Steven Huth, Stanislav Gorb
During pollination, a highly complex interplay of adhesion forces ensures the proper transfer of a pollen from a male part of a plant to the corresponding female part. The aim of this research project is to quantify how these adhesion forces are affected by the properties of the surfaces that interact with each other during pollen transfer.
Emphasis is put (1) on the relative contribution of electrostatical, van der Waals and capillary forces to the measured pull-off force during different phases of the pollination process and (2) on the different ways these forces are affected by specific properties of floral or insect surfaces. Examples for such surface properties are topography, liquids (e.g. pollenkitt) and charges. Wind-pollinated as well as pollinator-dependent plant species are studied and compared.
