When plants are deprived of water, they naturally produce ethanol. Although the reasons for its production are unknown, it has led researchers from the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science in Japan to hypothesize that giving plants alcohol can protect them from dying in drought. “The discovery came from the process of looking for compounds that make plants resistant to stress,” Motoaki Seki, lead author of the study, told CNN. The findings are not only useful for the world’s gardens, but also for farms that grow vital crops such as rice and wheat. Key drought-resistant crops could help alleviate food insecurity, which is an issue affecting many parts of the world right now, exacerbated by heat waves, Russia’s war in Ukraine and logistical issues chain. The researchers said ethanol was a “useful and simple” way to increase food production around the world in times of drought or water scarcity. To arrive at their findings, the researchers grew wheat and rice plants, watering them regularly, and then added ethanol to the soil in one group of plants for three days. They then deprived both groups of water for two weeks and found that the drunk plants fared better than the sober ones. About 75% of wheat and rice plants treated with ethanol survived after rewatering, compared to less than 5% of untreated plants. “[The] External application of ethanol to plants would be a useful, simple and less expensive agricultural method to enhance drought tolerance in various plants,” said Seki, as no genetic modification of the plants would be required. However, he cautioned that ethanol should be used sparingly, as “higher concentration of ethanol inhibits plant growth.” In other words, don’t try this at home. The study also looked at how ethanol protects a plant. Using arabidopsis, a small plant commonly used in experiments, the researchers discovered that when ethanol-treated samples were deprived of water, tiny openings on the leaf surface called stomata closed, conserving water and heat. Seki and his colleagues studied gene expression in arabidopsis and found that ethanol-treated plants began to behave as if they were experiencing drought, even before they were actually deprived of water. This gene expression gives plants a head start in preparing for a drought, Seki explained, adding that ethanol is also used by plants to make the sugars needed for energy production. Seki told CNN that he and his team will soon begin testing ethanol on plants in real fields.
