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Feeding the World with Music: Can Music Help Alleviate Food Insecurity?

Isabella Nguyen
12 min read

Abstract 

As global food insecurity rises due to climate change, pests, and disease-related crop losses, there is an urgent need for sustainable methods to enhance agricultural productivity (Horn-Muller, 2023). While chemical fertilizers may boost crop yields, research indicates they can degrade soil quality, harm human and environmental health, and ultimately reduce long-term sustainability (Savci, 2012). This study explores an alternative, non-invasive approach—using sound frequencies to enhance plant growth. 5 groups of daikon radish microgreens were grown for 9 days and exposed to different music genres for 8 days such as no music (control), nature sounds, Indian classical music, rock music, and oriental music. To assess the music genres’ effect on the growth, the stem lengths (cm) of 15 randomly chosen daikon radish microgreens were measured. Furthermore, the chlorophyll content (mg of chlorophyll/g of tissue) was also measured for each group of microgreens to assess the growth and health of the plants. Music did enhance plant growth given that the control group had the lowest mean stem length (2.39 cm) and chlorophyll content (0.02 mg/per g of tissue) whereas rock music had promoted stem length the best (4.37 cm) and oriental music enhanced chlorophyll content the best (0.17 mg/g of tissue). Lower frequencies tended to enhance plant growth the best whereas higher frequencies still promoted plant growth, but had less of an effect. The original hypothesis that Indian classical music will promote plant growth was supported. This study may aid in agricultural development in growing more crops to sustain a larger population. 


Introduction

Plants and crops have been supplying the globe with food for as long as humans can remember. But as of right now, the amount of people undergoing food insecurity has increased from 135 million to 345 million people from 2019 to 2022 in 82 countries, causing a rise in food prices, a key factor in leading 30 million people in low-income countries to food insecurity in 2021 (What you need, 2022). The cause is declining plant health due to diseases, pests, and the detrimental effects of climate change which, as a result, causes the amount of crops available to become less accessible (Horn-Muller, 2023). Fertilizers can help boost plant growth as it is estimated that fertilizers contribute to almost a half of global food production (Fertilizers Are Necessary, 2022). However, research also shows that chemical fertilizers can harm the soils, human health, environmental health, and the production of fertilizers can be extremely dangerous (Fertilizers Are Necessary, 2022). A potential alternative plant-growth enhancer that does not contain dangerous chemicals accessible to everyone is music, or any other form of sound waves and vibration. This project will explore soundwave technology on plants by assessing which genres of music will promote plant growth and contribute to the debate of whether or not music enhances plant growth. In addition to measuring length, chlorophyll content will be measured using a spectrophotometer in relation to the genre of music. Chlorophyll content is a good indicator of photosynthesis activity given that chlorophyll is responsible for absorbing light in order for photosynthesis to occur and, as a result, is an excellent indicator of plant growth (“Chlorophyll,” 2023). 


Food insecurity and its causes 

According to Hunger and Food (2023), food insecurity is the inconsistency of the accessibility of food for everyone in a household fundamental for living a healthy life. Rates of food insecurity are high due to people being unable to afford the high consumer food prices which is the result of climate change, pests, and diseases (Horn-Muller, 2023). Horn-Muller (2023) describes that if too many staple crops are consumed by insects or become diseased, the prices will increase due to the lack of available crops. In addition, warmer temperatures give plants more stress which puts new ecosystems at risk to be exposed to the spread of plant pathogens and pests and make them more vulnerable to diseases and destructive insects (Horn-Muller, 2023). 


What you need (2022) additionally showed that climate change will just keep negatively impacting crop production by reducing water supply, increasing flooding and severe storms, and heat stress. In fact, a 2022 report found that the U.S. will see significant effects of climate change on crop production in the Midwest by 2030 and other research shows that declines on healthy food production is the cause of 500,000 yearly early deaths regarding nutrition (What you need, 2022). The cause of climate change comes from burning fossil fuels and deforestation. The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide into the air and as trees grow, they absorb the carbon dioxide, but due to deforestation, there are less trees that can absorb that carbon dioxide (Gehl, 2023). Carbon dioxide is a key factor in climate change because it is a greenhouse gas (“Plants and Climate,” 2016). Greenhouse gasses trap the sun’s heat in the Earth’s atmosphere, warming the earth, so the more carbon dioxide is being emitted into the atmosphere, the higher Earth’s temperatures will be (Gehl, 2023). Gehl (2023) also found that ecosystem restoration, including restoring plants, could remove up to 30% of carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere and could also be reduced by “rewilding” an area, or encouraging plants to grow that would have naturally grown in that area before humans lived there, to restore and increase biodiversity by attracting insects, birds, and animals. Biodiversity is defined as the variety of all life on Earth (Shaw, 2021). Therefore, prospering plants are essential to fight food insecurity and the cause, climate change. 


