Best of two evils Sometimes things happen whereby you ask yourself, is this smart. Like the spit of the tobacco hornworm, a butterfly, that transforms one of the fragrances of the tabaco plant. But this transformation causes the attraction of the tobacco hornworm natural enemies. Now Dutch researchers together with Belgian, German, and Taiwanese researchersContinue reading “Best of two evils”
Category Archives: Plant defence
Decoy
Decoy Pathogens, we rather not have them. But keeping them away or getting rid of them is not always that easy. Sometimes they take essential processes hostage. Processes which a plant can’t do without. This makes the ideal for pathogens to use them for their own growth. Still plants are not that easily to infect.Continue reading “Decoy”
Chemical mines
Chemical mines Lots of our crops miss defence mechanisms against insects. A defence that is precent in their wild relatives. And to be honest, for a long time a good insect defence mechanism was not a top priority for crops. As pesticides had taken over this job. But now farmers put pesticides aside, it isContinue reading “Chemical mines”
Don’t touch me
Don’t touch me Plants are most often not recognised for their speed. Their reaction is often hardly visible with the naked eye, to see them moving you really need some patience. But as always there are some exceptions. Those that react quickly. To catch insects. Or to scare them away. They do that without aContinue reading “Don’t touch me”
Plant en Zo 