The reaction of plants to stress from their environment, be it the plant’s consumers or the environment, involves a series of pathways which induce defenses (Tian, Peiffer, et al.). These pathways involve several hormones which trigger the defense responses in plants. Jasmonic acid is a hormone that plants release to control the responses from stress, such as damage from weather or herbivores. It has been observed in many studies that applying jasmonic acid onto a tomato plant can be used as a pesticide by inducing defenses plant naturally use to deter herbivores from consuming them (Tian, Tooker, et al.; Tian, Peiffer, et al.). Administering jasmonic acid onto a tomato plant can cause plants to grow more trichomes, which are hair-like structures that grow on the leaf of the plant that make traversing them more difficult for herbivores (Tian, Tooker, et al.). Tomato plants treated with jasmonic acid have been shown to be less preferable to consume by herbivores as a result of secondary compounds produced, and the herbivores that consume them do not grow as large (Tian, Peiffer, et al.).
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