Abstract
Many plants respond to herbivory by releasing a specific blend of volatiles that is attractive to natural enemies of the herbivores. In corn (Zea mays), this induced odor blend is mainly composed of terpenoids and indole. The induced signal varies with plant species and genotype, but little is known about the variation due to abiotic factors. Here, we tested the effect of soil humidity, air humidity, temperature, light, and fertilization rate on the emission of induced volatiles in young corn plants. Each factor was tested separately under constant conditions for the other factors. Plants released more when standing in dry soil than in wet soil, whereas for air humidity, the optimal release was found at around 60% relative humidity. Temperatures between 22 degrees C and 27 degrees C led to a higher emission than lower or higher temperatures. Light intensity had a dramatic effect. The emission of volatiles did not occur in the dark and increased steadily with an increase in the light intensity. An experiment with an unnatural light-dark cycle showed that the release was fully photophase dependent. Fertilization also had a strong positive effect; the emission of volatiles was minimal when plants were grown under low nutrition, even when results were corrected for plant biomass. Changes in all abiotic factors caused small but significant changes in the relative ratios among the different compounds (quality) in the induced odor blends, except for air humidity. Hence, climatic conditions and nutrient availability can be important factors in determining the intensity and variability in the release of induced plant volatiles.
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Claims 8
Claim · model-written summary
Dry soil increased induced volatile release relative to wet soil.
Verbatim
e0“Plants released more when standing in dry soil than in wet soil”
t0“Corn Plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Air humidity near 60% gave optimal induced volatile release.
- Taxon
- Corn Plants
Zea mays subsp. mayst0 - Treatment
- air humiditye0
- Outcome
- releasee0
- Direction
- optimale0
- Value
- 60% relative humiditye0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“for air humidity, the optimal release was found at around 60% relative humidity”
t0“Corn Plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Temperatures of 22–27°C produced higher emission than temperatures outside that range.
- Taxon
- Corn PlantsZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Treatment
- Temperatures between 22 degrees C and 27 degrees Ce0
- Outcome
- emissione0
- Direction
- highere0
- Comparator
- lower or higher temperaturese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Temperatures between 22 degrees C and 27 degrees C led to a higher emission than lower or higher temperatures”
t0“Corn Plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Volatile emission did not occur in darkness.
- Taxon
- Corn PlantsZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Treatment
- darke0
- Outcome
- emission of volatilese0
- Direction
- did not occure0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The emission of volatiles did not occur in the dark”
t0“Corn Plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Volatile emission rose steadily with light intensity.
- Taxon
- Corn PlantsZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Treatment
- light intensitye0
- Direction
- increased steadilye0
Not reportedOutcome
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“increased steadily with an increase in the light intensity”
t0“Corn Plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Volatile release depended fully on photophase in an unnatural light-dark cycle.
- Taxon
- Corn PlantsZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Outcome
- releasee0
- Qualifier
- fully photophase dependente0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“An experiment with an unnatural light-dark cycle showed that the release was fully photophase dependent”
t0“Corn Plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Low nutrition minimized volatile emission even after correction for plant biomass.
- Taxon
- Corn PlantsZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Treatment
- low nutritione0
- Outcome
- emission of volatilese0
- Direction
- minimale0
- Qualifier
- even when results were corrected for plant biomasse0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the emission of volatiles was minimal when plants were grown under low nutrition, even when results were corrected for plant biomass”
t0“Corn Plants”
Claim · model-written summary
Abiotic factors other than air humidity significantly changed the relative ratios of odor compounds.
- Taxon
- Corn PlantsZea mays subsp. mayst0
- Treatment
- all abiotic factorse0
- Outcome
- relative ratios among the different compoundse0
- Qualifier
- except for air humiditye0
Not reportedComparatorDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Changes in all abiotic factors caused small but significant changes in the relative ratios among the different compounds (quality) in the induced odor blends, except for air humidity”
t0“Corn Plants”
The same questions in other papers
light · quality: phytochemicals · Zea mays (maize)Positive and negative results
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See all 7 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.