Induced plant volatiles allow sensitive monitoring of plant health status in greenhouses

This paper provides a synthesis of our research on the use of induced plant volatiles for sensitive monitoring of plant health status in greenhouses. The main research objective of this research was to investigate whether plant-emitted volatiles can be used to detect a Botrytis cinerea infection in a large-scale greenhouse. The pathogenic fungus B. cinerea and the plant species tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) were selected as model organisms. Based on this choice, three main research questions were formulated: (1) What is the effect of a B. cinerea infection on the emission of volatiles from tomato? (2) Are B. cinerea induced emissions of tomato specific for the infection with this pathogen? (3) Are B. cinerea induced concentrations of volatiles detectable in large-scale greenhouses?