‘Sneezing’ plants: pathogen transport via jumping-droplet condensation
2019 ◽
Vol 16
(155)
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pp. 20190243
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The Self
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We show that condensation growing on wheat leaves infected with the leaf rust fungus, Puccinia triticina , is capable of spontaneously launching urediniospores off the plant. This surprising liberation mechanism is enabled by the superhydrophobicity of wheat leaves, which promotes a jumping-droplet mode of condensation powered by the surface energy released from coalescence events. We found that urediniospores often adhere to the self-propelled condensate, resulting in liberation rates of approximately 10 cm −2 h −1 for leaves infected with rust. Urediniospores were catapulted up to 5 mm from the leaf’s surface, a distance sufficient to clear the laminar boundary layer for subsequent dispersal even in gentle winds.
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2021 ◽
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