Water and Solute Permeability of Plant Cuticles

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-xiii

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2. Chemistry and Structure of Cuticles as Related to Water and Solute Permeability

   Pages 1-29

3. Quantitative Description of Mass Transfer

   Pages 31-52

4. Permeance, Diffusion and Partition Coefficients: Units and Their Conversion

   Pages 53-60

5. Water Permeability

   Pages 61-123

6. Penetration of Ionic Solutes

   Pages 125-144

7. Diffusion of Non-Electrolytes

   Pages 145-204

8. Accelerators Increase Solute Permeability of Cuticles

   Pages 205-231

9. Effects of Temperature on Sorption and Diffusion of Solutes and Penetration of Water

   Pages 233-258

10. General Methods, Sources of Errors, and Limitations in Data Analysis

    Pages 259-273

11. Back Matter

    Pages 275-299

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Transport properties of plant cuticles are important for different ?elds of modern plant sciences. Ecologists and physiologists are interested in water losses to the environment via the cuticle. Penetration of plant protecting agents and nutrients into leaves and fruits is relevant for research in agriculture and plant protection. Ecotoxicologists need to know the amounts of environmental xenobiotics which accumulate in leaves and other primary plant organs from the environment. For all of these studies suitable methods should be used, and a sound theoretical basis helps to formulate testable hypotheses and to interpret experimental data. Unnecessary experiments and experiments which yield ambiguous results can be avoided. In this monograph, we have analysed on a molecular basis the movement of molecules across plant cuticles. Based on current knowledge of chemistry and str- ture of cuticles, we have characterised the aqueous and lipophilic pathways, the nature and mechanisms of mass transport and the factors controlling the rate of movement. We have focused on structure–property relationships for penetrant tra- port, which can explain why water and solute permeabilities of cuticles differ widely among plant species. Based on this knowledge, mechanisms of adaptation to en- ronmental factors can be better understood, and rates of cuticular penetration can be optimised by plant physiologists and pesticide chemists.

• Cuticular lipids
• Desiccation
• Environmental stress
• Foliar penetration
• Plant protection
• Transport
• ecology
• regulation

• Ecophysiology of Plants Institute of Cellular and Molecular Botany (IZMB), University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany

  Lukas Schreiber

• Rübeland 6, Winsen-Bannetze, Germany

  Jörg Schönherr

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