Scientists are helpings plants defend themselves against insects without using pesticides.
Plants have their own natural defense systems to ward off insects. They wanted to see if they could get rid of one of the tomato's worst enemies, the beet army worm, without using pesticides. Now, when tomatoes are attacked, they release a chemical called Jasmonic Acid which attracts wasps, and the wasps kill the worms. So, researchers sprayed half their tomatoes with extra Jasmonic Acid and the other half with water. The tomatoes treated with extra Jasmonic Acid were much more capable of attracting the wasps and getting rid of the worms.