Plant ultrasound does not establish musical hearing
Томат у домашньому саду; контекст виду, не учасник акустичного досліду й не зображення звуку / A tomato plant in a home garden; species context, not a participant in the acoustic experiment or a picture of sound. Credit: Clintacc; CC0. http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/?curid=195904680
Researchers do study plant sounds and mechanical vibrations within plant bioacoustics. In a 2023 study, microphones recorded airborne ultrasonic emissions from tomato and tobacco plants, including after dehydration or cutting. Models could distinguish some plant conditions from the recordings. This does not establish conscious listening to music or musical preferences; “phytomusicology” is not a precise name for this research.