<i>Desmodium</i> volatiles in 'push-pull' cropping systems and protection against the fall armyworm, <i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>.

ABSTRACT: Push-pull systems for sustainable pest management combine repellent stimuli from intercrops ('push') and attractive stimuli from border plants ('pull') to repel herbivorous insects from a main crop and attract the herbivores' natural enemies. The most widespread implementation, intercropping the legume Desmodium with maize surrounded by border grass, reduces damage from the invasive fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda. While initial research indicated that Desmodium volatiles can dampen the attraction of FAW to maize, a recent study recovered very low volatile emission from the commonly used D. intortum and found that the D. intortum headspace did not reduce FAW oviposition on maize (Erdei et al., 2024). Here, we detect volatiles from the headspace

SUBMITTER: Odermatt DM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12510683 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature