To sustainably utilize natural plant defense for pest control in modern agriculture we need to understand the evolutionary mechanisms underlying the interactions between plants and their enemies. We can only reveal these mechanisms by exercising integrative research such as chemical and molecular ecology. Moreover, we primarily need to understand these mechanisms in their natural co-evolutionary context and only secondarily—when it comes to practical applications—in agricultural systems that have been under artificial human selection. Therefore, we study induced plant responses to herbivore damage in native plant systems, including wild tomato species (Solanum spp.), a wild tobacco species (Nicotiana attenuata), and goldenrod (Solidago altissima). We use chemical and molecular tools to understand the interactions of these plant species with their arthropod communities. Our research established a surprisingly large ecological importance of plant-induced responses in structuring arthropod communities and influencing insect population dynamics. We only began to discuss our results and their implications with agriculture officials and farmers to initiate an awareness of the potential of natural plant defenses.

Plants produce a great diversity of secondary metabolites some of which—together with a series of peptides—function as defensive chemicals that help plants to cope with their enemies, such as herbivores and pathogens. A large number of these defensive compounds are only produced when needed, in the case of an actual enemy attack. Current studies, including our own, show, that these induced plant defenses can have a significant impact on plant fitness and the composition of the plant’s arthropod community. Despite the overwhelming evidence for the ecological importance of induced plant responses, they are barely considered in ecosystem modeling nor are they utilized in modern agriculture. This lack of consideration or utilization derives from a limited knowledge of the underlying molecular, chemical, and ecological mechanisms. We try to reveal these mechanisms by using modern molecular and chemical tools in ecological research on native plant species. Our studies will contribute to a better understanding of plant-insect interactions and dependent ecosystem processes and hence will allow us to increasingly utilize natural plant defenses in a more sustainable agriculture. In light of the current biodiversity crisis and an ever-growing human population, research into the understanding of species interactions is not only important to understand ecosystem processes but is crucial to make our agriculture more sustainable and environmentally sound without compromising productivity.

We study induced plant responses to herbivore damage in native plant systems, including wild tomato species (Solanum spp.), a wild tobacco species (Nicotiana attenuata) and goldenrod (Solidago altissima), to better understand how plants cope with their enemies in natural system, not under the artificial selection of agricultural systems. We use chemical and molecular tools to understand the interactions of these plant species with their arthropod communities. Our research established a surprisingly large ecological importance of plant-induced responses in structuring arthropod communities and influencing insect population dynamics, which was published in scientific journals (Science, Plant Journal, and Oecologia) and at conferences. We only began to discuss our results and their implications with agriculture officials and farmers to initiate an awareness of the potential of natural plant defenses.

Because our work is focused on basic research on wild systems, the direct socio-economic impacts are difficult to evaluate. Nevertheless our research has found diverse responses in public press and within the scientific community, which led to a higher awareness of the significant role of herbivory-induced plant responses in structuring arthropod communities. It thus nurtures a movement that supports the development of agricultural methods that utilize the plants` natural defenses and works toward a more sustainable agriculture.

Sustainable Pest Control