Green leaf volatiles increase plant fitness via biocontrol
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - 10:30
in Mathematics & Economics
To secure food resources, sustainability of agriculture must be increased. Such efforts also depend on insights from plant ecology. Based on field studies on tobacco plants, researchers demonstrated that the release of volatiles which attract enemies of herbivores not only controls insect pests, but also increases the reproduction of infested plants. Transferred to the goals of biocontrol, this means that natural plant defenses can improve agricultural yields in an environmentally friendly manner.