Abstract: With the continuous research progress in plant acoustics, the capability of plants to perceive acoustic waves and their potential applications in green agriculture have been extensively demonstrated. The cross-scale regulatory mechanisms of acoustic wave-mediated plant growth and development have not yet been systematically elucidated. We summarized the research progress on the effects of both audible sound and ultrasound on plants. From the perspective of the entire life cycle, i.e., encompassing seed germination, vegetative growth, and reproductive growth, we outline the stage-specific response characteristics of plants to acoustic stimulation. On this basis, we delve into the underlying physiological and molecular mechanisms by which acoustic waves induce phenotypic changes, focusing on three core levels: metabolic networks, gene transcription, and intracellular signal transduction. Furthermore, we evaluated the application status of acoustic frequency technology in fields such as crop yield enhancement, abiotic stress tolerance improvement, postharvest quality regulation, and non-destructive testing. Existing evidence indicates that acoustic waves, functioning as non-chemical physical elicitors, can effectively enhance crop physiological performance and reduce reliance on chemical inputs, representing a highly promising direction in physical agriculture. Addressing current bottlenecks such as unidentified perception receptors and the difficulty in standardizing field parameters, future research should focus on utilizing multi-omics technologies to decipher core response pathways and promoting interdisciplinary integration to develop intelligent acoustic equipment. Such efforts will lay a foundation for refining the theoretical framework of plant acoustics and facilitating its large-scale application in smart agriculture.

Key words: plant acoustics, plant growth and development, abiotic stress, physical agriculture