A Study of Wheat Wax Optical Properties

Epicuticular waxes are a multifunctional interface between a plant and the environment. In this paper wheat leaves wax has been studied. Wax isolation was carried out using the method of gradual freezing in water followed by slow thawing. The morphology of the samples obtained was observed with a Hitachi SU3500 electron microscope. The structure period is determined by the nanotubes diameter which equals 150-200 nm. Random orientation of their long axes in the layer allows using a one-dimensional model to calculate the transmission spectrum of a photonic crystal with the help of the transfer matrix method. While making the calculations a defect that may be caused by possible interlayer heterogeneity also must be taken into account. Numerical modeling made it possible to identify the stop zone and the defective mode. Intense fluorescence appears in the optical area of the wax layer under ultraviolet radiation, thus increasing the efficiency of photosynthesis.