Strengthening plants with Aspirin

[jolly]

Something worth keeping in mind. The balance of metabolic processes in a plant is a study in economics. There is a metabolic cost to the plant, when it synthesizes compounds against its various predators. These responses are "switched" on and off, rather than being engaged continuously, because the plant's growth and reproductive success are diminished to some extent whenever it must produce aversive compounds to ward off predation. In order to balance its budget, a plant must forgo the production of something, if it increases its production of something else.

Plants "know" when they are being attacked, and have a rough categorization of the type of predation. They respond differently to simple leaf trauma, compare to leaf trauma caused by insects. If an exogenous compound (say, aspirin) triggers a response, will it be a useful response to whatever specific predatory herbivore may be present? Who knows.

Bob

Bob, I agree that plants are making decisions based on resource economy. I wonder though, that in an agricultural setting where resources are more abundant due to fertilizers and water, if those decisions are as costly.

There was a study cited in the book you recommended to me (What a Plant Knows) where they used leaf damage due to tearing as simulating insect attack. This implies that plants may not know the difference between getting eaten vs mechanical damage -- whereas they do make a distinction between getting eaten and being infected with disease. I haven't seen any study of trying to treat leaves with chemicals to induce these resistances -- though I haven't looked either.

 

[deluxestogie]

This is kind of a murky area. There have been studies published within the last year (I've lost the references) that demonstrated that Arabidopsis thaliana responds differently to the saliva components of different insects, as well as distinguishing between physical damage vs. herbivore predation.

(Arabidopsis sp. is now used in a huge percentage of plant studies, in order to avoid the anti-tobacco trolls.)

Bob

 

[jolly]

I'm in the anti-mustard league. I'll be informing our lobbyists.

 

[deluxestogie]

Use of salicylic acid (or maybe asprin?) in plant restoration for arid conditions in Saudi Arabia:

Using plant ecophysiological techniques, researchers have shown aspirin protects the photosynthesis system—allowing for growth under severe water stress.

Kings Park scientist Jason Stevens says aspirin is applied as a foliar spray for plants and as a coating for seeds.

"This assists plants in regulating water loss from the leaf by controlling stomatal apertures as well as assisting in normal membrane functioning and overall water relations," he says.

"If aspirin can assist the plant in regulating stomatal openings, it goes a long way to protecting the plant from losing too much water."

Mr Courtney says during the trials, approximately 40 per cent of plants survived on as little as 1L of water per month, compared with 3 per cent survival in untreated plants.

http://phys.org/news/2015-04-aspirin-aids-middle-east.html

Of course, the "plants" referred to are desert plants in a desert setting.

Bob

 

[jolly]

Use of salicylic acid (or maybe asprin?) in plant restoration for arid conditions in Saudi Arabia:


Of course, the "plants" referred to are desert plants in a desert setting.

Bob

Very cool. I wonder how long the effects last. Seems like in a desert setting it's going to take many years to rebuild the soil.