Agriculture et agroscience Industrie
The Practical Guide to Surface Science (2026)

Écrit par

Dr Amit Pratap Singh

PhD, Delhi University Post Doc - AIST Japan

Guest Author

Reviewed by

Dr Alidad Amirfazli

Dr. Amirfazli, a leading expert in surface wetting and superhydrophobic coatings, has 250+ publications, edits Advances in Colloid and Interface Science, and has received multiple research awards.

Scientific Advisor & Co-founder

This is a practical guide to Surface Science for researchers working in the Farming & Agriscience Industry.

Dans ce tout nouveau guide, vous apprendrez tout sur :

Crucial surface science principles
The significance of surface science measurements for the Farming & Agriscience industry
Normes et directives ASTM applicables

Plongeons dans le vif du sujet.

Contenu

Executive Summary

What it covers: How agriscience labs use contact angle, surface tension, surface free energy and sliding angle on leaves, soil, sprays, coatings and films. Each measurement is tied to a field or lab problem and to a published client study or case study.

Key insights: Leaves and soil are rough, so the fitting method matters as much as the instrument. A University of Toronto study measured water contact angles of 139.7 to 150.1 degrees on regrown aspen leaves. At Murdoch University, tight cropping and a tilted baseline fixed analysis errors on real soil.

Business value: Wetting checks screen adjuvants, coatings and soil treatments on the bench before slow field or shelf life trials. One portable kit covers four measurements, so a small research team can run them without booking a shared lab instrument.

Standards to follow: ASTM D1331 describes surface and interfacial tension of surfactant solutions by the ring and plate methods. The Dropometer uses the pendant drop method, so treat its result as an alternative value and do not label it D1331. We found no ISO or ASTM standard for contact angle on soil.

Bottom line: Measure surface tension while you formulate a spray or coating, and contact angle once it meets a leaf, peel or soil. Start with the measurement that matches your problem, then book a 15-minute consult about testing it on your own samples.

Chapitre 1 : Introduction

In farming and agriscience, many costly losses start where a liquid meets a surface. A spray that beads on a waxy leaf runs off before it works. Rain that sits on water repellent soil never reaches the roots.

These are the places where wetting decides yield in agriscience work:

Spray runoff from waxy leaves. Contact angle of the spray on the leaf, and surface tension of the tank mix, show whether an adjuvant helps the spray stay put. See improving spray coverage on leaf surfaces.
Adjuvant choice and drift. Adjuvants that change droplet size can also change wetting. Surface tension gives a batch check that sits beside droplet sizing. See drift reduction and adjuvant selection.
Water repellent soil. Contact angle on soil particles adds a direct wetting number to drop penetration time tests. See soil amendment wetting and water drop penetration time.
Edible coatings that bead on fruit. Many peels are waxy, so a water based coating can bead and leave gaps. See edible coatings on fresh produce.

The Dropometer contact angle and surface tension kit measures contact angle, surface and interfacial tension, surface free energy and sliding angle with one portable setup. Its method was validated against a KRUSS DSA100E in two peer reviewed papers. If you are new to the terms, start with wettability.

We use the following surface properties to understand the behavior of Farming & Agriscience products and improve their quality.

Chapitre 2 : Mesure de l’angle de contact

L’angle de contact quantifie la mouillabilité d’une surface en représentant l’angle entre la surface d’un liquide et une surface solide.

Sample Image taken from Droplet Lab Tensiometer.

Young – Méthode Laplace

Méthode polynomiale

Angle de contact dynamique

Ideally, when we place a drop on a solid surface, a unique angle exists between the liquid and the solid surface. We can calculate the value of this ideal contact angle (the so-called Young’s contact angle) using Young’s equation. In practice, due to surface geometry, roughness, heterogeneity, contamination, and deformation, the contact angle value on a surface is not necessarily a single consistent value but rather falls within a range. The upper and lower limits of this range are known as the advancing and receding contact angles, respectively. The values of advancing and receding contact angles for a solid surface are highly sensitive to many parameters, such as temperature, humidity, homogeneity, and minor contamination of the surface and liquid. For example, the advancing and receding contact angles of a surface can differ at different locations.

