Monitoring growth and physiological responses of Satureja hortensis L. to music and noise stimulation

This research attempted to gain a better view of music/sound interaction with the plant systems. Savory (Satureja hortensis L.) seedlings were exposed to the diverse sound treatments, including a piece of Iranian Music (IM), electro-industrial Rock Music (RM), and Urban/Traffic Noise (UTN). The frequencies of IM, RM, and UTN ranged in 800–2000, 1100–7000, and 800–2000 Hz, respectively. The exposure time was three times a day for 45 minutes during two weeks. The applied treatments enhanced shoot dry weight by an average of 55.25% over the control. The IM treatment was the most effective way to improve stem length. The longest root length was observed in RM-treated seedlings (mean 2.3-folds). Root dry weight in IM and RM treatments increased by an average 64.39% and 78%, respectively. Applying music also augmented the concentrations of chlorophyll pigments approximately by 32%. Moreover, carotenoid content displayed a similar increasing trend (mean=36.5%). Likewise, the applied music and sound treatments upregulated the activities of peroxidase (mean=51.33%) and catalase (mean=21.27%) enzymes, implying stimulation in the enzymatic antioxidant system. However, the amount of total sugar was adversely influenced by the treatments (mean 30%). The exposure to UTN was associated with a moderate increase in the proline concentration by a mean of 66% whereas the music treatments exhibited less increase in this parameter. These findings support the view that both music and sound not only affect plant growth programs but also influence diverse biological processes.