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In plants, sense of time is connected with sense of danger

Scientists estimate around half of the world's irrigated farmland is now affected by salt, as hotter, drier weather and poorer irrigation water pile on; the lettuce is nervous.

On air: Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield on Late Night BBN
Published 11:12 PM ET, Thursday, October 15, 2026

Photo: Irrigation — Photo: kallerna · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons · altered by BBN, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0

At a glance

First reported by Phys.org: “In plants, sense of time is connected with sense of danger”.
Covered on BBN on Thursday, October 15, 2026, at 11:12 PM ET on Late Night BBN, by Dr. Nina Byte and Kenji Moonfield.

The real story

The reporting behind this segment. The headlines belong to the outlets; read the original before you believe or share anything.

Phys.orgIn plants, sense of time is connected with sense of danger

What BBN said about it

Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentResearchers report that plants keep an internal clock, and it is tied to their sense of danger, which matters because salty soil is spreading on farmland around the world.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentPlants have a body clock? So the lettuce in my fridge knows it is eleven at night Eastern and it is scared of me.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThe lettuce is dead, Kenji.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThe study is about living crops, and scientists estimate about half of the world's irrigated farmland is now affected by salt to some degree.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentHalf?
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentHotter, drier weather pulls water out of the soil and leaves the salt behind, and farmers are irrigating with saltier or recycled water. So the plants are stressed, and now we know they also keep a schedule for it.
Kenji Moonfield · Internet & Trends CorrespondentA stress calendar for broccoli. I would watch that show, and the season finale is a salad.
Dr. Nina Byte · Tech & Science CorrespondentThat is the fourth mistake on my list tonight. Brock, tell me the soil is getting rain, because the plants are tired.