A Methodology for Imaging Soybean Leaf Trichome Characteristics

Abstract

<p>The research involved measuring the wettability in respect to trichrome density amongst 10 soybean leaf genotypes. Trichomes are fine outgrowths on plants that attract pests and provide protection for their habitation, which leads to soybean leaf damage. Therefore, trichome density is an important factor that contributes to soybean yield. Trichome densities of different soybean leaf genotypes were compared and the results gave insight to which genotypes could be more likely to repel pests and water. A chemical leaf clearing process and digital image enhancements allowed for the capturing of images that better exposed leaf trichomes for imaging. The amount of trichomes present on each leaf, length of trichomes, and wettability varied by genotype and were compared. This research will possibly provide an alternative process for phenotyping soybean leaves to replace the current manual phenotyping processes.</p>