Kairomones

Plant and Fungal Kairomones

Kairomones are volatile semiochemicals from plants and other organisms that send important signals to insects to help them decide if the plant is a suitable host. Kairomones indicate the type of plant and its health and vigor. Constitutive plant defense compounds are species specific and make up part of the permanent kairomone bouquet of each plant. When plants are stressed, diseased or injured by herbivorous insects, volatile defense compounds are temporarily produced. These kairomones can have either attractive or repellent effects depending upon the context of how they are used. Plant volatiles can serve to synergise and intensify the attractive effects of insect pheromones forming the basis for creating highly attractive lures. The plant volatiles can also attract insect predators, act as feeding deterrents or act as repellent signals to potential pests thereby forming the basis for crop and tree protection.

Fungal volatiles also serve as important semiochemical cues for insects associated with fungal pathogens and symbionts.

Synergy has an extensive library of plant and fungal volatile semiochemicals and the expertise to formulate them into a wide variety of controlled release device formats. We can custom design your device to release very low daily doses or up to very high daily doses.

There are many classes of plant compounds acting as semiochemicals that we have developed practical controlled release formulations for. Listed here are some examples of the semiochemicals we have formulated.