Angle de contact dynamique par rapport à l’angle de contact statique

Les surfaces et les revêtements pratiques présentent naturellement une hystérésis d’angle de contact, indiquant une gamme de valeurs d’équilibre. Lorsque nous mesurons les angles de contact statiques, nous obtenons une seule valeur dans cette plage. S’appuyer uniquement sur des mesures statiques pose des problèmes, tels qu’une mauvaise répétabilité et une évaluation incomplète de la surface en ce qui concerne l’adhérence, la propreté, la rugosité et l’homogénéité.

In practical applications, we need to understand how easily a liquid spreads (advancing angle) and how easily it is removed (receding angle), such as in painting and cleaning. Measuring advancing and receding angles offers a holistic view of liquid-solid interaction, unlike static measurements, which yield an arbitrary value within the range.

Ces informations sont cruciales pour les surfaces du monde réel avec des variations, une rugosité et une dynamique, aidant des industries telles que les cosmétiques, la science des matériaux et la biotechnologie à concevoir des surfaces efficaces et à optimiser les processus.

Découvrez comment la mesure de l’angle de contact est effectuée sur notre tensiomètre

Pour une compréhension plus complète de la mesure de l’angle de contact, lisez notre mesure de l’angle de contact : le guide définitif

Open Benchmark Data: Contact Angle & Surface Energy

These reference measurements show how deionized water wets four standard substrates measured with the Droplet Lab Dropometer. Use them as visual and numerical benchmarks when you're checking your own sample preparation, treatments, and chemistry.

Full contact angle and surface energy datasets (including additional liquids and statistics) are available on our dataset hub.

Glass - DI Water

Nylon - DI Water

PMMA - DI Water

Teflon - DI Water

The droplet images above are taken from the same benchmark series as our open dataset. For each substrate and probe liquid we report:

● Advancing and receding contact angles (and hysteresis)
● Derived surface energy (SFE) values based on multi-liquid measurements
● Measurement conditions, uncertainties, and sample preparation details

Comparing your own droplet shapes and angles against these references is a fast way to spot contamination, treatment drift, or unexpected changes in wettability.

Explore the full benchmark datasets (contact angle + surface energy)

Chapitre 3 : Mesure de la tension superficielle

Cette propriété mesure la force qui agit à la surface d’un liquide, dans le but de minimiser sa surface.

Sample Image taken from Droplet Lab Tensiometer

Tension superficielle dynamique

La tension superficielle dynamique diffère de la tension superficielle statique, qui fait référence à l’énergie de surface par unité de surface (ou à la force agissant par unité de longueur le long du bord d’une surface liquide).

La tension superficielle statique caractérise l’état d’équilibre de l’interface liquide, tandis que la tension superficielle dynamique tient compte de la cinétique des changements à l’interface. Ces changements peuvent impliquer la présence de tensioactifs, d’additifs ou de variations de température, de pression et de composition à l’interface.

Quand utiliser la mesure dynamique de la tension superficielle

Dynamic surface tension is essential for processes that involve rapid changes at the liquid-gas or liquid-liquid interface, such as droplet and bubble formation, coalescence (change in surface area), the behavior of foams, and the drying of paints (change in composition, e.g., evaporation of solvent). It is measured by analyzing the shape of a hanging droplet over time.

La tension superficielle dynamique s’applique à diverses industries, notamment les cosmétiques, les revêtements, les produits pharmaceutiques, la peinture, l’alimentation et les boissons, ainsi que les processus industriels, où la compréhension et le contrôle du comportement des interfaces liquides sont essentiels pour la qualité du produit et l’efficacité des processus.

Apprenez comment la mesure de la tension superficielle est effectuée sur notre tensiomètre

Pour une compréhension plus complète de la mesure de l’énergie de surface, lisez notre mesure de la tension superficielle : le guide définitif

Chapitre 4 : Mesure de l’énergie de surface

L’énergie de surface fait référence à l’énergie nécessaire pour créer une unité de surface d’une nouvelle surface.

