Can you hear the corn Grow?
The sound corn emits is similar to the sound of breaking corn, and one possible reason is that it may change the way we think about plant growth.
You can see and hear corn grow in this time lapse photo sequence.As the plant stretches, breaks, and grows again, it's thought that the crackling noise is due to tiny fissures.The sequence was written by Douglas Cook at the Crop Biomechanics Lab at New York University Abu Dhabi.
An old farmer's tale says, "On a quiet night you can hear the corn grow."It may seem funny, but Douglas Cook and his colleagues at New York University and the University of Nebraska were able to use microphones to record the sounds of corn growing.
The US harvests more than 350 million metric tons of corn each year.There is a lack of understanding about the mechanics of wind-Induced Corn Stalk Failure.Crop scientists have been working on this problem for more than 100 years.
A group of engineers and plant scientists led by Cook are using mechanical engineering tools and techniques to address this problem as well as discover other issues related to plant growth and development.
During the 172nd Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America and the 5th Joint Meeting with Japan being held this week, Cook will describe his work using acoustic emissions techniques to explore corn stalks.
The sudden release of internal stresses causes sound waves to be sent in every direction.The sounds of corn stalks are being monitored by special microphones.This will help us understand the failure process better.
It sounds similar to the sounds made when corn breaks.We now think that plant growth involves millions of tiny breakage events, and that these events cause the plant to rush to repair the broken regions.The plant can grow taller and taller by continuously breaking and repairing.
While the researchers haven't yet determined whether this is true for all plants, Cook suggested that it may be a mechanism similar to that involved in muscle development: Lifting weights impart tiny micro-tears in the muscle and, as these are repaired, the muscles is strengthened.
The fusion of plant science and mechanical engineering resulted in this intriguing finding.
Cook said that many crops are lost each year due to wind damage.Engineers know a lot about how to prevent structural failure, and by using natural breeding techniques plant scientists can improve virtually any feature of the plant that they can measure."A lot of progress in plant structural integrity can be achieved by these two disciplines working together.
Cook said that most of the work is still fundamental in nature.It could be useful for breeders to learn about plant growth and breakage.
During periods of rapid growth, the leaves of corn plants provide the majority of structural support.It's amazing that a leaf isn't expected to play a role.It will help plant scientists develop new varieties with tougher leaves that are less susceptible to failure during the growth phase.
Cook and his colleagues are using computerized tomography (CT) technology to get 3-D images of plants.
Cook said that they plan to useMRI technology to visualize corn growth and development.We would like to learn more about the process of stalk failure and identify the weakest link.Plant scientists can try to improve strength and resilience once it's identified.
Roger and Justin are both extension crop protection and cropping systems specialists in eastern Nebraska and both are regular contributors to CropWatch.