Plant volatiles: a promising ecofriendly tool for aphid integrated management

Aphids are a significant category of pests that inflict considerable damage to crops. Currently, they are primarily controlled with synthetic chemical pesticides. Despite the extensive application of chemical pesticides to mitigate the damage caused by aphids, their widespread deployment also results in contamination to the environment and toxicity to non-target organisms. Consequently, there is an imperative need to identify novel, eco-friendly strategies to manage aphids, which could diminish the current reliance on conventional chemical pesticides. Plant volatiles, which function as semiochemicals, are emerging as a promising class of eco-friendly agents to control these pests. These compounds are emitted by the plants themselves and exert a pivotal regulatory influence within the tri-trophic interactions that encompass plants, aphids, and their natural enemies. Plant volatiles are characterized by a broad spectrum of chemical structures and have demonstrated repellent properties against diverse species of aphids at low concentrations and can attract the natural enemies of these pests. Therefore, they are highly significant in the realm of integrated pest management (IPM) to control aphids. Moreover, plant volatiles operate via a distinct mechanism of action. They primarily target proteins within the peripheral nervous system of insects and lack cross-resistance with existing pesticides. These attributes suggest that it is feasible to incorporate plant volatiles or their synthetic derivatives into IPM strategies to control aphids. Thus, this review focuses on elucidating the chemical diversity, biological activities, underlying mechanisms, and potential applications of plant volatiles to manage aphids. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.