Sample Image taken from Droplet Lab Tensiometer

Découvrez comment la mesure de l’énergie de surface est effectuée sur notre tensiomètre

Pour une compréhension plus complète de la mesure de l’énergie de surface, lisez notre mesure de l’énergie de surface : le guide définitif

For benchmark contact angle and surface energy values on glass, nylon, PMMA, and Teflon, see the Open Benchmark Data panel above or visit our Dataset Hub for full CSV downloads.

Chapitre 5 : Mesure de l’angle de glissement

L’angle de glissement mesure l’angle auquel un film liquide glisse sur une surface solide. Il est couramment utilisé pour évaluer la résistance au glissement d’une surface.

Sample Image taken from Droplet Lab Tensiometer

Apprenez comment la mesure de l’angle de glissement est effectuée sur notre tensiomètre

Pour une compréhension plus complète de la mesure de l’angle de glissement, lisez notre Mesure de l’angle de glissement : le guide définitif

Chapitre 6 : Applications dans le monde réel

Within the Farming & Agriscience industry, several case studies exemplify the advantages of conducting surface property measurements.

Superhydrophobicity Mechanism of Refoliated Quaking Aspen Leaves After Complete Defoliation by LDD (Gypsy, Spongy) Moth Caterpillars

The paper investigates a severe mid-summer defoliation event (Ontario, Canada, 2021) where quaking aspen trees were completely stripped of leaves by LDD moth caterpillars, then refoliated within the same year. The regrown leaves were smaller, but still exhibited strong non-wetting behavior. The authors attribute the high water contact angles to a hierarchical “dual-scale” leaf surface: nanoscale epicuticular wax (ECW) crystals superimposed on microscale papillae, consistent with a Cassie-Baxter non-wetting state. Differences between refoliated vs. typical-season leaf surface morphology are discussed in relation to environmental growth conditions (notably seasonal temperature during development after budbreak).

Role of Droplet Lab Goniometer

The Droplet Lab Dropometer was used to quantify the wettability recovery of refoliated aspen leaves by measuring water contact angle (WCA) on the adaxial (upper) leaf surface during the regrowth period. Specifically:

In Section 2.3 (“Wetting characteristics”), the study describes WCA measurements performed with the Droplet Lab Dropometer using 10 µL deionized water droplets, with ≥9 measurements per sampling date and reporting mean ± standard deviation.
These WCA measurements provided the primary functional metric linking:
(1) refoliation timing and leaf development, to
(2) micro/nano surface morphology (SEM), and to
(3) the onset and persistence of a superhydrophobic/non-wetting state.

Where contact angle is explicitly described in the paper:

Methods: Section 2.3 (Droplet Lab Dropometer, 10 µL DI water, replicate counts)

Results: Section 3.2, plus Fig. 2-4 and Table 1 (WCA values/trends and correlation to surface structures)

Key Findings

Same-season recovery is possible: Quaking aspen in the study could refoliate in the same year after complete LDD defoliation, though with smaller leaves than typical spring growth.
High hydrophobicity appears quickly: Refoliated leaves were already strongly hydrophobic within ~2 days after budbreak, rather than requiring a long “ramp-up” period.
Measured WCA range during refoliation: Reported average WCAs across the refoliation study window were approximately ~140° to ~150° (with date-to-date variation reported as mean ± SD). (See Section 3.2, Fig. 2-4, and Table 1.)
Mechanism confirmed by structure + WCA: SEM showed a dual-scale hierarchy (microscale papillae + nanoscale ECW crystals) consistent with a Cassie-Baxter non-wetting state, aligning with the high WCA measurements.
Ultra-low adhesion prevented roll-off testing: The team notes they could not accurately measure roll-off angle because droplets rolled off immediately with slight disturbance (stated in Section 2.3).
Environmental conditions likely tune morphology: The refoliated leaves showed subtle morphology differences versus normal-season leaves, plausibly linked to temperature during growth after budbreak.

