A researcher at Saitama University has found a way to ‘watch’ plants responding to warning signals.
- The new study could help unlock long-standing questions in the field of plant defence and pave the way to protect crops without pesticides.
- The smell of fresh cut grass is caused by a group of compounds called green leaf volatiles (GLVs).
- A plant releases GLVs into the air when it is injured. The smell to other plants may be a warning letting them know that danger is near.
- Scientists are considering harnessing this process to fight agricultural pests without having to use pesticides.
- GLVs are released as by-products.
- By mounting a defence response, plants can make themselves less palatable or even indigestible to the insect attackers. When an insect takes a bite of a plant leaf, calcium ions flood the leaves in the cells.
