Researchers from Tel Aviv University have found evidence that tomato plants produce ultrasonic noises while under stress, which may be recognized and interpreted by insects, especially female moths. This finding could represent a breakthrough for studies on plant-insect communication.
According to a study that was published in the peer-reviewed journal eLife, female moths seem to use the high-frequency sounds that dried tomato plants emit—which are inaudible to humans—to choose where to lay their eggs.
The study team said, “This is the first evidence of an acoustic interaction between a plant and an insect.”
In the labs of Professors Yossi Yovel and Lilach Hadany at the university’s Wise Faculty of Life Sciences, under the direction of Rya Seltzer and Guy Zer Eshel.