Why It Matters

For forestry, tree health monitoring, and agriscience, this paper shows that contact angle can serve as a fast, quantitative “functional recovery” metric after insect-driven defoliation events. In practical terms, pairing WCA with microscopy allows researchers and land managers to distinguish between “leaf return” and return of critical surface function (water shedding/non-wetting), which can influence canopy water interception, surface cleanliness/pathogen interactions, and broader ecohydrology behaviors discussed by the authors.

Method Snapshot

Sample: Refoliated quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) leaves collected repeatedly during July-Aug 2021 after complete defoliation.
Droplet: 10 µL deionized water dispensed on the adaxial leaf surface.
Angle type: Static water contact angle (WCA) (advancing/receding not reported).
Temperature: Not explicitly specified for the contact angle test conditions (study provides outdoor weather context for growth conditions).
Surface tension: Not measured/reported (DI water used as the probe liquid).

Data Note

Comparison of average WCAs (with standard deviations) on the adaxial surface of quaking aspen leaves from the refoliation period in 2021 (current study, July 18th -August 26th, 2021) and from the same period in a year for a normal growth season (July 18th - September 1st, 2012) (Tranquada and Erb, 2014). Averages are based on at least 9 contact angle measurements per leaf collection date.

Citation (APA Format)

Sui, X., Tam, J., Keller, H., Liang, W., & Erb, U. (2023). Superhydrophobicity mechanism of refoliated quaking aspen leaves after complete defoliation by LDD (gypsy, spongy) moth caterpillars. Plant Science, 330, 111659. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.plantsci.2023.111659

View Publication →

Pesticide retention on leaves

A spray only works if it stays on the leaf. Contact angle of a spray drop on the leaf shows whether it spreads into a film or beads up, and beaded drops are more likely to bounce or run off.

Some leaves are extremely water repellent. A University of Toronto study measured water contact angles of 139.7 to 150.1 degrees on regrown quaking aspen leaves. The University of Toronto group notes the drops rolled off at the slightest tilt. Our leaf coverage use case sets out a test plan for spray retention.

Spray formulation for pest control

Surface tension of a tank mix affects how drops form at the nozzle and how they spread on the target. Pendant drop surface tension gives a quick batch check on adjuvant dose. A dilution series shows where adding more surfactant stops lowering surface tension.

Nozzles create new surface in milliseconds, faster than a pendant drop can follow, so treat the reading as a formulation screen and not a field prediction. Our page on drift reduction and adjuvant selection explains how surface tension fits beside droplet sizing. See also surfactant.

Soil moisture and water repellent soil

Water repellent soil stops rain and irrigation water from soaking in. Water drop penetration time classes how long the repellency lasts. Contact angle on soil particles adds a direct reading of how well the soil wets.

A Murdoch University research group in Western Australia uses the Dropometer on treated and untreated soil. Rough soil at first gave calculation errors. After tight cropping and a tilted baseline, a test image returned left and right angles of 37 and 35 degrees. Our soil amendment use case lists the steps and the limits.

Seed coatings and water uptake

A seed coating has to let water through to the seed. Water contact angle on the coated surface, read over the first seconds, shows how fast the coating wets and starts to take up water.

The same time series method is used on bio based films made from crop residues. Researchers tracked water contact angle on alfalfa lignocellulosic films, where it fell from 78.9 degrees at 0 seconds to 54.5 degrees at 30 seconds. A study of wheat straw cellulose film fitted a similar decline to a wetting rate. See dynamic contact angles.

Irrigation water and infiltration

Wetting agents added to irrigation water lower its surface tension so it spreads and soaks into soil more evenly. Pendant drop surface tension checks the wetting agent dose. Contact angle on the soil shows the effect where the water lands.

Measure at a known temperature, since surface tension changes with temperature. Our surface tension measurement guide explains the pendant drop method. For runoff and water quality work, a Clemson group used contact angle to choose coatings for a dip and read orthophosphate sensor.

Nous sommes vos partenaires dans la résolution de votre activité et de votre Défis

Si vous êtes intéressé par la mise en œuvre de ces applications ou de toute autre application, veuillez nous contacter.

