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<div>Biocontrol and plant growth promotive microbes, especially endophytic ones, interact strongly with plants. They frequently do so via chemical communication with plants. These chemical communicants are, by necessity, active at very low concentrations and may provide many of the same benefits as the microbial agents that produce them. One advantage of use of these biorational compounds is that it may be possible to use these in environments, e.g., in the presence of chemical pesticides and surfactants, that would be lethal to the microbial agents that produce them. An example of such microbial metabolites are the lipopolysaccharides from <i>Bacillus </i>spp. In our studies with <i>Trichoderma </i>strains, we evaluated 1-octen-3-ol (1o3) and 6-penyl pyrone (6PP). In field trials, seed treatments with 1 ul/seed or less of 1o3 induced many of the same effects in corn as did the strains from which they were produced. Plant growth and yields were enhanced and root growth was remarkably stimulated. Similarly, resistance to abiotic stresses such as flooding also was enhanced. In greenhouse tests, both 1o3 and 6PP had similar effects on both corn and soybeans. The effects in the field lasted for the life of at least an annual crop. Clearly, the chemicals must induce changes in the plant, perhaps through epigenetic changes in the nucleic acid and/or through long-term alterations in the plant microbiome. Formulation and delivery systems with these chemicals are being developed.</div>