ગુજરાતી
English
Ahmedabad, 4-5-2025
Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose devoted his whole life to plants and did many researches. Indian plant physiologist and physicist Sir Jagadish Chandra Bose, who discovered life in plants, also expressed in his research “Responsiveness in living and non-living” published in 1902 and “Nervous system of plants” published in 1926 that plants are sensitive to touch, care and sound.
Just as humans like to listen to music, vines, plants, trees and grass also like to listen to music. It is a matter of debate whether playing music actually helps them grow or not.
Playing music to increase milk production in cattle is not a new thing. This work is done all over the world. But there are only a few theories in the name of proof that music is good for crops. Many farmers do experiments on a small scale.
Farmers in Anand have done such experiments. Where agricultural scientists often visit the fields. They know the experience of this farmer. Understands it. But they have not yet done any experiment based on science.
Sources of Anand Agricultural University say that we have not done any experiment, but farmer Ketanbhai Punambhai Patel of Umareth Bhalej village of Anand plays music in his greenhouse farming. From 2012 to 2024, he played Gujarati devotional music. With its good results, music and music technology are now improving.
They grow cucumbers.
Both greenhouses were given equal amount of water, fertilizer, sunlight etc. At first glance, the difference between the two was seen. In the greenhouse where Ketanbhai used to play Gujarati music, the crops were in good condition. Therefore, traders from many provinces of India including Ahmedabad started coming to buy goods from here first. In which he was getting a little higher price.
Ketanbhai believes that his experience is that all the crops grown in the greenhouse benefit greatly from music and havan. They play musical tunes for an hour every morning and evening, mostly bhajan music. They choose their own company. Music is played not through words but through instruments. They place speakers in one place and play devotional music. They believe that just as humans experience joy by listening to music, they also experience joy by growing crops in the fields.
Ketanbhai believes that farmers and scientists have found that playing music not only improves the process of crop ripening but also improves soil health by promoting the growth of beneficial fungi and microbes in the soil.
No agricultural scientist in Gujarat has researched the effect of music in agriculture. Therefore, it has no scientific basis for Gujarat’s agriculture.
Anand scientists say that according to some scientific research done so far in the world, the protoplasm of plant cells absorbs these vibrations and interprets their energy.
Ketanbhai has built a hi-tech greenhouse. In which vegetables, capsicum and Bholar chilli have been grown and supplied to Delhi, Ganganagar, Haryana and Rajasthan. Mulching and drip irrigation method has been adopted. Exhaust fans have been installed for temperature control. Thermometer measures the temperature.
Bholar chilli yields 40 tonnes per acre.
Creating a new project. Repair of the project has started. Bhajans were played in the greenhouse in the morning and evening.
Ketanbhai has achieved good results in production. For 12 years he kept playing music from the same speaker. Now he is starting a system that will play the same music in all corners of the greenhouse.
Ketanbhai says that plants need energy. Music gives energy to the plants.
Ketanbhai has been appointed as a member of the Seed Research Council at Anand Agricultural University. Where he teaches farmers how music can affect agricultural crops and seeds.
Dr. Kathiria of Anand Agricultural University is leading this project.
The music started at six in the morning. Ketanbhai had two greenhouses, one had music and the other did not. There is a music unit in the greenhouse of 40 gunthas.
In which music was played morning and evening, cucumbers of good appearance, good quality and pleasing to the eyes at first sight were ripening. There was more unit production.
35 to 36 tonnes of pickled cucumbers were ripening. The production of pickled cucumber was 200 kg more. But its attractiveness, form and beauty was so good that traders liked it at first sight and Reliance agents here would immediately buy it and send it to the mall in Ahmedabad. That is why the price is getting a little high.
Dr. Ketanbhai, a scientist of Anand Agricultural University, visited Ketanbhai’s farm. Yogesh Lakum comes 5 times a month. Dr. Vimal Avasya Patel comes often. Both of them are understanding the experiments of music and incense sticks. Anand Agricultural University Vice Chancellor Dr Kathiria visits the farm many times.
Many scientists believe that music and incense sticks control pests. Pesticides were being sprayed. This will be reduced. Music and incense sticks were organised in the morning and evening. Now 40 speakers are being used to play slow music. Instead of devotional music, they are now going to play flute or instrumental music.
Anand scientists
Researchers believe that incense sticks and music reduce the number of insects, which are more in number in the evening.
Ketanbhai’s experience is scientific, he has no concrete evidence of good-looking stuff and a little production increase.
Scientific basis of music for plants
An agricultural scientist from Annamalai University reported that in 1962, the head of the Botany Department of Annamalai University in India experimented with musical sounds on the timing and rate of plant growth. P
rygo’s results show that music has an effect on the growth and development of plants. When music was played around the plants, their height increased 20% faster than the average rate and biomass increased 72% faster.
Chief scientist Dr. T.C. Singh conducted the experiments. Several types of plants were selected and music was played at different intensities. He concluded that increasing the sound of music makes plants grow faster. This time the plants grew 60 to 65% faster than usual. It was also noted that marigold flowers bloomed two weeks earlier.
To find out the effect of music on seeds, Dr. T.C. Canadians conducted experiments on wheat seeds.
A violin sonata was played around the wheat seeds, which increased the overall yield by about 66%.
Reda Hassanian of China Agricultural University, Beijing has researched the effect of sound waves on chillies, tomatoes, cucumbers, spinach, cotton, rice and wheat. The yield increased more than average. Additionally, playing music also helped reduce pests like aphids, spider mites, etc.
In 2018, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Agricultural University Vice Chancellor (VC) Vilas Bhale said that crop production can be increased through bhajans. Classical music helps increase milk production in cattle.
Some research claims that music affects plant growth.
Research on the effect of music on plants has been going on for years.
Dr. TC Singh, head of the Botany Department at Annamalai University, conducted research on the effect of music on plant growth in 1962. The height of plants increased by 20 percent. The biomass of plants increased by 72 percent. Experimented with raga music. Due to Bharatanatyam, flowers like petunia and marigold bloomed about two weeks before the scheduled time.
An experiment was conducted in South Africa by playing music in two different grape fields, one of which had music playing and the other did not, to see the difference in yield between the two. The grape yield improved.
(Many researchers or scientists do not agree on the effect of music on plant growth. Farmers have only information, farmer’s experience. Therefore, it should be implemented after consulting an agricultural scientist).
Incense
“Gayatri havan is performed in my farm and greenhouse,” says farmer Ketanbhai. This creates a positive atmosphere. The ash of havan is used to sprinkle on the fields. Sprinkling the ash of havan prevents unwanted animals from entering the field. It increases the fertility of the soil. It can also be sprinkled on the crops by pumping. They also burn incense sticks in the greenhouse. They have experienced that burning incense sticks has a positive effect on the crops and increases production. They also tell stories in the greenhouse whenever they feel like it. Apart from this, incense sticks are also burnt from time to time. (Google translation from Gujarati)
