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Vocal plant growth promoter
Posted: Tuesday, June 30, 2009 3:06 pm
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Research conducted by Britain's Royal Horticultural Society has demonstrated the efficacy of the human voice as a plant growth promoter. After exposing ten tomato plants to recorded playbacks of the voices of various people for a month, it was determined that female voices were the most effective in stimulating growth. The voice of Sarah Darwin, the great-great grand-daughter of Charles Darwin, was found to be the most stimulating of all. However, experts are unsure whether her choice of text played a role. She read a passage from her great-great grandfather's book, On the Origin of Species.

To mark Sarah Darwin's achievement, the Society named her the 'Voice of Wisley'.

Darwin's plant grew nearly two inches taller than the best performing plant exposed to a male voice, and half an inch higher than her nearest competitor.

"We predicted that the male voice would be more effective but it turned out that the ladies were far better than the gentlemen.", said Colin Crosbie, Garden Superintendent at RHS. "We just don't why. It could be that they have a greater range of pitch and tone that affects the sound waves that hit the plant. Sound waves are an environmental effect just like rain or light."

Miss Darwin said, "I think it is an honour to have a voice that can make tomatoes grow, and especially fitting because for a number of years I have been studying wild tomatoes from the Galapagos Islands at the Natural History Museum in London. I'm not sure if it's my dulcet tones or the text that I read from On the Origin of Species that made the plant sit up and listen, but either way I think it is great fun and I'm proud of my new title."

It remains unknown whether this method of plant growth stimulation can be accepted by organic certification bodies, as the synthetic playback relies on artificial recording devices. Further investigation may reveal that iPods and similar devices in organic fields will have to be banned, to prevent the plants from being contaminated.
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