Scientists at the University of Bern have discovered a remarkable biological communication system: when one plant is attacked, neighboring plants can release defensive chemicals before the injured plant itself. The findings could help transform agriculture and reduce dependence on pesticides.

FLI Institute | Biology, Science & Innovation | October 30, 2026

Imagine a farmer walking through a cornfield.

A caterpillar begins eating the leaves of one maize plant. Within moments, that plant releases invisible chemical signals into the surrounding air.

Its neighbors detect the warning.

And then something extraordinary happens.

The neighboring plants begin releasing certain defensive compounds before the plant that is actually being attacked.

It sounds almost like science fiction. Yet researchers at the University of Bern have demonstrated precisely this phenomenon in a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The discovery reveals that plants are not merely passive organisms responding individually to their environment. They participate in complex networks of chemical communication that can influence the behavior of entire plant communities.

And the implications could extend far beyond the laboratory.

A Biological Early-Warning System

Scientists have known for years that plants release volatile organic compounds when attacked by insects.

These airborne chemicals can serve several purposes.

Some help neighboring plants prepare their defenses. Others attract insects that prey on the herbivores attacking the plant.

What remained unclear was how quickly these chemical exchanges occurred and how the timing of defensive responses differed between attacked and neighboring plants.

A research team led by Professor Matthias Erb at the University of Bern set out to investigate.

The researchers connected pairs of maize plants using a controlled airflow system.

They simulated caterpillar feeding on one plant by damaging its leaves and applying secretions from caterpillars.

The second plant remained completely unharmed.

But it received the chemical signals released by its injured neighbor.

Using an automated measurement system combining mass spectrometry and specialized sampling equipment, the scientists monitored the plants’ chemical emissions at 15-minute intervals.

They expected the injured plant to activate and release its defenses first.

Instead, the neighboring plant surprised them.

The Plant That Wasn’t Attacked Responded First

The undamaged maize plants began releasing certain induced defensive compounds earlier than the injured plants.

Initially, the result appeared contradictory.

How could a plant that had not been attacked respond more quickly than the plant experiencing the damage?

The answer emerged from the chemical nature of the warning signals.

When plant tissue is damaged, it releases substances known as green leaf volatiles.

These compounds are partly responsible for the familiar smell of freshly cut grass.

They escape from damaged tissue within seconds or minutes, long before other defensive chemicals are produced and released.

Neighboring plants detect these airborne molecules and respond by activating their own defensive processes.

The researchers confirmed the importance of these signals using genetically modified maize plants that could not produce certain green leaf volatiles.

Without those warning compounds, the neighboring plants did not exhibit the same rapid response.

The team also used carbon-isotope labeling to demonstrate that the neighboring plants were producing and releasing their own defensive compounds rather than merely passing along chemicals absorbed from the injured plant.

This was an important distinction.

The neighboring plants were not simply transmitting the warning.

They were responding biologically to it.

Why the Victim May Be Slower Than Its Neighbors

The researchers discovered another intriguing detail.

Although neighboring plants released defensive compounds earlier, they did not necessarily begin producing those compounds or activating their defense hormones earlier.

The difference appeared to lie in how quickly the chemicals escaped from the leaves.

One possible explanation involves stomata: microscopic openings on leaf surfaces that regulate gas exchange and water loss.

When a plant is injured, it may rapidly close its stomata to prevent dehydration.

An unharmed neighboring plant, however, can keep these openings functioning normally.

This could allow the neighbor to release defensive compounds more quickly.

The hypothesis remains under investigation. The researchers have not yet demonstrated conclusively that stomatal behavior causes the difference.

Nevertheless, the discovery reveals a sophisticated relationship between plant physiology and chemical communication.

A plant’s ability to respond to danger may depend not only on how quickly it produces a defensive signal, but also on how efficiently it releases that signal into its environment.

Could Plants Defend Entire Fields Together?

The findings raise a fascinating possibility.

When one plant is attacked, neighboring plants may amplify its chemical warning signals.

Instead of an isolated plant responding to an insect, a group of plants could potentially create a broader chemical signal.

That signal might help attract beneficial insects, including natural predators of the pests.

In such a system, an unharmed plant could become an early-warning amplifier for the plant under attack.

