Response of seven Italian beech provenances to simulated ABS treatments

The effect of ABS (sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate) sprays on the epistomatal waxes of seven Italian provenances of beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) was studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Trees were treated twice a week with 50 ppm sodium dodecylbenzene sulphonate ABS for 10 weeks in a self-operated rain-exclusion shelter. Control trees were either sprayed with a deionised water or were left untreated. Damage to the stomatal waxes was assessed by SEM and stomata were scored for wax degradation according to an arbitrary scale. On the basis of these scores, damage indexes were determined for the various provenances before treatment, after treatment with ABS, and for the controls. Wax degradation was attributed partly to natural leaf aging and partly to the treatment with ABS. The twenty ABS treatments separated some of the provenances statistically.