Dangers of chemical fertilizers 

Chemical fertilizers can have detrimental effects to human and animal health, environmental health, and the plant itself. When plants fail to grow, botanists often turn to fertilizers. Although, according to Savci (2012), non-organic fertilizers can include dangerous chemicals such as phosphate, nitrate, ammonium, potassium salts, as well as heavy metals and radionuclides which can lead to those absorbing into the soil and into the plants, thus entering the food chain which can be dangerous to consume as well as causing water, soil, and air pollution when these fertilizers are used on plants. Additionally, nitrogen fertilizers can pollute drinking water and rivers with nitrate, a dangerous and cancerous chemical, so when consumed, inflammation in the bowels, digestive systems, and urinary systems of adults can occur (Savci, 2012). Fertilizers are even one of the factors of climate change due to a key ingredient, ammonia, which takes a large amount of energy to make by burning fossil fuels and the production can be extremely dangerous as well (Fertilizers Are Necessary, 2022). For example, Fertilizers Are Necessary (2022) highlights a situation in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in which residents had to evacuate due to the risk of an explosion that could have resulted from a fire at a fertilizer plant. Furthermore, fertilizers can reduce the quality of crops by stripping nutrients from the soils and killing bacteria and fungi that produce organic material fundamental for plants (Schiffman, 2017). Despite these undesirable effects of chemical fertilizers, they are still necessary for the population as it is expected that the demand for food is likely to increase rapidly by around 60% compared to what it was in 2005 due to the estimated population increase from 7.7 billion to 9.7 billion in 2050 (Fertilizers Are Necessary, 2022). Consequently, it is important to find a way to stimulate plant growth sustainably. 


The science behind music and plant growth 

Wang & Xiao (2023) found that music will promote plant growth because of the stimulation of sound waves, or acoustics. Mintzer (2021) defines acoustics as the science regarding the productions, transmission, reception, control, and effects of sound in mediums, or material bodies, such as gasses, liquids, and solids. Sound is emitted when a material body vibrates and the sound then is transmitted through a medium that can carry the vibrations from the producing body to another place (Mintzer, 2021). According to Wang & Xiao (2023), the sound waves’ vibrations generated from music are transmitted to the plants, specifically the stomata, which then increase the openness of the stomata. Stomata are the openings, or pores, on the leaves of plants which are important for gas exchange (Cocking, 2016). When they are enlarged, the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by plants is increased, so as a result, photosynthesis activity is increased, respiration is enhanced, and plants obtain more energy to grow (Wang & Xiao, 2023). 


Materials and methods 

In this experiment, 5 groups (control, NS, IC, RM, and OM) of daikon radish microgreens were grown for 9 days and received the same treatment (amount of light, water, air, etc.) except each of them were exposed to a different music genre (see Table 3). The control group was exposed to no music, NS was exposed to natural sounds (bird sounds, water and rain sounds, wind sounds, etc.), IC was exposed to Indian classical music, RM was exposed to rock music, and OM was exposed to oriental music. Each experimental group was exposed to their corresponding music genre for 2 hours each day for 8 days using wired headphones and electronic devices in sound proof boxes made of cardboard and cotton towels on the sides. 15 microgreens from each group were then randomly chosen and their stem lengths (cm) were measured using a ruler (see Table 1). 


The following day, 30 microgreens from each group were cut, preserved in aluminum foil, and placed in the refrigerator. Within a week of refrigerating them, the chlorophyll content of the microgreens were determined by creating an 80% aqueous acetone solution by combining acetone and water with an acetone to water ratio of 4:1. The 80% acetone solution was then used to extract the chlorophyll of the microgreens by grinding 0.5 g of the leaf tissue of the microgreens using a mortar and pestle with 10 mL of the acetone solution. The mixture in the mortar was then filtered using filter paper into a graduated cylinder. The graduated cylinder was used to measure the total volume of the chlorophyll extract after it was filtered. The total volume was recorded in Table 2 to substitute the variable, V, in the total chlorophyll equation later on. ¾ of a cuvette was then filled with the chlorophyll extract to insert into the Spectrovis spectrophotometer. These steps of extracting the chlorophyll were used for all of the groups of microgreens (control, NS, IC, RM, and OM). Before the chlorophyll extracts could be inserted into the spectrophotometer, a blank needed to be set by filling a cuvette with the 80% acetone solution and inserting it into the spectrophotometer. Then, each of the cuvettes containing the chlorophyll extraction of each group of microgreens were inserted into the Spectrovis spectrophotometer and measured separately. The absorbance reading at 652 nm of each solution was recorded in Table 2 to use in the total chlorophyll equation:

