Relationships between Volatile Organic Compounds Released by Wheat Plants Following Artificial Stress and Their Potential Influence on Natural Pest Management

Abstract

There is an urgent need to establish new agro-technical practices that require the delivery of effective, natural, ecological, and verified solutions. The evaluation of possible applications in the field of cropping and farming in recent years has resulted in numerous products and approaches, which may potentially reduce our dependence on artificial pesticides. A major requirement to help establish these new agro-technical practices is to determine their efficiency. Here we present a study that investigates the relationship between volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released by Triticum sp. plants under two artificial stress conditions. We discuss their effectiveness in natural pest management and for use in monitoring crop health. Two varieties of spring wheat, “Kandela” and “Serenada”, were exposed to either mechanical (deliberate) wounding, to imitate the stress caused by insect attack, or exposure to methyl jasmonate, a defence volatile used by plants. Both stress factors caused an increased release of green leaf volatiles (C6 aldehydes and alcohols) and other volatile compounds, such as (E)-β-ocimene, linalool, β-caryophyllene, and (E)-β-farnesene. VOC emission rates are reported at three time points (24, 48, and 72 h) following a stress factor. Correlation coefficients between the emitted plant’s VOCs indicate the potential of monitoring just one single compound from the combination of volatiles emitted by plants to predict the overall condition of a crop. This has major implications for the development of a chemically specific and fieldable analytical sensor that could be used to provide an array of volatile monitoring stations delivering information continuously and in real-time. Finally, we demonstrate the effectiveness of the volatiles released by damaged spring wheat for pest management by exposing a shield bug (Bishop’s Mitre (Aelia acuminata L.), Hemiptera: Pentatomidae), to them.

Induction of volatile organic compounds in chrysanthemum plants following infection by Rhizoctonia solani

“…Other methods focus on an application of natural antagonists of the fungus called plant growth promoting rhizobacteria with or without biostimulants, e.g., seaweed extracts to promote a plant’s natural defense mechanism [ 46 ]. Other novel approaches involve a plant’s inner ability to control the invader by intrinsic, genetically based mechanisms, to which the emission of specific compounds in response to pathogen infestation belongs [ 37 ].…”

“…Isolations of the pathogens from the material on the PDA medium were made for confirmation of the identity of R . solani [ 37 ].…”

Exploring Natural Essence: Aromatic Compounds and Antioxidant Potency in Concretes from Nong Khuang Forest Plants, Nasinuan Subdistrict, Maha Sarakham Province, Thailand

“…Other volatiles including aldehydes, ketones, alcohols, esters, and hydrocarbons have a range of biological activities and potential medicinal uses in the cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and agroindustries and also for pest control in agriculture. 6,7,8 The Nasinuan Community Forest is publicly accessible and maintained for sustainable uses under the royal initiative of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirinhorn. Previous studies showed demonstrated the rich microbial and plant biodiversity.…”