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ASSOCIATION OF GLOBAL SCIENCE INNOVATIONS (AGSI) (1999)
Vol. IV Iss 6
Available online at www.ijiit.net
(A Peer Review E-3 Journal of Science Innovation Technology)
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Effect of Music on Plants An Overview
Anindita Roy Chowdhury and Anshu Gupta*
Department of Basic and Applied Sciences, School of Engineering, G D Goenka University, Gurgaon 122103, India
A R T I C L E I N F O
Article history:
Received 09 December 15
Received in revised form 19 Dec 15
Accepted 28 December 15
Keywords:
Germination
Tagetes sp. Marigold
Cicer arietinum Chickpea
Light Indian Music
Meditation Music
Noise
A B S T R A C T
Plants are known to respond to stimuli and music is considered as one. It has been observed that different
types of sound affect the health of plants differently. In this paper, the influence of acoustic frequencies
including those of music on the growth pattern of plants as observed by many researchers have been
reported. Besides, the authors have carried out a pilot study to observe the response of Tagetes sp.
(marigold) to Light Indian Music and Meditation Music as well as to noise. They have also monitored the
germination of Cicer arietinum (chickpea) on exposure to Light Indian Music. It could be commented that
music promoted the growth and development of the plants, including germination whereas noise hindered
it. Possibly, specific audible frequencies and also musical frequencies facilitate better physiological
processes like absorption of nutrients, photosynthesis, protein synthesis, etc. for the plant and this is
observable in terms of increased height, higher number of leaves and overall more developed and healthier
plants.
© 2012 Editor-IJIIT. Hosting by AGSI Publications. All rights reserved.
How to cite this article: Anindita Roy Chowdhury and Anshu Gupta (2015). Effect of Music on Plants An Overview,
International Journal of Integrative Sciences, Innovation and Technology (IJIIT), 4(6), 30 34.
1. Introduction
Music is known to have a profound effect on human beings. Plants are
also living objects that breathe and grow. Some scientists are of the
opinion that plants are devoid of a nervous system and therefore are
unable to understand music or respond to music. However, there are a
few studies which suggest that music may have distinct effect on
plants. Sir Jagdish Chandra Bose was one of the pioneers to study the
behavior of plants in response to various stimuli ([1]-[3]). Music is a
harmonious and coherent blend of various frequencies and vibrations
and has many different forms, qualities, and pitches. It is believed that
loud and unharmonious sounds can ruin the mood and health of a plant
and blossoms. Soft rhythmic music on the other hand is better for their
growth and blossoms, and thus may increase plants‟ rate of growth,
their size and influence their overall health. The work of Reddy et al.,
showed that Indian classical ragas had a positive impact on overall
plant protein production on plants like wheat, spinach, horse gram,
soya and paddy. Musical vibrations stimulated seed germination of
„okra‟ and zucchini ([4]-[5]).
Music not only accelerates growth but also significantly influences the
concentration of various metabolites; e.g. chlorophyll and starch are
increased by it [6]. Experiments by Chivukula and Ramaswamy [7]
showed that soothing vibration in the form of vedic chants and Indian
classical music endorsed growth of rose (Rosa chinensis) whereas rock
music stunted growth. Plants exposed to western music were found
largely similar to the control plants except for the fact that the density
of thorns in these rose plants were higher. Indole Acetic Acid (IAA) is
an essential plant hormone that helps in plant‟s growth and
development. Zhu and co-workers observed that IAA content in plants
were found at an increased level in six species of vegetable plants when
exposed to musical acoustic frequencies in comparison to the control
plants [8]. Yi and colleagues reported that sound stimulation increased
the metabolism of roots and hence the growth of chrysanthemum [9].
Vanol and Vaidya applied sounds of varying frequencies and types
(classical music, rhythmic rock music and non-rhythmic traffic noise)
Anindita Roy Chowdhury and Anshu Gupta. ISSN 2278 - 1145
Int. J. Int Sci. Inn. Tech. Vol. IV, Iss. 6 pg 30 - 34 Page 31
to Guar plants and monitored the parameters such as number of seeds
germinated in petri-dishes, difference in height of plants and number of
leaves for 13 days, on daily basis. Their results showed positive effect
on exposure to classical music and rhythmic rock music, and negative
effect of non-rhythmic traffic noise as compared to control or untreated
plants. On the contrary some other researchers showed that compared
to silence, any kind of sound promoted growth in bean plants ([10]-
[11]). Sonic exposure increased the oxygen content and level of
polyamines in cucumber and Chinese cabbage, thus improving overall
plant health [12]. Findings also suggested that high frequency sound
waves retard the growth of Aspergillus spp., a type of fungus [13].