Chapitre 7 : Normes et lignes directrices

In an industry where precision reigns supreme, how can Farming & Agriscience manufacturers ensure their products withstand scrutiny? The answer lies in standards and guidelines: the compass that guides them through the complex maze of quality and performance.

ASTM D1331, Surface & Interfacial Tension of Solutions (Du Noüy Ring / Wilhelmy Plate Force Methods)

What it is

ASTM D1331 is a method-defined standard for measuring surface tension and interfacial tension of liquid materials using force tensiometry, where a Du Noüy ring or Wilhelmy plate is pulled from a liquid or across a liquid-liquid interface. Results should only be labeled “ASTM D1331” when produced using these ring/plate force methods (optical pendant-drop methods are not D1331 as-written).

When to use it

Formulation QC and supplier/customer specs for agrochemicals/adjuvants

Use when a product spec, COA language, or dispute-resolution test requires a ring/plate surface or interfacial tension value reported as ASTM D1331 (e.g., spray adjuvants, EC/ME concentrates, tank-mix additives).

R&D screening tied to spray performance and emulsion behavior

Use when optimizing wetting/spreading on leaves, coverage, compatibility, and emulsification (water/oil) where tension is a sensitive indicator of surfactant package changes or contamination.

In-scope / Out-of-scope

In scope

Surface tension of agriculture-relevant liquids (e.g., adjuvant concentrates, surfactant solutions, pesticide dilutions, fertilizer solutions, spray tank mixes) measured by Du Noüy ring or Wilhelmy plate.
Interfacial tension for systems with two liquid phases (e.g., water/oil or water/solvent) to support emulsion design, compatibility, and phase-separation troubleshooting.
Batch-to-batch trending when temperature, sample handling, and ring/plate cleanliness are controlled and documented.
Comparative studies across surfactant packages (nonionic/anionic, organosilicone, etc.) using consistent geometry and procedures.

Out of scope

Optical pendant-drop (Young-Laplace) measurements (e.g., Dropometer pendant drop) and other non-force optical methods, these are not ASTM D1331 compliant as-written.
Dynamic surface tension at short timescales relevant to spray atomization (may require other methods if you need milliseconds-to-seconds behavior).
Highly particulate, dirty, or solid-laden samples (e.g., suspensions/SCs, some biological slurries) where ring/plate wetting/contamination makes results unreliable without a validated sample-prep approach.
Leaf contact angle/retention on plant surfaces (use contact-angle/leaf-wetting protocols; D1331 measures liquid tension, not surface wetting on solids).

Minimum you must report (checklist)

Sample identity (product/formulation name, lot/batch; dilution rate and water quality if a tank-mix simulation is used, hardness, pH, ions).
Property measured (surface tension or interfacial tension; for interfacial, clearly identify both phases and their preparation).
Instrument + geometry (Du Noüy ring or Wilhelmy plate; material and relevant dimensions).
Temperature and equilibration time (setpoint/measured temperature; time since mixing/dilution, critical for surfactants).
Sample preparation and handling (mixing method, degassing/settling, filtration if used; bubble/foam controls).
Cleaning/conditioning protocol for ring/plate and vessels (including how you verify cleanliness with a reference check).
Replicates and statistics (n, mean/median, SD/IQR; outlier/rejection rule).
Any deviations from ASTM D1331 or your internal SOP (and why).

Note: Dropometer (optical pendant-drop Young-Laplace) can be a strong internal screening/trending tool for spray-mixture drift and contamination, but it must not be reported as “ASTM D1331” because it does not use ring/plate force tensiometry. If you want D1331-equivalent decision gates from a faster method, build and maintain a documented method-bridging correlation to a D1331 ring/plate reference.

