Abstract

Previous studies show that plants can recognize and respond to different sounds, such as insect-chewing and running water. Prior research demonstrated that plants can learn and respond to stimuli like touch; it is unclear if plants can have a conditioned response to sound. Our former study found that plants can recognize the sound of stream water (SW) and continue growing throughout drought. Experimentation aimed to investigate if Cucumis sativus plants can grow throughout drought when conditioned to associate non-water sounds to the sound of water. The hypothesis was that cucumber plants would respond to sounds besides SW after auditory conditioning. Some groups were given a training phase (TP) to help them develop an association between their chosen sound and watering session, while others were not given a TP. After the TP was concluded, all groups went into drought stress, while still being exposed to sound. Control groups had no exposure to sound at all. Shoot lengths, leaf lengths, and chlorophyll contents were collected throughout and at the end of the experiment. Overall, groups with rock music (RM) and TP and the sound of water with or without TP had a visible increase in growth, while RM without TP had comparable results to control. Future research will determine if the ability of plants to respond to auditory conditioned learning is altered depending on the time of training relative to the stages of a plant’s life cycle, similarly to a person’s capability to learn and develop at different stages of life.