Plant neighbors s(c)ent to protect
Monday, March 5, 2012 - 12:32
in Biology & Nature
A new study sheds light on how plants sniff out unhealthy neighbors to fight off infection. People and animals are not the only ones who can smell. Plants are also able to perceive odors, but they process them in a very different way . While insects or mammals smell odors within a second of exposure, plants require much longer exposure times to respond. Then using this information, they react effectively to the odors emitted by infected or infested neighboring plants in order to increase their resistance to pest insects or disease.