Can plants talk to each other? - Richard Karban

Translator: Elda Indria Sari Reviewer: Bias Ayu

Can plants talk to each other?

Bisakah tanaman berkomunikasi?

It certainly doesn't seem that way.

Sepertinya tidak.

Plants don't have complex sensory or nervous systems like animals do,

Tanaman tak punya pancaindra atau sistem saraf yang kompleks seperti hewan,

and they look pretty passive,

dan mereka terlihat cukup pasif,

berjemur sinar matahari,

basking in the sun,

and responding instinctively to inputs like light and water.

dan merespons asupan cahaya dan air secara naluriah.

But odd as it sounds, plants can communicate with each other.

Namun, seaneh kedengarannya, tanaman bisa saling berkomunikasi.

Just like animals, plants produce all kinds of chemical signals

Seperti hewan, tanaman menghasilkan segala jenis sinyal kimia

in response to their environments,

sesuai dengan lingkungannya,

and they can share those signals with each other,

dan sinyal itu bisa dibagi ke tanaman lain,

especially when they're under attack.

terutama saat tengah diserang.

Sinyal ini menempuh dua jalur:

These signals take two routes:

through the air,

lewat udara

and through the soil.

dan lewat tanah.

When plant leaves get damaged,

Saat daun tanaman dirusak,

whether by hungry insects or an invading lawn mower,

baik oleh serangga kelaparan atau mesin pemotong rumput,

they release plumes of volatile chemicals.

mereka akan melepas kepulan zat kimia yang mudah menguap.

They're what's responsible for the smell of freshly cut grass.

Zat itulah yang menghasilkan aroma rumput yang baru dipotong.

Certain kinds of plants, like sagebrush and lima beans,

Jenis tanaman tertentu seperti sagebrush dan kacang lima,

are able to pick up on those airborne messages

mampu menangkap sinyal yang dibawa oleh udara

and adjust their own internal chemistry accordingly.

dan akan menyesuaikan kimia internalnya sesuai kebutuhan.

In one experiment, sagebrush leaves were deliberately damaged by insects

Dalam satu eksperimen, daun sagebrush sengaja dirusak oleh serangga

or scissor-wielding scientists.

atau gunting ilmuwan.

Throughout the summer,

Sepanjang musim panas,

other branches on the same sagebrush plant

ranting-ranting lain di tanaman yang sama

got eaten less by insects wandering through,

lebih sedikit dimakan oleh serangga yang berkeliaran,

and so did branches on neighboring bushes,

demikian pula ranting di tanaman sekitarnya,

suggesting that they had beefed up their anti-insect defenses.

yang menunjukkan mereka sudah memperkuat pertahanan anti serangganya.

Even moving the air from above a clipped plant to another one

Bahkan memindahkan udara dari atas tanaman yang dipotong ke yang lain

made the second plant more insect-resistant.

membuat tanaman kedua lebih tahan serangga.

These airborne cues increase the likelihood of seedling survival,

Isyarat bawaan udara ini meningkatkan potensi kelangsungan hidup bibit,

and made adult plants produce more new branches and flowers.

dan tanaman dewasa menumbuhkan lebih banyak ranting baru dan bunga.

But why would a plant warn its neighbors of danger,

Namun mengapa tanaman memperingatkan tanaman lain akan bahaya,

especially if they're competing for resources?

terutama jika mereka saling berebut sumber daya?

Well, it might be an accidental consequence of a self-defense mechanism.

Bisa jadi, itu akibat mekanisme pertahanan diri yang tak disengaja.

Plants can't move information through their bodies as easily as we can,

Tanaman tak bisa berbagi informasi lewat tubuh mereka semudah kita,

especially if water is scarce.

terutama jika tak ada cukup air.

So plants may rely on those airborne chemicals

Jadi tanaman bergantung pada zat kimia bawaan udara itu

to get messages from one part of a plant to another.

untuk memperoleh pesan dari satu bagian tanaman ke yang lainnya.

Nearby plants can eavesdrop on those signals,

Tanaman di sekitarnya bisa menguping sinyal tersebut,

like overhearing your neighbor sneeze and stocking up on cold medicine.

seperti mendengar tetanggamu bersin lalu kau akan membeli obat flu.