How to interpret results (guardrails)

Method-specific means method-specific: do not assume pendant-drop γ equals D1331 γ without a validated correlation and ongoing verification.
Tie interpretation to the use case: lower surface/interfacial tension often supports wetting/emulsification, but real spray outcomes also depend on viscosity, formulation elasticity, droplet size distribution, and plant surface chemistry, validate against field/bench performance tests.
Use variability as a warning signal: rising scatter or unstable readings often indicate contamination (oils/silicones), foam/bubbles, poor cleaning, or phase instability, fix the cause before making formulation decisions.
Standardize “tank-mix realism”: if you’re testing diluted sprays, lock down water source/condition (hardness, pH), dilution order, and wait time, or you’ll measure process variation instead of formulation change.

Read our ASTM D1331 page View the official ASTM D1331 Standard

Maintenant, c’est à votre tour

We hope this guide showed you how to apply surface science in the Farming & Agriscience industry.

Maintenant, nous aimerions vous céder la parole :

Feel free to leave a comment below—we’d love to hear from you.

Which surface measurement should an agriscience lab start with?

Start with the problem you need to solve. Use surface tension for spray tank mixes, adjuvants and coating liquids. Use contact angle on leaves, peels, seeds and soil to see whether a liquid wets them. Add surface free energy when you compare coatings on produce, and sliding angle for very water repellent leaves. Our contact angle guide explains each step.

How do you measure contact angle on a leaf?

Cut a flat section of leaf and fix it to a slide or coupon with double sided tape. Place a small water drop and read the angle at a set time. In the aspen leaf study, researchers used 10 microlitre drops and took at least nine readings per sample. Very repellent leaves may not hold a drop on any tilt, so sliding angle cannot always be measured.

Can the Dropometer measure contact angle on soil?

Yes, with care over image handling. Soil particles are fixed to double sided tape and a small drop is read early, before it soaks in. The Murdoch University case study shows how a tilted baseline, tight cropping and polynomial fitting solved errors on rough soil. Our soil wetting use case explains how to pair the result with water drop penetration time.

How do I find the surface free energy of a fruit peel?

Measure contact angles of two or more probe liquids with known properties on the peel, then work out surface free energy with our contact angle to surface energy calculator. The Research Institute for Bioscience and Biotechnology in Nepal used this approach on tomato skin to compare edible coatings. Dr Alidad Amirfazli advised them to choose probe liquids that give angles ideally above 30 degrees.

Which standards apply to surface tension and wetting in agriculture?

ASTM D1331 describes surface and interfacial tension of surfactant solutions with a ring or plate. The Dropometer uses the pendant drop method, which gives an alternative value, so do not report it as D1331. For soil, we found no ISO or ASTM contact angle standard; drop penetration time classes are used instead. Our edible coatings page follows the ISO 19403-2 approach for peel surface free energy.

How accurate is the Dropometer?

The drop shape method was validated against a KRUSS DSA100E in two peer reviewed papers, one in Review of Scientific Instruments and one in Colloids and Surfaces A. Published contact angle accuracy is 0.35 degrees. On rough leaves and soil, the fitting method matters, so record which fit you used. See our validation papers.

Do published agriculture and food studies use the Dropometer?

Yes. Researchers have used it on packaging films made from crop residues, including corncob films for raspberries et alfalfa and carrageenan films. The Clemson McLamore lab uses it on graphene sensor electrodes, including an aptasensor for apple stem pitting virus. Browse every study on our client citations page.

Standards, evidence and resources

1. Use cases

Edible coatings on fresh produce: A coating protects fruit only if it spreads evenly on the peel, so compare coating surface tension with peel surface free energy from probe liquid contact angles.
Drift reduction and adjuvant selection for sprays: Pendant drop surface tension checks adjuvant dose in each tank mix batch, used beside droplet sizing as a formulation screen rather than a drift test.
Improving spray coverage on leaf surfaces: Spray contact angle on the leaf and tank mix surface tension show whether an adjuvant keeps drops on leaves whose water angles span 40 to 144 degrees across 36 species.
Soil amendment wetting and drop penetration time: Water drop penetration time classes paired with contact angle on soil particles let a lab screen wetting agents for water repellent soil before field trials.

