Did You Know Plant Breeders Use Nail Polish? 

Nail polish helps botanists and plant breeders to study tiny pores on leaf surfaces, to develop crops which are resilient to climate change. The pores, called stomata, enable plants to take in carbon dioxide, but they also let precious water escape through evaporation. Finding the right balance in this tradeoff can improve crop yields and drought tolerance.  
 
When a clear nail polish is applied to a leaf, it dries out and forms a precise impression of the leaf’s surface. The resulting film can then be peeled off and observed under a microscope to map stomatal numbers and distributions [1]. This popular method allows plant breeders to correlate leaf pore density with a variety’s resilience, and as a result helps guide breeding programs to optimize these traits.  

1. Microbehunter Microscopy: Using clear nail polish to make impressions of plant leaves