Editorial: Interplay of plant volatiles in enhancing immunity and sustainable pest management

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) have emerged as pivotal mediators of plant physiology and ecology, challenging their traditional characterization as mere metabolic by-products (Dudareva et al., 2013). These compounds function as chemical signals that coordinate plant defence responses and mediate ecological communication across multiple trophic levels, offering promising avenues for sustainable agricultural innovation (Turlings and Erb, 2018). The thirteen contributions compiled in this Research Topic advance both mechanistic understanding and practical applications of VOC-mediated plant protection strategies (Figure 1), building upon previous insights into the multifaceted roles of plant volatiles in agricultural ecosystems (Sobhy et al., 2022a). The manipulation of VOC emissions and how the insects perceive these altered VOC bouquets during host recognition and location represent currently a cornerstone of innovative integrated pest management (Bruce and Pickett, 2011;Sobhy et al., 2014;Zhou and Jander, 2022). In this context, Tabanca et al. ( 2025) demonstrated a compelling dual functionality of essential oil constituents from Artemisia absinthium, revealing that both monoterpenes α-thujone and β-thujone not only attract male Mediterranean fruit flies (Ceratitis capitata) but also exhibit potent toxicity against Caribbean fruit flies (Anastrepha suspensa). Such a bifunctional characteristic (i.e., combining attractant properties with insecticidal activities) highlights the potential for plant-derived volatiles to be integrated into sustainable pest management strategies that reduce reliance on synthetic pesticides.Similarly, methyl benzoate (MeBA), a common floral aromatic VOC, exhibits both insecticidal activity and attractant properties in several pest species, supporting such dual VOC Functions (Zhao et al., 2022).In another article, Song et al. ( 2025) elucidated the olfactory mechanisms underlying the noctuid Athetis dissimilis responses to plant VOCs, identifying the green leaf volatiles (GLVs) trans-2hexenal, cis-3-hexen-1-ol, and trans-2-hexen-1-ol as key compounds eliciting strong electroantennogram responses. Most promising was the finding that males exhibit higher sensitivity to these GLVs, associated with differences in odorant-binding protein expression. A similar pattern has been reported in C. capitata, where mated males exhibit higher sensitivity to host-plant fruit and leaf headspace volatiles than females (Sollai et al., 2020). These findings emphasize the importance of understanding sex-specific chemosensory mechanisms when developing VOC-based attractants and pest control strategies for effective field implementation.The specificity of VOC-mediated tritrophic interactions is further highlighted by Sion et al.(2025), who investigated how egg parasitoids Trissolcus japonicus and Trissolcu basalis utilize volatile cues from stink bug egg masses for host location. The identification of γ-butyrolactone and βfunebrene in the headspace of Nezara viridula eggs, coupled with differential parasitoid responses to egg age, reveals the chemical complexity underlying host-parasitoid dynamics and offers practical applications for optimizing biological control programs.VOCs function not only as external signals but also as internal priming agents that enhance plant immunity against herbivores (Conrath et al., 2015). In this regard, Ortells-Fabra et al. ( 2025) provided compelling evidence that synthetic herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) activate defense pathways in citrus rootstocks. Notably, the GLVs (Z)-3-hexenyl propanoate and (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol consistently activated both salicylic acid and jasmonic acid pathways while simultaneously repressing CsPUB21, a gene associated with huanglongbing susceptibility. This dual mode of action (i.e., enhancing plant immune signalling while reducing the expression of a key susceptibility gene), a mechanism also demonstrated earlier in hybrid poplar by Frost and colleagues (2008), represents a sophisticated defence strategy with immediate practical applications for citrus disease management.The genotypic variation in volatile responsiveness, as demonstrated across the four citrus rootstocks, emphasized that effective VOC-based priming strategies must account for genetic background. This principle is further reinforced by Markovic et al. ( 2025), who developed a trait-based laboratory method to identify cereal cultivar pairs capable of reciprocal volatile priming. Over three years of field trials, cultivar mixtures with two-way volatile interactions significantly reduced aphid infestation without compromising yield. These findings lend support to the practical potential of volatile-mediated plant-plant communication as a sustainable pest management strategy.The rhizosphere represents a frontier in VOC research, where root-derived signals mediate complex plant-microbe (Sharifi et al., 2022) and plant-plant interactions (Huang et al., 2019). Cascone et al. Understanding how herbivores perceive and respond to plant volatile profiles is essential for predicting pest pressure and developing deterrent strategies (Zhou and Jander, 2022). In this vein, Chen et al. Endophytic and rhizosphere microorganisms profoundly influence plant volatile emissions, adding another layer of complexity to VOC-mediated defense (Wilberts et al., 2022). In this article collection, Yang et al. (2025) demonstrate that the endophytic fungus Pyrenochaeta nobilis exhibits potent antagonistic activity against Botrytis cinerea in tomato, with fermentation filtrates achieving complete pathogen growth inhibition in vitro and significant disease reduction in planta. Genomic characterisation, including carbohydrate-active enzymes and secondary metabolite biosynthetic gene clusters, provides mechanistic insights into fungal-mediated plant protection and informs future biocontrol optimisation.Plant viruses have evolved sophisticated strategies to manipulate host volatile emissions for their own transmission advantage (Blanc and Michalakis, 2016). In this regard, Li et al. (2025) demonstrate that Pepper veinal yellows virus, via its movement protein P4, manipulates host volatile biosynthesis to simultaneously attract both aphid vectors and non-vector whiteflies. This co-attraction strategy (i.e., enhancing certain volatiles while suppressing others) facilitates viral replication through increased trans-zeatin accumulation in co-infested plants, revealing the ecological complexity of virus-vector-plant interactions with broad implications for disease epidemiology in agricultural systems where multiple insect species coexist.Beyond airborne chemical signalling, other secondary metabolites contribute to plant defence through complementary mechanisms (Erb and Kliebenstein, 2020). For example, Zhang et al. (2025) demonstrate that seven flavonoids (e.g., naringenin, apigenin, and kaempferol) effectively suppress cotton aphid populations by deterring host settling, reducing phloem feeding, and decreasing reproductive rates, establishing them as promising eco-friendly alternatives to synthetic insecticides.