Professor Erb and his colleagues now want to determine whether this amplification actually strengthens plant defenses and helps beneficial insects locate pests.

These questions remain unanswered.

The current experiments were conducted under controlled conditions, and the researchers still need to establish how important the observed timing differences are in agricultural fields.

But the potential is significant.

The Future of Agriculture: Teaching Crops to Defend Themselves

Modern agriculture depends heavily on pesticides to protect crops from insects and disease.

Although pesticides can be highly effective, their use also creates environmental and economic challenges.

Scientists are therefore investigating ways to strengthen plants’ natural defensive systems.

The new research suggests a possible alternative approach.

Instead of waiting for insects to damage crops, farmers might eventually use specific natural chemical signals to stimulate defensive responses at carefully selected moments.

Such technologies could potentially help crops prepare for pest attacks before significant damage occurs.

This does not mean farmers will soon be spraying fields with the smell of freshly cut grass.

The chemistry is considerably more complex.

Researchers must identify which compounds trigger useful responses, determine appropriate concentrations and evaluate potential effects on crop growth, beneficial insects and the wider ecosystem.

Large-scale field experiments will be essential.

Still, the principle is compelling: future crop protection could involve activating biological defense mechanisms that plants already possess.

The Business Opportunity: From Pesticides to Biological Intelligence

The discovery also raises questions for agricultural biotechnology companies, investors and business schools.

If plant communication can eventually be translated into practical agricultural technologies, several fields could benefit.

Precision agriculture might incorporate sensors that detect chemical signals associated with pest attacks.

Biotechnology companies could investigate treatments designed to stimulate plants’ natural defenses.

Agricultural researchers could explore whether particular crop combinations or planting arrangements improve chemical signaling between neighboring plants.

These are potential applications rather than technologies demonstrated by the new study.

Their commercial feasibility, cost and effectiveness remain to be established.

But they illustrate an important direction in biological innovation.

Instead of relying exclusively on external chemical interventions, future agricultural systems may increasingly seek to understand and work with the mechanisms that evolution has already developed.

A Leadership Lesson from the Cornfield

The discovery also offers an intriguing analogy for organizational leadership.

In conventional management structures, the individual or department experiencing a problem is often expected to respond first.

But biological systems can operate differently.

The plant under attack sends a warning, while its unaffected neighbors may release certain defensive signals more quickly.

The strongest response does not necessarily originate where the damage occurs.

It can emerge elsewhere in the network.

For leaders, this offers a useful way to think about resilient organizations.

Effective teams do not simply wait for a crisis to reach every department.

They establish communication systems that allow information about emerging threats to travel quickly, enabling other parts of the organization to prepare and respond.

The biological experiment does not prove a management theory.

But it illustrates how decentralized systems can generate unexpected advantages through rapid information exchange.

The Next Frontier in Plant Biology

The University of Bern researchers are continuing to investigate how plants perceive volatile chemicals and how those signals influence their defenses.

Earlier work from the same university demonstrated that plants can absorb warning compounds not only through their stomata but also through their leaf surfaces, allowing chemical perception even when stomata are closed.

Together, these discoveries are helping scientists understand plant communication with unprecedented precision.

They also challenge the popular perception of plants as largely passive living organisms.

Plants do not possess human-like consciousness or language.

But they can detect chemical information, modify their physiology and influence the responses of nearby organisms.

Their world is far more dynamic than it appears.

The next time you smell freshly cut grass, consider what that scent represents.

To humans, it may evoke summer.

To neighboring plants, similar molecules can convey information about damage and danger.

In nature, survival is not always about being the strongest organism. Sometimes it is about receiving the warning first — and responding before the threat arrives.

Image: Plants under attack release airborne chemical signals that can trigger defensive responses in neighboring plants.

Scientific sources

University of Bern, October 29, 2026. Rapid exchange of volatiles strengthens plant defenses.

Cofer, T. M., Hu, L., Glauser, G., & Erb, M. (2026). Rapid green leaf volatile sensing allows intact plants to release induced volatiles earlier than wounded emitters. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2604047123

Yu, H., et al. (2026). Uptake via the leaf surface allows plants to perceive volatiles with closed stomata. Current Biology.

DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2026.08.005