This fact can be tapped for the benefit of the food industry.
2. Sound, Music and Standing Waves
In a musical scale, every note has its own frequency value [14]. Ratio
of the frequencies of two notes determines the musical interval which
describes the difference between two notes. Music that is pleasant to
the ears is usually a combination of simple frequency ratios. Musical
notes in a given scale played sequentially generates melody [15]. When
sound waves propagate through air, it leads to air pressure disturbance.
Thus, vibrations from tuning fork, musical instruments, diaphragm of a
loudspeaker, vocal cords, etc. create air pressure disturbances of the
corresponding frequency and intensity. Basically, two conditions that
are required for the generation and propagation of sound waves are a
vibratory disturbance of frequencies in the audible frequency range of
20 Hz to 20,000 Hz and an elastic medium. Speed, pitch, loudness,
quality or timbre characterizes sound waves [16].
Music is created in different instruments by forming standing waves.
Whenever two waves with equal frequency and wavelength moving
through a medium perfectly reinforce each other, standing waves result.
Standing waves can occur in all elastic media and are created in the
guitar strings, skin of the drumhead, column of air in flute, etc.
Whenever, a note is played in a musical instrument, a medium vibrates
due to which the sound is produced. Frequency of the desired note is
the fundamental frequency caused by the first mode of vibration.
Interestingly, many higher modes of vibration always naturally occur at
the same time when a specific note is played. Fundamental frequency
and all its overtones together produce the sound of the desired musical
note. Overtones are the integral multiples of the fundamental frequency
and all have different intensities - lower than that of the fundamental
frequency. Fundamental and the overtones are also referred as
harmonics. The frequencies of harmonics form an arithmetic sequence.
Fundamentally, certain frequencies are associated with different
musical notes. For example, frequency of the middle C on the piano
keyboard has a frequency of approximately 262 Hz ([14], [16] [20]).
3. Growth in Living Organisms
An irreversible permanent increase in size, volume or mass of a cell or
entire organism is termed as growth. All living organisms including
plants experience growth. At a cellular level, growth is generally
regarded as a consequence of increase in the amount of protoplasm
measuring which directly is difficult. So, growth is measured in terms
of parameters like increase in weight, length, area, volume, cell
number, etc. Increase in growth per unit time defines growth rate. Per
unit time growth can also be expressed in terms of initial parameters,
thus, accounting for relative growth measurement. Cell division leads
to growth of plant; and nucleus, chloroplast, vacuoles and ribosomes
play an important role in this process. [21]
4. Growth Influenced by Acoustic Frequencies
Sound is a wave and music is a specific kind of melodious sound.
These waves capable of moving through elastic media are characterized
by specific frequencies. Plants being living organisms get affected by
external stimuli. Many researchers have used sound wave frequencies
as external stimuli and studied their effect on plants. Collins and
Foreman [22] subjected beans and impatiens plants to sounds of
different frequencies (5000 Hz, 6000 Hz, 12000 Hz, and 14000 Hz).
Under similar environmental conditions favourable for plant growth,
the plants were kept inside a chamber and the sound waves were
directed towards them. The process of speaker diaphragm moving back
and forth generated a wave in the vicinity in air medium. Compression
portion of the wave generated increased pressure and rarefaction
generated reduced pressure and this propagated along the surface of the
leaves creating a scrubbing or brushing action on the leaf surface. This
helped in removal of the moisture film and facilitated the leaf to
breathe or transpire better. Most favorable growth was observed in both
beans and the impatiens plants when the wavelength of the sound
played matched with the dimension of the leaf of the plant [22].
Xiujuan and team reported that sound wave accelerated the synthesis of
RNA and soluble protein that increased the level of transcription and in
turn promoted better growth [23].
Metabolism in plants can be greatly affected by music. Plants are
reported to behave differently to different music types and frequency.
