Nature Is Never Silent by Madlen Ziege

Author:Madlen Ziege [Ziege, Madlen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: NAT000000, SCI070060, NAT045000, SCI008000, SCI007000, SCI020000, NAT037000, SCI011000
ISBN: 9781922310132
Google: -f49zgEACAAJ
Publisher: Scribe Publications
Published: 2021-08-31T23:22:18.306953+00:00

Lovely neighbours

Trees in the forest

Trees that have long stood close to each other

Soon will crave distance from one another.

So spruce, even oaks, often wish that they might

stealthily, secretly, move and take flight;

but — since to the soil they are firmly bound

with roots long and deep, so people have found,

which force them, like soldiers, to stand and not shake —

their wishes, regretfully, they must forsake.

Heinz Ehrhardt*

[* Heinz Erhardt, Noch’n Gedicht © Lappan in der Carlsen Verlag GmbH, Hamburg 2009.]

Concealed from our eyes, plant roots reach far into the soil and there encounter the most diverse neighbours. Biocommunication really gets going down here, particularly with the help of chemical signals. Thale cress, for example, sends out more than 100 different chemical signals, with whose help it communicates with its surroundings. These underground talks aren’t always peaceful, but plants get in each other’s way above ground too, like when their leaves touch each other in the wind. Even in the plant kingdom, the rule is: love thy neighbour but keep a fence up.

DREAM COUPLE — CHILLI AND BASIL!

Experienced gardeners know the positive and negative effects that neighbouring plants can have on one another. When planting, you have to consider which neighbours suit one another and which ones don’t. Onions don’t like peas, while fennel feels very comfortable in their company. Why is this so? Plants share the soil with their roots and compete for the available nutrients. Some plants are greedier than others and take up more space or even send out chemical substances that don’t agree with their neighbour. The common walnut (Juglans regia) is one of these ‘nasty neighbours’, as its leaves release cinnamic acid, and this in turn hinders growth in other plants.

But there are good neighbours in the plant kingdom too. Basil (Ocimum basilicum) is one such neighbour, at least for the chilli plant (Capsicum annuum). The basil plant sends out chemical substances that prevent weeds from germinating and growing in its vicinity. It keeps the soil moist and is something like a living mulch supplier for the chilli. Scientists at the University of Western Australia took a closer look at the communication between chilli and basil. They allowed chilli plants to germinate in the presence of basil under various different conditions. In the first attempt, the plants had the opportunity to exchange information both above and below ground via air and soil. In the second attempt, this exchange was prevented and the neighbours were isolated from one another. In both attempts, the chilli seeds germinated better in the presence of basil than without. Why this is and how the chilli ‘knew’ that a basil plant was nearby without being in contact with it is unclear.

CORN PLANTS PREFER TO STAY ALONE

Plants are wonderfully suited to the exploration of the world of biocommunication. They can be used under controlled conditions and react quickly to changes in their environment. Besides the tobacco plant, corn (Zea mays) is also a popular candidate for research into communication between plants both above and below the ground.

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