India, Oct. 9 -- What if the solution to devastating pest attacks wasn't to kill the insects, but to convince them to go elsewhere? This is exactly what a team of scientists in Argentina is doing by making plant defend themselves.

Instead of using chemicals to attack pests, the scientists target the invisible conversation happening between plants and insects. In a warming world, the technology can benefit many countries, especially tropical ones like India, where pest attacks have not only intensified, but new pest species are destroying crops.

Plants emit odours and insects are guided by these invisible scent trails to find suitable plants to feed on or lay eggs in. What the scientists in Argentina have found is that by manipulating th...