Researchers in Japan have found ethanol can help grow vegetables in high temperatures. Japan's record summer heat is raising concerns about poor harvests and a decline in crop quality.

日本研究人员发现乙醇可以帮助蔬菜在高温下生长。 日本创纪录的夏季高温引发了人们对收成不佳和农作物质量下降的担忧。

A group led by Seki Motoaki at Riken Center for Sustainable Resource Science has discovered plants can thrive in heat if they are fed ethanol through their roots and alcohol is sprayed on their leaves.

日本理研可持续资源科学中心的Seki Motoaki领导的一个研究小组发现，通过向植物根部输入乙醇以及将乙醇喷洒在叶片上，植物可以在高温下生长。

The researchers applied highly diluted ethanol to a vegetable plant and then exposed it to heat of 50 degrees Celsius for several hours. They said its leaves grew larger than plants treated only with water, and it yielded more than triple the amount of produce.

研究人员将高度稀释的乙醇应用于蔬菜植株，并将它们置于50摄氏度的高温下数小时。 他们发现，与只浇水的植株相比，使用了乙醇的植株叶子长得更大，果实数量也增加了两倍多。

The researchers applied ethanol to other plants and detected changes. These included increases in proteins that protect cells from heat and sugar contained in leaves and fruits.

研究人员将乙醇应用于其他植物并检测到变化。 比如保护细胞免受高温影响的蛋白质含量增加，叶子和果实所含糖分有所增加。

"Ethanol is readily available and can be used in a simple way just by diluting it. We hope this will help people around the world who are suffering from agricultural problems caused by extreme heat."

“乙醇很容易获得，只需稀释即可以简单的方式使用。 我们希望这能够帮助世界各地因极端高温引起的农业问题而发愁的人们。”