Harnessing Jasmonic Acid for Sustainable Agriculture and Horticulture: A Comprehensive Review

Abstract

Phytohormones, pivotal regulators of plant growth and development, are increasingly recognized for their multifaceted roles in enhancing crop resilience against environmental stresses. Jasmonic acid (JA) and allied jasmonates have moved from being regarded chiefly as wound hormones to being understood as central coordinators of plant defence, development, metabolic reprogramming and environmental adaptation. This repositioning is highly relevant to sustainable agriculture and horticulture because crop production now requires lower external inputs, improved stress resilience, tighter postharvest management and better quality retention across complex supply chains. This review synthesises current knowledge on JA biosynthesis, perception and signalling, with emphasis on how the COI1-JAZ-MYC regulatory module integrates cues from pathogens, herbivores, nutrient status, light and temperature. Particular attention is given to the dual agronomic identity of jasmonates: endogenous signals that can be tuned through breeding and biotechnology, and exogenous elicitors that can be applied before harvest or after harvest to prime resistance and improve quality. The evidence shows that jasmonates can strengthen tolerance to insect attack, necrotrophic pathogens, drought, salinity, temperature extremes and nutrient deficiency, while also reshaping specialised metabolism, fruit ripening, colour development, aroma formation and shelf life. However, these benefits are conditional. Dose, timing, crop genotype, developmental stage, formulation and environmental context determine whether JA promotes productive resilience or imposes unacceptable growth penalties. The review therefore, evaluates both promise and constraint, highlighting horticultural and postharvest systems where implementation is already relatively mature and field-scale row cropping systems where translation remains more variable. The paper concludes that the most realistic pathway for harnessing JA lies not in constitutively amplifying defence, but in deploying precisely timed, context-aware jasmonate interventions integrated with breeding, microbiome management, protected cultivation and reduced-input crop protection.