Tomatoes Emit Natural Signal to Warn Other Plants When Attacked by Insects

Tomatoes originated in Peru, and its Aztec name translates to a plump creature with a navel. There are approximately 10,000 tomato varieties, which come in a range of hues such as pink, purple, black, yellow, and white.

According to a recent study published in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems, when infected by caterpillars, the fruits of a variety of tomato plant convey electrical signals to the rest of the plant.

Plants contain a plethora of chemical and hormonal signaling routes, which are often conveyed via sap (the nutrient-rich water that moves through the plant). In the case of fruits, nutrients go solely to the fruit, and little study has been conducted to determine whether there is any communication in the reverse direction. from plant to fruit.

How do tomatoes react when being attacked?

Niemeyer Reissig and her colleagues placed tomato plants in a Faraday cage with electrodes at the ends of the branches linking the fruits to the plant to test the idea that fruits communicate by electrical impulses.

The electrical responses were then measured before, during, and after the fruits were attacked by Helicoverpa armigera caterpillars for 24 hours. A Machine learning was also utilized by the researchers to find patterns in the signals.

The results revealed a significant difference between the signals before and after the attack. The authors also evaluated biological reactions, such as defense compounds like hydrogen peroxide, in different regions of the plant.

This demonstrated that these electrical warnings were activated even in areas of the plant furthest from the caterpillars' harm. The authors caution that these are preliminary findings. Rather of differentiating individual signals more accurately, their measurements provide a "big picture" representation of all electrical signals.

It will also be fascinating to examine if this pattern applies to other plant species and various sorts of threats.

Having said that, this innovative use of machine learning looks to have a lot of promise for resolving these and other future problems. The technology might also lead to new-and perhaps more ecologically friendly-methods of pest control in agriculture.

"If studies like ours continue to advance and techniques for measuring electrical signals in open environments improve, it will be possible to detect agricultural pest quite early, allowing for less aggressive control measures and more accurate insect management," says Niemeyer Reissig. "Understanding how the plant interacts with its fruits, and the fruits among themselves, may bring insights on how to 'manipulate' this communication to enhancing fruit quality, pest resistance, and shelf life after harvest."

The Life of a tomato

The tomato plants life cycle begins with seeds, and as the plant develops and matures, blooms appear. After pollination and fertilization, fruits with seeds form, allowing the life cycle to restart.

Tomato plants are classified as flowering plants, or angiosperms. The tomato plant reproduces sexually, which means that seeds must be produced by both female and male organs. Every tomato seed contains a little tomato plant. Tomato seeds will germinate if the conditions are exactly perfect.

The radicle or young root emerges initially and spreads down into the ground when the seed germinates. The cotyledons, or seed leaves, then emerge and grow toward the Sun, and the young plant produces real leaves. More leaves and flower buds appear as the plant grows. Flowers form on mature tomato plants, and this is where sexual reproduction happens.