Plants select growth strategies by 'spying' on their neighbors' scents

Phys · May 28, 2026 · 686 words · By Society

Agricultural Science Plant Communication Botanical Research

headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing

Ready to play

Daily briefing

What to know about Agricultural Science

The article reports on a study published in the Journal of Experimental Botany regarding how plants use volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to detect the growth rates of neighboring plants. The research suggests that plants adjust their own growth and defense strategies based on these aromatic cues to respond to competitive pressure.

Propaganda risk 10%

Claims checked 13

Techniques found 1

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center100%

Right0%

1 source compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Plants select growth strategies by 'spying' on their neighbors' scents Sadie Harley Scientific Editor Robert Egan Associate Editor New research reveals that plants have the ability to detect their neighbors' growth rates through aromatic cues called volatile…

Why it matters

VOCs are carbon-based chemicals that evaporate easily into the air and are commonly produced by plants to communicate with herbivores, pollinators and even other plants.

Common ground

They are also responsible for the wide variety of fragrances that plants generate, and are often used in the manufacturing of perfumes, cosmetics, food and cleaning products.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Agricultural Science story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that Dr. Ninkovic and his team conducted two laboratory experiments using three distinct cultivars of barley (Hordeum vulgare) that grow at different rates (slow "Fairytale", intermediate "Luhkas" and fast "Salome") and express different VOC profiles?
How does this story connect Agricultural Science with Plant Communication over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-growth-strategies-spying-neighbors-scents.html

analyticsAnalysis

10%

Propaganda Score

confidence: 100%

Low risk. This article shows minimal use of propaganda techniques.

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 70% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 13 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5

schedule Pending 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 2

verified Verified 1

check_circle

Claim 1: “Dr. Ninkovic and his team conducted two laboratory experiments using three distinct cultivars of barley (Hordeum vulgare) that grow at different rates (slow "Fairytale", intermediate "Luhkas" and fast "Salome") and express different VOC profiles.”

CORROBORATED

Web search results specifically name the three barley cultivars (Fairytale, Luhkas, and Salome) and their respective growth rates used in the study.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — To analyze this phenomenon, the team worked with three barley cultivars (Hordeum vulgare) with different growth rates: Fairytale, a slow-growing variety; Luhkas, with intermediate growth; and Salome, …
https://www.theweather.com/news/plants/plants-spy-on-and-sme…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Volatile interactions between barley cultivars disrupt aphid feeding and reduce relative growth rates. Specific volatile profiles from emitting cultivars significantly impact aphid performance on rece…
https://www.academia.edu/110805135/Volatile_interactions_bet…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — I’m joined by Jessie Inchauspé - biochemist & New York Times bestselling author. Her influential books, 'Glucose Revolution' and 'The Glucose Goddess Method'...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXbw6em-deQ

schedule

Claim 2: “the VOCs most strongly associated with these growth signals include benzyl nitrile, linalool and octanal”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 3: “plants have the ability to detect their neighbors' growth rates through aromatic cues called volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and subsequently adjust how much energy they invest into their own growth or defense strategies through responsive gene expression”

CORROBORATED

The claim is supported by a specific report detailing Dr. Ninkovic's findings that plants adjust growth based on neighbor scents (VOCs) and general scientific literature on VOCs modulating plant growth and defense.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by microorganisms have demonstrated an important role to improve growth and tolerance against abiotic stress on plants. Most studies have used Arabidopsis tha…
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33640574/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — "VOC receiver plants adjusted their growth to match the competitive pressure signaled by their neighbor's scent: they grew more when exposed to a fast-growing neighbor and less when exposed to a slow-…
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-growth-strategies-spying-neigh…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapor pressure at room temperature. They are common and exist in a variety of settings and products, not limited to house mold,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_organic_compound

schedule

Claim 4: “the opposite pattern was true for shifts towards the fast-growing Salome VOC profile.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 5: “Shifts towards the slow-growing Fairytale VOC profile were associated with an up-regulation in stress-response genes that help to protect against herbivores and a down-regulation in cellular transport and DNA replication genes”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

While the general concept of VOCs affecting gene expression is supported, the specific gene up-regulation/down-regulation associated with the 'Fairytale' cultivar was not found in the provided evidence.

check_circle

Claim 6: “they grew more when exposed to a fast-growing neighbor and less when exposed to a slow-growing one”

