There is an urgent need for new sustainable solutions to support plants in facing
current environmental challenges. In particular, strengthening of productivity and
food security needs sustainable exploitation of natural resources and metabolites.
In this review, we fetch the attention to the agronomic potential of volatile organic
compounds (VOCs) emitted from plants, as a natural and eco-friendly solution to
defend from stresses and to enhance crop production. Plants defense by emitting
volatile organic compounds communicate with herbivore-attacked neighbors
to activate defenses before being attacked. Many volatile compounds especially,
transcriptome and signal cascade analyses of VOC-exposed plants indicates that
plants snoop to prime direct and indirect defenses and to hone competitive abilities.
A diversity of emission responses have been observed from stressed plants.
Although, the similarities have been seen in bearing environmental stress, it is also
established fact that an emission of VOCs can be induced at any time from leaves
of all plant species following abiotic and abiotic stress.The present challenges
regarding changing environment which may hamper the use of VOCs in open field
are analyzed by several scientist and solutions for a better exploitation of VOCs in
future sustainable agriculture are envisioned.