Apple leaf wettability variability as a function of genotype and apple scab susceptibility

An important group of fungal diseases, such as apple scab on Malus x domestica leaves, perform infection only by remaining wetted by liquid water for a sufficient time, making leaf wetness duration (LWD) a crucial variable in epidemiological risk assessment. LWD is affected by the leaf wettability, i.e. the geometry of a liquid on a leaf as a consequence of the interaction between molecules of water and structural and physicochemical properties...