Sternheimer, a French physicist and musician, has framed melodies that
apparently help plants grow. The notes are designed on the basis of the
quantum vibrations that occur at the molecular level as a protein is
being assembled from its constituent amino acids. Length of a note
correspond to the real time that is taken by each amino acid to come
after the next. Thus, on playing the appropriate tune, production of
protein increases in the plant and hence, its growth is stimulated.
Sternheimer remarked that tomatoes exposed to such tunes grew two
and a half times better than the control ones; even virus growth in
tomato plants could be stopped by playing tunes that inhibited enzymes
essential for it ([24] [25]).
Growth rate in terms of height and biomass respectively increased by
20% and 72% when treated with classical music, i.e. raga music played
on Indian musical instruments like flute, violin, and harmonium.
Similar positive effect was observed in field crops - like size increment
in the range of 25% to 60% above other regional crops. Petunias and
marigolds were found to flower two weeks before the scheduled time
when exposed to the rhythm of bharatnatyam, an ancient Indian
classical dance style [26].
Cai et al., exposed mung bean (Vigna radiate) to sound of frequencies
1000–1500 Hz, 1500–2000 Hz, and 2000–2500 Hz, and measured their
development in terms of mean germination time, length and weight of
the stem and root that developed from the bean. They reported
significant reduction of germination time and increase in growth of the
seedlings when exposed to frequency of 2000 Hz and intensity of 90
dB [27].
Frequency of audible sound may stimulate the opening of leaf stomata
and thus, facilitate the plant to absorb more dew, more light energy and
help it to grow better. Audible sound with certain frequencies are
expected to enable better respiration and absorption of nutrients as
Anindita Roy Chowdhury and Anshu Gupta. ISSN 2278 - 1145
Int. J. Int Sci. Inn. Tech. Vol. IV, Iss. 6 pg 30 - 34 Page 32
well. Vibrations are caused in plant leaves due to sound waves. Sound
energy also gets reflected and diffracted around the leaves and may
thus affect the insects near the plants. Not only this, some researchers
even report that plants also emit acoustic waves. Plant Acoustic
Frequency Technology (PAFT) uses an acoustic frequency generator to
produce appropriate acoustic wave that is similar to the frequency of
the specific sound of the plant itself. It has been reported that if the
applied frequency resonates with the plant‟s natural frequency, then
rate of photosynthesis and cell division increases leading to faster
growth of plant and hence fruit bearing time for the plants under
resonant frequency treatment is reached before the control plants.
Experiments performed with sweet potato, cucumber and tomato
indicated the improvement of crop quality and enhanced disease
resistance capacity. The yields of sweet potato, cucumber and tomato
exposed to the specific frequencies were 63.05%, 67.1% and 13.2%
higher than those of the control group, respectively ([28] [30]).
Hou et al., measured the emissions from the phylodendron leaves and
found that they produced a frequency of 50 Hz to 120 Hz. They also
observed that these leaves accepted external stimulus of frequency
lower than 150 Hz and showed a good response in terms of better
growth. [31].
Chemical fertilizers and pesticides are hazardous for plants and in turn
for the human population who consumes their product. Various studies
have shown the positive effect of sound waves including music on
various plant parts which ultimately led to a better and healthy yield of
plants. Based on the exposure time, sound pressure levels and
frequencies plants, in general, showed a positive growth trend and
better immune system. Low frequency sound is known to activate
enzymes, increase cell fluidity and enhance other growth parameters
like DNA replication and cell cycling. The living matter - protoplasm
in plants is in a constant state of motion and with exposure to music
this motion is accelerated leading to higher growth and more
production ([32] [33]).
Dorothy Retallack [34] conducted several experiments to observe the
effect of music of different types on plants and inferred music as a
positive factor for growth. Classical music of specific frequency,
interval and rhythm accompanied with dynamically changing lyrics
positively influenced root growth and mitotic division in onion plants.
Mi-Jeong and co-workers played 14 different classical music pieces
including Beethoven‟s music to rice plants and monitored gene
expression. Audible sound at frequencies 125Hz and 250Hz made
genes more active for the process of DNA code translation into
biological processes like growth ([35] [38]).
5. Pilot Investigation
In this pilot investigation, the authors aimed to investigate any known
effects of Light Indian Music and Meditation Music on the growth and
health of marigold (Tagetes) plants. Vis-à-vis the effect of noise on
marigold plants has been investigated. Germination of chickpea (Cicer
arietinum) on exposure to music has also been studied.
