How do plants communicate?
Plant electrophysiology is the study of the electrical signals that plants generate to sense, interpret, communicate and respond to their environment. Plants use these signals to coordinate growth, regulate development, trigger reproduction and mount defences against pests and disease. Because the signals appear within seconds of a stimulus, long before any visible symptom, they offer the earliest available indication of plant health. Vivent Biosignals records these signals continuously in open fields, commercial greenhouses and research trials, and uses AI and machine learning to translate them into interpretable indicators of stress and vitality
Plant electrophysiology can be used by anyone whose decisions depend on knowing what a plant is experiencing in real-time, rather than what it looked like yesterday. In practice four groups gain substantial benefits, each asking a different question of the same signal. Indoor growers- and outdoor farmers ask what the crop needs today. Researchers ask what a stimulus does to a plant, and can quantify the responses. Input suppliers ask whether their product works, and when it makes a real difference. The measurement is identical in all cases. What differs are the decisions.
Examples of plant electrophysiology applications
| Indoor growers | Outdoor growers | Food & ag-input suppliers | Academic researchers |
|---|---|---|---|
Detect pests and diseases before visible symptoms appear | Assess plant water status directly from the plant instead of from soil or air measurements | Validate crop treatment performance within weeks rather than across an entire season | Replace destructive sampling with continuous, non-invasive plant measurements |
Steer climate based on plant responses, not setpoints | Detect drought, heat, pest and disease stress across large outdoor growing areas | Assess new varieties and quickly refine growing recipes | Quantify plant responses to controlled stimuli with second-level resolution |
Manage irrigation and fertigation guided by plant signals | Scout and treat crops when plants show signs of stress | Monitor fields across many regions to gather insights and share learnings | Compare genotypes, treatments and conditions in an objective manner |
Confirm the effectiveness of a growing strategy within days, instead of an entire crop cycle | Continuously monitor crop responses throughout the entire growing season | Support product claims and registration dossiers with plant-level evidence | Build publishable datasets from long-term plant trials |
Every day, Vivent Biosigals measures the electrical signals of plants across the globe, transforming plant responses into actionable insights for growers and food companies.
Plant electrophysiology is not a proprietary theory. It is an established field with a growing peer-reviewed literature, and Vivent’s data appears in that literature alongside work from independent research groups. Vivent’s Published Research Bundle 2025 collects five studies in a single download.
Fill out the form below or book an online meeting directly with one of our team members.
