Plant Immunity Inducer-Enhanced Volatiles in Rice: Boosting Indirect Defense against Striped Stem Borers Through Parasitoid Attraction.

Plants employ both direct and indirect defense mechanisms to combat herbivorous insects, with volatile emissions playing a critical role in attracting natural enemies of pests. This study investigates the effects of Atailing, a plant immunity inducer, on rice () defenses against the striped stem borer (, SSB). Behavioral assays revealed that Atailing-treated rice plants significantly enhanced (the major egg parasitoid of ) attraction, increasing oviposition parasitism rates (direct, 94.7%; indirect, 131.1%), confirming indirect defense as an active strategy induced by Atailing. GC-MS analysis identified six key functional compounds that significantly attract . Chemical and biological assays demonstrated that the concentrations of salicylic acid (SA) and trypsin inhibitors (TrypPIs) were significantly increased by 30.1% and 13.2%, respectively. These findings highlight the potential of Atailing in modulating volatile emissions to attract natural enemies and provide evidence of its potential as a sustainable pest management tool.