{"id":124013,"date":"2023-10-23T12:18:08","date_gmt":"2023-10-23T16:18:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=124013"},"modified":"2023-10-23T17:22:32","modified_gmt":"2023-10-23T21:22:32","slug":"washington-post-how-plants-communicate-with-each-other-when-in-danger","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kendallharmon.net\/?p=124013","title":{"rendered":"(Washington Post) How plants communicate with each other when in danger"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It sounds like fiction from \u201cThe Lord of the Rings.\u201d An enemy begins attacking a tree. The tree fends it off and sends out a warning message. Nearby trees set up their own defenses. The forest is saved.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But you don\u2019t need a magical Ent from J.R.R. Tolkien\u2019s world to conjure this scene. Real trees on our Earth can communicate and warn each other of danger \u2014 and a\u00a0new study<\/a> explains how.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The study found injured plants emit certain chemical compounds, which can infiltrate a healthy plant\u2019s inner tissues and activate defenses from within its cells. A better understanding of this mechanism could allow scientists and farmers to help fortify plants against insect attacks or drought long before they happen.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The study marks the first time researchers have been able to \u201cvisualize plant-to-plant communication,\u201d said Masatsugu Toyota,\u00a0<\/i>senior author of the study, which was published Tuesday in Nature Communications. \u201cWe can probably hijack this system to inform the entire plant to activate different stress responses against a future threat or environmental threats, such as drought.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Check out the images: How plants communicate with each other when in danger – The Washington Post https:\/\/t.co\/ihADJgFckc<\/a><\/p>\n

— Michael Pollan (@michaelpollan) October 21, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n