Variability and stability of tea weevil‐induced volatile emissions from tea plants with different weevil densities,photoperiod and infestation duration

Abstract After herbivore attack, many plants emit herbivore‐induced plant volatiles (HIPVs). HIPVs can attract carnivores and/or repel herbivores, thereby mediating tritrophic plant–herbivore–carnivore interactions. HIPVs act as chemical information between organisms; hence, their variability and stability are vital. In the present study, variations in the volatile emissions, from the tea plant Camellia sinensis (O. Ktze) damaged by the tea weevil Myllocerinus aurolineatus (Voss) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), with weevil densities, photoperiod and infestation duration, were investigated. The volatiles induced by high‐density weevils were more abundant in composition and amount than those induced by low‐density weevils, whether at noon, night or after weevil removal. The induced volatile emissions were similar on the second and third day after infestation, and the emissions of the major induced compounds displayed diurnal cycles. Linalool, (E,E)‐α‐farnesene, and benzyl nitrile were emitted mainly at noon, whereas 1,3,8‐p‐menthatriene and (E)‐β‐ocimene were maximally emitted at night. Given the different emission dynamics, significant differences were found between noon‐ and night‐induced volatiles. In summary, tea plants damaged by different weevil densities emitted a relatively stable signal at a particular time. This stability could be attributed to the similarities under the two densities of the main induced volatile compounds, their relative ratios and the emission dynamics of the induced volatiles.