Fig. 2

The hardness and heterogeneity of the plant material reduces the quality of sections easily obtained with the hand sectioning method. Samples are switchgrass internode cross sections stained with acriflavine hydrochloride. A Adequate quality for image analysis. B Tougher samples are not able to be sectioned well with the hand-sectioning method and often produce cut artifacts where the sample is pulled apart as the tough sclerenchyma contacts the blade, leading to incomplete sections with entire tissues absent. C Blade chatter marked with black arrowheads can interfere with image analysis due to uneven section thickness that causes uneven focal planes, and in some cases causes a full break in the sample (white arrowhead). All scale bars are 100 microns