The plants are silent but very keen observers. They can detect the environment around them and react accordingly. For example, plants will snap shut if they are touched. Or, they may curl away from toxic substances.
Even their roots react to the gravity pull. The tiny statoliths in the cells of plants guide roots downward and shoots upward.
The grains are like sand floating in the water and settling to the bottom. This shows the direction gravity is moving. This clear signal shows a seed in which direction to grow. The seed can grow more when the grains are moved, almost as though a slight nudge released hidden energy.
A new study by MIT researchers provides the first proof that plants can hear sounds. The researchers also discovered that the plants could ‘hear” rain coming because they were able to sense its sound.
Scientists believe that rain sounds may cause plant seeds to come alive. They tested this by conducting experiments on rice seeds. In shallow, watery soils rice seeds naturally grow.
The researchers submerged (individually) almost 8000 rice seeds in shallow water tubs and exposed some of the sections to drips.
The seeds were placed so that only sound waves could reach them, and not the droplets. Each water droplet was sized and shaped differently to simulate raindrops in light, medium, and heavy storms.
They measured underwater vibrations using hydrophones. The measurements made were compared to recordings of rainstorms in fields, including puddles and ponds.
These recordings proved that the water droplets generated in the laboratory rain-induced vibrations in nature.
The rice seeds that had been exposed to the rain sound germinated up to 40% faster than those in the control group.
The researchers also discovered that the seeds nearer the surface were better able to detect sounds of raindrops and grow more quickly than seeds further away or submerged.
According to the results of the experiment, there is a clear connection between the sound a droplet makes and the ability for a seed to grow. Researchers suggest that seeds may be able to benefit from the ability of detecting rain. The researchers suggest that if a seed can detect rain, then it is likely to be at the correct depth for water absorption and growth upward.
Scientists wondered whether raindrops were capable of doing more than simply soaking seeds. Their vibrations could they actually stir up life inside them? The researchers calculated whether physical vibrations caused by falling drops could be powerful enough to shake statoliths. This would suggest that sound can boost the growth of plants.
Researchers calculated the size and speed of raindrops, as well as the vibrations that they produce when they touch the ground.
They then calculated how these tiny tremors move through water or soil, nudging statoliths and jolting seeds buried in the ground.
The math was able to match reality in experiments on rice seeds: just the sound of the rain jolted statoliths. This gentle shaking is the mechanism that allows plants to “hear rain” and grow in response.
Nicholas Makris is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT and the author of this study. This study shows that seeds are able to sense sounds in a way that helps them survive.
Rain sounds can accelerate the growth of seeds.
Around the globe, brilliant research has revealed the mechanisms that allow plants to detect gravity. This study showed that the same mechanisms also allow plant seeds to detect submergence levels in water or soil that is beneficial for their survival. This gives new meanings to the Japanese fourth microseason entitled “Falling Rain Awakens the Soil.”
Journal Reference
- Makris N.C. and Navarro C. Sensing rain sounds, seeds accelerate germination when planted at a beneficial depth. Sci Rep 16, 11248 (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-026-44444-1
