УНИВЕРЗИТЕТ У БАЊОЈ ЛУЦИ,
ИНСТИТУТ ЗА ГЕНЕТИЧКЕ РЕСУРСЕ

UNIVERSITY OF BANJA LUKA,
GENETIC RESOURCES INSTITUTE

Volatile Interaction Between Undamaged Corn Plants and Beans Plants and its Impact on the Lice

 Coordinator: Prof Dr Rodoljub Oljača

Supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of Srpska
 
 Implementation Time: 2010 – 2012
 
Lice are among the most dangerous pest in agricultural production of the Republic of Srpska and to keep them under control requires uses of various pesticides. Previous research have shown that the interaction among plants by means of volatile chemicals (volatile matter) can affect the yield and lice susceptibility while the plants do not need to be closely related. Plants exposure to volatile substances of neighbors makes them less susceptible to lice attack.
This process is called alelobioza. Lice are insects that feed directly on plants by sucking phloem while using different chemical signals to assess the quality of the host on which they will be fed. Lice are an excellent model of the herbivore to assess the host plant chemical changes. The study of interaction by means of volatile substances will be carried over to the corn and bean plants whose joint crop cultivation is a well-known production system. Very little is known about the mechanisms of information exchange through the volatile substances that affect the phenotypic characteristics and susceptibility to lice, and the positive effects of plant protection. A plant that receives these signals (corn in this case) can benefit by being informed of possible threats and dangers in their environment in order to be able to promptly activate defense mechanisms.
The research goal:
The main objective of this research is to explain the mechanism of information exchange between corn and bean plants by volatile substances and their effect on lice. The implementation of the project will provide a scientific explanation based on:
 
1. The potentials of the effects of volatile interaction between different species plants and their impacts
2. The identification of volatile substances that affect plants broadcasters to reduce the susceptibility of plants exposed to lice,
3. The detection of temperature changes in the  plants exposed to infrared camera.