical sense, but it has never been verified scientifically. Moreover, there is no reason, scientifically, to believe that plants should be affected by music either.
As for animals (specifically lab animals), it seems that music
may have a beneficial effect, but as a review paper (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23340788) I found puts it, this effect "depend[s] on the species and the type of music."
I do think it's pretty likely that music could alter the behavior of the persons caring for plants, though.
Many moons ago there was a very large poultry facility at a location just north of Ocala Florida. It was some two hundred meters east of the highway. The operator of the facility believed that his chickens would produce more and better eggs if they were exposed to classical music....Brahms, Mozart, and others. I have stopped several times to hear the music emanating from the huge barn. The music was pleasing. Whether the chickens cared is not known. The owner of the facility was thoroughly convinced that the music was a positive factor that influenced egg production. Whether the egg farmer was a kook is subject to debate. He was, in fact, an educated and credentialed animal husbandry person.
Beings capable of perceiving music are definitely influenced by it. Whether or not it makes chickens lay better eggs is likely up for debate. The shopping industry has well documented its effects on human purchasing patterns, as nauseum
It is known that plants have to be placed in a pyramid for music to have any efficacy.