Agriculture: Sound Treatment for Wheat

They laughed when an Illinois farmer reported that he had significantly increased his crop yield by serenading corn plants with Rhapsody in Blue. And few believed Indian Botanist T.C.N. Singh when he said that a shrill electric bell speeded the germination of seeds and that classical Indian violin and flute selections promoted crop growth. Or the Australian fruit farmer who swore that he had raised bigger and better bananas by bombarding them with a loud, constant bass note broad cast from loudspeakers set up among the trees.

Now it appears that the much-derided sonic treatment...