5.1 Materials and Methods
Marigold belongs to the genus Tagetes and specifically, it can be T.
erecta, T. patula and T. tenuifolia, where T stands for Tagetes [39].
This investigation was divided into three sub-groups. Each sub-group
chose a specific type of acoustic frequency. They were Meditation
Music‟, „Light Indian Music‟ and „Noise‟.
For every sub-group, two plants, approximately less than one feet in
height were taken in two different pots and all the basic conditions
required for plant growth, like air, water, light, fertilizer, etc. were kept
similar. One pot was chosen as „Treatment plant‟ (marked T) and the
other as „Control plant (marked C). Every day, the selected type of
sound was repeatedly played for four hours to the plant marked „T‟ and
during this period, the other plant marked „C‟ was not exposed to any
specific audio wave. This method was continued for one complete
month on each of the three sets of plants. The growth pattern of every
plant was monitored regularly, once every week, according to certain
parameters like height attained, number of buds and flowers that
appeared along with the general growth. Growth of leaves was also
assessed in terms of their numbers and size.
Separately, another experiment was carried out to observe germination
of chickpea (Cicer arietinum) seeds in presence of Light Indian
Music‟ vis-à-vis no music. Thirty seeds were sown in each pot. The
number of seeds that germinated was recorded; their general health and
development into saplings were also observed. The preliminary facts
that emerged from these experiments are summarized below.
5.2 Result and Discussion
With Light Indian music, it was observed that the rate in gain of height
attained by the treated marigold plant (T) was better than the one not
treated. Number of buds and number of flowers were always higher on
the treated plant. A particular leaf marked on each plant to monitor the
growth also showed a higher gain in its length and hence in its area
with exposure to music. In Fig. 1 below, the photographs of the
„Control plant (C)‟ and „Treatment plant (T)‟ for Light Indian Music
are shown.
Fig. 1 Various Stages of the Marigold Plant Set exposed to Light
Indian Music
Similarly on exposure to meditation music, the different factors that are
selected as attributes of growth, i.e. height attained, number of buds
and flowers, including the leaf length are always higher in the treatment
marigold plant. So, it is observed that in general, the growth observed
in the plant listening to music (T) is faster and better than the one not
listening to the music (C). Fig. 2 displays the pictures of the „Control
plant (C)‟ and „Treatment plant (T)‟ for Meditation Music.
Anindita Roy Chowdhury and Anshu Gupta. ISSN 2278 - 1145
Int. J. Int Sci. Inn. Tech. Vol. IV, Iss. 6 pg 30 - 34 Page 33
Fig. 2 Various Stages of the Marigold Plant Set exposed to
Meditation Music
Under the exposure to noise, both treatment and control marigold
plants showed similar growth patterns in the beginning, but second
week onwards number of buds slightly decreased in the treated (T)
plant. In the third and fourth weeks, there was a considerable reduction
in the growth rate of the plant exposed to noise in terms of lesser
number of buds, flowers and growth of leaf. The plant treated with
noise finally started drying during the fourth week as is apparent from
the snapshots of the plant exposed to noise (T) and the respective
control plant shown in Fig. 3. The plant exposed to noise tried to bend
away from the direction the noise was coming from and was greener
towards the farther side from the noise suggesting the plant‟s aversion
to noise.
Fig. 3 Various Stages of the Marigold Plant Set exposed to Noise
In the germination experiment, sprouts were slightly visible on the
second day after the chickpea seeds were sown - 3 in the treated pot
and 2 in the control pot. On the fourth day, 16 saplings were there in
the treated pot and 7 in the other one. On the sixth day, the number of
saplings rose to 23 in the music treated pot and it was 12 in the control
pot. Throughout the duration of germination and development of the
saplings, the ones exposed to Indian Light Music were blooming better
compared to the control saplings. It was noted that the height of the
tallest plant was 14 cm in the control pot whereas it was 13 cm in the
music treated pot. Since, the number of saplings in the treated pot was
more, the average nutrition available per plant was slightly less
compared to the control plant and that possibly was reflected as an
increment of 1 cm in the tallest control sapling compared to the treated
sapling. Chickpea is a winter season crop. As the experiment was
performed during the month of August (rainy season), hence the
saplings started to dry off gradually around the 21st day slower in the
music treated pot (the number of saplings was 22 in the treated pot, and
9 in the control pot on 21st day) (Fig. 4).