CORROBORATED

The evidence explicitly quotes Dr. Ninkovic stating that plants 'grew more when exposed to a fast-growing neighbor and less when exposed to a slow-growing one'.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — The NASA Clean Air Study was a project led by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in association with the Associated Landscape Contractors of America (ALCA) in 1989, to research w…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NASA_Clean_Air_Study

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Plants are exposed to many stress factors such as disease, temperature changes, herbivory, injury and more. Therefore, in order to respond or be ready for any kind of physiological state, they need to…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plant_communication

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are organic compounds that have a high vapor pressure at room temperature. They are common and exist in a variety of settings and products, not limited to upholstered…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_organic_compound

+ 3 more evidence sources

check_circle

Claim 7: “This new study published in the Journal of Experimental Botany describes a previously unrecognized role for healthy plant VOCs in competitive growing environments.”

CORROBORATED

A specific web search result explicitly mentions a study published in the Journal of Experimental Botany describing the role of healthy plant VOCs in competitive environments.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — A mycorrhizal network (also known as a common mycorrhizal network or CMN) is an underground network found in forests and other plant communities, created by the hyphae of mycorrhizal fungi joining wit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhizal_network

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — Phonotropism is the growth of organisms in response to sound stimuli. Root phonotropism is when the roots of a plant grow towards or away in response to a sound source. Acoustic cues are detected by t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonotropism

menu_book

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 8: “Barley is one of the world's most important cereal crops”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Multiple encyclopedic and economic sources confirm barley is one of the world's most important cereal crops.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the most important cereal crops in the world. It is widely grown fourth cereal and among top ten crop plants in the world.
https://www.fao.org/fileadmin/user_upload/inpho/docs/Post_Ha…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Barley is one of the most important and widely consumed cereals produced in the world. It was one of the first crops domesticated for human consumption and can grow in a large number of environmental …
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Barley

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Barley is an important cereal worldwide cultivated since about 10,000 years. Barley crop is the fourth most important cereal in the world, after wheat, corn, and rice. It could be a food source for mi…
https://www.intechopen.com/chapters/62190

verified

Claim 9: “VOCs are carbon-based chemicals that evaporate easily into the air and are commonly produced by plants to communicate with herbivores, pollinators and even other plants.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

Wikipedia and multiple scientific sources confirm that VOCs are organic (carbon-based) chemicals that evaporate easily and are used by plants for communication with other plants and animals.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — VOCs are responsible for the odor of scents and perfumes as well as pollutants. They play an important role in communication between animals and plants, such as ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volatile_organic_compound

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Plants emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) as a means to warn other plants of impending danger. Nearby plants exposed to the induced VOCs prepare their ...
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3405699/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Feb 6, 2013 ... Plants synthesize an amazing diversity of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that facilitate interactions with their environment, from ...
https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.12145

verified

Claim 10: “Dr. Velemir Ninkovic from the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences”

VERIFIED

Multiple academic profiles (Google Scholar, ResearchGate, and the University website) confirm Dr. Velemir Ninkovic's affiliation with the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Associate professor, Swedish Univesity of Agricultural Sciences - Citerat av 4 378� - plant-plant communication cehemical ecology - entomology ...
https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=PhocOxQAAAAJ&hl=sv

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Swedish University of ... associated with distinct scientific and taxo... View · The categories of biological ...
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Velemir-Ninkovic

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Velemir Ninkovic, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences: 43 Followers, 24 Following, 92 Research papers. Research interests: Transaction Costs, ...
https://slu-se.academia.edu/VelemirNinkovic

schedule

Claim 11: “Volatiles released by undamaged plants mediate the adaptive growth strategies in neighbors, Journal of Experimental Botany (2026). DOI: 10.1093/jxb/erag252.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 12: “exposure to different VOC profiles triggered shifts in total plant biomass, whereas VOCs from plants with similar growth rates had negligible effects.”

CORROBORATED

The evidence from the specific study report indicates that VOC receiver plants adjusted growth to match the competitive pressure signaled by the neighbor's scent.

menu_book

wikipedia NEUTRAL — A gas detector is a device that detects the presence of gases in a volume of space, often as part of a safety system. A gas detector can sound an alarm to operators in the area where the leak is occur…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gas_detector

menu_book

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 13: “This effect was seen consistently across all parts of the plant leaves, stems, and roots”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm that the effect was seen consistently across leaves, stems, and roots.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.