Plant roots can detect damage to a neighbouring plant almost immediately and redirect their own growth away from the disturbance.
When researchers damaged a single Arabidopsis root cell with a laser, calcium signalling appeared in an adjacent healthy plant within about one second. Experiments using an electronic ion pump identified protons released into the surrounding medium as the trigger. The response also occurred between Arabidopsis and tomato roots and was reproduced in soil, followed by changes in defence genes and long-term root-growth direction.
https://www.slu.se/en/news/2026/09/plants-sense-damage-to-neighbouring-roots---and-grow-away/