Fig. 4 Various Stages of the Germination and Development of Seed
Set exposed to Light Indian Music
The experiments designed here show that soft rhythmic audible
frequencies (that is music) expedites germination of seeds, growth and
development of plants. Possibly, music leads to faster absorption of
nutrients from soil and better production of metabolites which in due
course sums up to growth at a better rate. Increased height of the plants,
higher number of leaves and overall more developed and healthier
plants resulted when exposed to musical frequencies.
6. Conclusion
Summing up all the experimental observations of various workers, it
can be stated that specific audio frequencies in the form of music
facilitated the germination and growth of plants, irrespective of the
music genre. The pilot study of the authors is in line with the similar
observations noted by several other researchers in this domain ([4]
[6], [8] [10], [25] [26], [30], [34] [35]) as has been discussed. On
the other hand noise which is a non-rhythmic and unharmonious
superposition of various audio frequencies was observed to have a
negative effect on the growth of plants. This observation is similar to
the observations of Chivukula and Ramaswamy [7] for rock music
which is also not a soothing vibration.
The increased rate of growth in terms of more flowers, leaves, buds etc.
suggests that specific audible frequencies including music can benefit
the agricultural sector by increasing the productivity. Simultaneously,
this might reduce the requirement of toxic chemical fertilizers and
pesticides and thus, reduce environmental pollution and facilitate the
well-being of plants, animals and human beings. There is a wide scope
to carry out further research in this interdisciplinary domain wherein
physicists, biologists and agricultural engineers can get actively
involved to devise a scheme to nurture this green way of agriculture.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the assistance of Sheetal,
Prince Gupta, Akshay Bharadwaj - B.Tech. students from the School of
Engineering, G. D. Goenka University during the course of this pilot
experiment.
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... In [3] was shown that chlorophyll and starch levels were increased when music it is used in plant growth so usic not only accelerates growth but also significantly influences the concentration of various metabolites. ...
... In [3], the effectiveness of classical music in plant growth is proven. As a result, the proposed model integrates a player equipped with a speaker that will play music during the day. ...
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... Available literature (Karnick, 1983 [12] ; Haid and Huprikar, 2001 [20] ; Roney-Dougal and Solfvin, 2003 [21] ; RERF, 2009 [14] ; Ramsay, 2012 [15] ; Chatterjee et al., 2013 [10] ; Reddy and Ragavan, 2013 [7] ; Chivukula and Ramaswamy, 2014 [5] .; Abhang et al., 2015 [6] .; Chowdhury and Gupta, 2015 [11] ; Sharma et al., 2015 [13] ; [8] ; Prasad and Jois, 2019 [1] ; Prasad and Jois, 2020 [2] . and Poornima, et al., 2021 [22] ) was consulted for collection of information about effect of Raja yoga meditation, music, noise, mantra etc. Collected data about different plants is presented with botanical name, family, effect of meditation on plants and concerned references (Table.1.). ...
... Processes like nutrition absorption, photosynthesis, protein synthesis, etc. for the plant. [6] [29] In addition to accelerating growth, music has a considerable impact on the concentration of several metabolites, such as increasing starch and chlorophyll [7]. ...
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Book series on Medical Science gives the opportunity to students and doctors from all over the world to publish their research work in a set of Preclinical sciences, Internal medicine, Surgery and Public Health. This book series aim to inspire innovation and promote academic quality through outstanding publications of scientists and doctors. It also provides a premier interdisciplinary platform for researchers, practitioners, and educators to publish the most recent innovations, trends, and concerns as well as practical challenges encountered and solutions adopted in the fields of Medical Science. It also provides a remarkable opportunity for the academic, research and doctors communities to address new challenges and share solutions and discuss future research directions in the below field but not limited to the content of the book is as follows.
... [19] . Studies show that soft rhythm of music and sounds have influenced plants to grow healthier [20] . It has been reported that the effect of pirith on growth and yield performance was higher when compared with pop music, thus implying that the rhythmic chanting of pirith is the most appropriate type music that improve performance of Oryza sativa. ...
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