News Plants

Plants under attack leave behind a surprising call for backup

Bacteria can help plants attract wasps in soils where there’s a history of herbivore attack

a single strand of cowpeas is centered in the photo, with leaves from the plant shown on either side

Cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata, shown) attract parasitoid wasps for help when under attack from an insect eating its leaves. A new study shows that a hidden source can spark plants to put out these SOS calls: Microbes in the soil.

EUNBI KIM/iStock/Getty Images Plus

By Erin Garcia de Jesús

This is a human-written story voiced by AI.