The peak frequencies of the songs exposed to each group of microgreens (NS, IC, RM, and OM) were found using the Audacity app’s “plot spectrum” tool to plot an FFT spectrum. Peaks in the graph were identified and the x values, or frequencies, of the peaks were recorded in Table 3. 


Data 

Table 1. Effect of Different Music Genres on Stem Length (cm) of 15 Daikon Radish Microgreens Each Group 


Table 2. Values of Variables in Total Chlorophyll Equation


Table 3. Peak Frequencies of Songs


Figure 1. Mean Stem Lengths (cm) of Daikon Radish Microgreens Exposed to Different Music Genres


Figure 2. Chlorophyll Content (mg / g of Leaf Tissue) of Daikon Radish Microgreens Exposed to Different Music Genres



Figure 3. Stem Length (cm) of Daikon Radish Microgreens When Exposed to Different Frequencies of Music

Discussion 

According to Figure 1, music does in fact promote plant growth given that the group with the lowest mean stem length was the control group, which did not have any music exposed to it. The microgreens exposed to rock music had the highest mean stem length (4.37 cm) and it increased plant growth by about 83%. Because the p value for control and RM was less than 0.05 (0.0008), the growth of RM was statistically significant. Therefore, it can be concluded that rock music was the most beneficial for the growth of the stems of the microgreens. The original hypothesis that Indian classical music will promote plant growth was supported. The microgreens exposed to Indian classical music had the second highest mean stem length (4 cm) and it increased plant growth by 67%. The p value for control and IC was 0.0137. Because this p value is less than 0.05, the growth of IC was statistically significant. Therefore, it can be concluded that Indian classical music was also beneficial for the growth of the stems of microgreens. However, rock music being the most beneficial for plant growth was an unexpected result as multiple studies, including some of the first studies done on this topic as described by Awal (2023) such as a 1973 study by Dorothy Retallack and a study by a student of Professor Francis Brown, have shown that rock music is detrimental to plant growth. 


According to Figure 2 oriental music had the greatest impact on chlorophyll content and increased the chlorophyll content by 750%. The original hypothesis was supported because IC had the third highest chlorophyll content (0.15 mg/g of tissue), so Indian classical music increased the chlorophyll content by 650%. 


The app, Audacity, was used to plot FFT graphs for each song exposed to each plant group. FFT graphs are graphs that show frequencies present in a vibration during a certain amount of time with the x axis being frequency in Hz and the y axis being amplitude (volume) in dB. Peak frequencies of each song used in this experiment were determined by identifying spikes in the FFT. These spikes show the most intense frequencies in a song because the x value (frequency) of the spike has a high y value (amplitude). The x values (frequencies) of the 3 highest spikes in the graph of each song were recorded in Table 3 and a mean was calculated. Based on Figure 3, plants exposed to lower frequencies such as a frequency of 115 Hz had higher stem lengths while plants exposed to higher frequencies such as 3701 Hz had lower stem lengths. Therefore, lower frequencies such as 115 Hz are beneficial to plant growth while higher frequencies are as well, but are not as effective. This supports past studies including Hassanien et al. (2014) that claims that frequencies of 100-1000 Hz enhance plant growth best and Dodd (2021) that claims that lower frequencies, ideally 115-250 Hz, are most beneficial to plant growth. 


Conclusion 

This information may be useful to develop better ways to promote plant growth sustainably, especially for the growing population. Chemical fertilizers are detrimental to human, animal, and overall environmental health, so the agricultural practices of using chemical fertilizers must change. Although exposing plants to music in a farm setting may be impractical, this information gathered can be used to develop new ways to promote plant growth regarding other forms of energy. Speakers may also be used in greenhouses or fields to sustain a large amount of crops. This study demonstrates that music and vibrations do promote plant growth and the chlorophyll content of plants. Therefore, a larger amount of chlorophyll means that plants are able to absorb more light energy from the sun and make more food to grow. Furthermore, a greater concentration of chlorophyll in plants is proven to have more nutrition, so music may enhance the nutrition of plants.


Bibliography 

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