Investigation of Turfgrass Morphological and Cuticular Differences and Their Relationship to Hydrophobicity.

Foliar applications of fertilizers and pesticides are common in turfgrass management.  Understanding the mechanisms involved in uptake of the chemicals is pivotal to increasing uptake and reducing overall losses. Various warm-season turfgrasses were studied to determine the relationship of leaf chemical and morphological characteristics with the hydrophobicity of the leaf surface. Grasses were harvested and transplanted to the Clemson Greenhouse Facility, Clemson, SC. Cuticle morphology was studied using scanning electron microscopy and cuticle roughness was analyzed using fractal analysis. Cuticle composition was studied by cuticle extraction and analyzed with gas chromatography. Leaf width and surface morphology was studied using laser microscopy to analyze leaf topography. Preliminary results indicate cuticle morphology is directly dependent upon chemical composition of the cuticle and leaf morphology and topography is dependent upon species. Hydrophobicity of leaf surface was tested using a static water droplet and analyzing the contact angle of a droplet on each surface. Correlation analysis has been currently conducted to determine which of the leaf surface characteristics is responsible for the hydrophobicity of the leaf surface. This research will provide insight into the barriers of foliar absorption and give insight into many mechanisms involved with the interaction between solution and leaf surface.