Case studies

Clemson University agricultural sciences sensor lab: Contact angle checked graphene electrodes for plant health and water quality sensors, showing over 30% variation in one day but under 5% in batches.
Agrochemical startup checking surface tension calibration: An agrochemical formulation startup used water as a reference to calibrate its pendant drop surface tension readings, the first step before trusting its formulation data.
Murdoch University sustainable farming research group: The group measured water contact angle on treated and untreated soil, where a tilted baseline and tight cropping made rough, absorbing soil images calculable.
RIBB Nepal edible coating research team: The team measured surface tension of each coating formulation and probe liquid contact angles on tomato skin to work out which coatings should wet the fruit best.
South Dakota State University crop residue film researchers: Researchers turning crop residues such as alfalfa and corncob into biodegradable packaging films measured water contact angle to judge how each film handles moisture.
University of Toronto research groups on two campuses: One group measured water contact angles of 139.7 to 150.1 degrees on regrown quaking aspen leaves, showing how leaf surfaces repel water as they develop.

Client citations (our analysis of each paper)

Dip and read sensor for orthophosphate in water: For phosphate monitoring in creek water, the authors used the Dropometer to compare water contact angle across coating routes on graphene sensor electrodes.
Alfalfa residue and carrageenan packaging films: Turning alfalfa crop residue into food packaging, the authors measured water contact angle with the Dropometer and saw carrageenan lower it from 74.7 to as low as 60.9 degrees.
Corncob films for raspberry preservation: Corncob residue was made into packaging films for raspberries, and the Dropometer gave a water contact angle of 63.4 degrees, placing the film in the hydrophilic range.
Alfalfa lignocellulosic packaging films: Water contact angle on the optimised alfalfa film, read with the Dropometer, fell from 78.9 to 54.5 degrees over 30 seconds as the film took up water.
Graphene sensor for apple stem pitting virus: For a sensor that detects a plant virus, the authors used the Dropometer to check how DI water and several buffers wet the graphene electrode surfaces.
Water repellency of regrown aspen leaves: After caterpillars stripped quaking aspen trees, the authors tracked water contact angle on regrown leaves with the Dropometer, reading 139.7 to 150.1 degrees over the season.
Wheat straw cellulose films for fresh produce: Wheat straw cellulose was made into packaging films tested on fresh grapes, and water contact angle read with the Dropometer fell from 77.3 to 65.6 degrees over 30 seconds.

Use case collections

Further resources

Agriculture et agroscience Industrie The Practical Guide to Surface Science (2026)

Dr Amit Pratap Singh

Dr Alidad Amirfazli

Featured Studies & Publications

Contenu

Mesure de l’angle de contact

Mesure de la tension superficielle

Mesure de l’énergie de surface

Mesure de l’angle de glissement

Applications dans le monde réel

Normes et lignes directrices

Executive Summary

Chapitre 1 : Introduction

Chapitre 2 : Mesure de l’angle de contact

Open Benchmark Data: Contact Angle & Surface Energy

Chapitre 3 : Mesure de la tension superficielle

Chapitre 4 : Mesure de l’énergie de surface

Chapitre 5 : Mesure de l’angle de glissement

Chapitre 6 : Applications dans le monde réel

Superhydrophobicity Mechanism of Refoliated Quaking Aspen Leaves After Complete Defoliation by LDD (Gypsy, Spongy) Moth Caterpillars

Role of Droplet Lab Goniometer

Key Findings

Why It Matters

Method Snapshot

Data Note

Citation (APA Format)

Pesticide retention on leaves

Spray formulation for pest control

Soil moisture and water repellent soil

Seed coatings and water uptake

Irrigation water and infiltration

Nous sommes vos partenaires dans la résolution de votre activité et de votre Défis

Chapitre 7 : Normes et lignes directrices

ASTM D1331, Surface & Interfacial Tension of Solutions (Du Noüy Ring / Wilhelmy Plate Force Methods)

What it is

When to use it

In-scope / Out-of-scope

Minimum you must report (checklist)

How to interpret results (guardrails)

Maintenant, c’est à votre tour

Standards, evidence and resources

Agriculture et agroscience Industrie
The Practical Guide to Surface Science (2026)