The Function of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Released from Cruciferous Crops Infested with Myzus persicae and Uninfested to Attract Parasitoids

The green peach aphid, Mysuz persicae is a parasitic aphid and a commonly found polyphagous insect. It can cause direct and indirect damage to many plant families, including cruciferous crops, by feeding on plant sap and transmitting plant pathogens. The aphid infestation can trigger the host plant, such as cabbage to release different volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and parasitoids can use some of these compounds as chemical markers to distinguish their hosts. Some compounds were discovered in both infested and uninfested cabbage using headspace solid microextraction (SPME) coupled with GC-MS technology. According to the GC-MS report, VOCs released from infested and uninfested cabbage plants varied quantitatively and qualitatively. In a Y-tube olfactometer bioassay, M. persicae attracts both infested and uninfested plants, and the parasitoids Aphelinus abdominalis and Aphidus colemani prefer infested plants to uninfested plants.