Herbivore species, infestation time, and herbivore density affect induced volatiles in tea plants

In response to insect herbivory, plants emit volatiles that are used by the herbivores’ natural enemies to locate their host or prey. Herbivore attack also enhances tea aroma. Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) vary both quantitatively and qualitatively with infestation duration and herbivore density. Thus, whether HIPVs can reliably communicate the identities of herbivores is of interest. Here, we studied the tea plant volatiles induced by the tea leafhopper (Empoasca vitis, a piercing–sucking insect), the tea geometrid (Ectropis oblique, a chewing insect), and methyl jasmonate (MeJA, a plant hormone). Geometrid feeding induced more complex volatile blends than did leafhopper infestation. The volatiles induced by both herbivores significantly increased in quality and quantity with time during the first 16 h of infestation, after which the profiles of induced volatile blends and the emission of induced compounds varied diurnally. (E)-β-Ocimene displayed a unique rhythm in which emission peaked at night. The amount of HIPVs significantly increased, while their profiles changed little, with herbivore density. Overall, the leafhoppers and geometrids induced significantly different volatiles from tea plants, while the HIPV profiles varied with a circadian rhythm and were similar at different herbivore densities. Our findings also suggest a new method of enhancing tea flavor using exogenously applied plant hormones, because the volatiles induced by leafhoppers and MeJA were similar in general composition.