Different plants convey those warnings using different chemical languages.

Tanaman berbeda menyampaikan peringatan menggunakan bahasa kimia yang berbeda.

Individual sagebrush plants in the same meadow

Tanaman sagebrush tunggal di padang rumput yang sama

release slightly different sets of alarm chemicals.

melepas serangkaian alarm kimia yang sedikit berbeda.

The makeup of that cocktail influences the effectiveness of communication.

Komposisi campuran itu memengaruhi efektivitas komunikasinya.

The more similar two plants' chemical fingerprints are,

Semakin mirip sidik jari kimia dua tanaman,

the more fluently they can communicate.

semakin fasih komunikasinya.

A plant will be most sensitive to the cues emitted by its own leaves.

Tanaman akan lebih peka terhadap isyarat dari daunnya sendiri.

But because these chemicals seem to be inherited,

Namun, karena zat kimia ini tampaknya diwariskan,

like human blood types,

seperti golongan darah manusia,

sagebrush plants communicate more effectively

tanaman sagebrush berkomunikasi lebih efektif

with relatives than with strangers.

dengan kerabatnya daripada tanaman asing.

But sometimes, even other species can benefit.

Namun terkadang, bahkan spesies lain bisa diuntungkan.

Tomato and tobacco plants can both decipher sagebrush warning signals.

Tomat dan tanaman tembakau bisa menguraikan sinyal bahaya sagebrush.

Plants don't have to rely solely on those airborne broadcasts.

Tanaman tak harus tergantung hanya pada pesan bawaan udara itu.

Signals can travel below the soil surface, too.

Sinyal juga dapat merambat di bawah permukaan tanah.

Most plants have a symbiotic relationship with fungi,

Kebanyakan tanaman memiliki hubungan simbiosis dengan jamur,

which colonize the plants' roots and help them absorb water and nutrients.

yang mendiami akar tanaman dan membantu menyerap air dan nutrisi.

These fungal filaments form extensive networks

Filamen jamur ini membentuk jaringan luas

that can connect separate plants,

yang bisa menghubungkan tanaman terpisah,

creating an underground super highway for chemical messages.

menciptakan jalan raya bawah tanah super bagi pesan kimia.

When a tomato plant responds to blight

Ketika tanaman tomat merespons hawar

by acitvating disease-fighting genes and enzymes,

dengan mengaktifkan gen dan enzim pelawan penyakit,

signaling molecules produced by its immune system

sinyal molekul yang dihasilkan oleh sistem kekebalannya

can travel to a healthy plant

dapat merambat ke tanaman yang sehat

and prompt it to turn on its immune system, too.

dan memicunya mengaktifkan sistem kekebalannya pula.

These advance warnings increase the plants chance of survival.

Peringatan dini ini meningkatkan peluang tanaman bertahan hidup.

Bean plants also eavesdrop on each other's health

Tanaman kacang-kacangan juga menguping kesehatan satu sama lain

through these fungal conduits.

melalui kanal jamur ini.

An aphid investation in one plant

Keberadaan kutu daun di satu tanaman

triggers its neighbor to ramp up production of compounds that repel aphids

memicu tanaman di dekatnya menambah produksi senyawa penolak kutu daun

and attract aphid-eating wasps.

dan menarik tawon pemakan kutu daun.

If you think of communication as an exchange of information,

Jika kau menganggap komunikasi sebagai pertukaran informasi,

then plants seem to be active communicators.

maka tanaman tampaknya adalah komunikator yang aktif.

They're sending, receiving, and responding to signals

Mereka mengirim, menerima, dan merespons sinyal

without making a sound,

tanpa menimbulkan suara,

and without brains, noses, dictionaries, or the Internet.

dan tanpa otak, hidung, kamus, atau internet.

And if we can learn to speak to them on their terms,

Dan, jika kita bisa belajar berkomunikasi dengan mereka,

we may gain a powerful new tool to protect crops and other valuable species.

kita bisa mendapat alat baru yang kuat untuk melindungi tanaman dan spesies lain.

It all makes you wonder what else are we missing?

Itu membuatmu bertanya-tanya, apa lagi yang kita lewatkan?