My goal is to count trichomes on a leaf of Asclepias syriaca (common milkweed) in an automated fashion. Ideally, I would take a picture and use ImageJ to count the trichomes. When observed under a basic microscope, I am encountering long, entangled trichomes that are very difficult to differentiate by eye (let alone a program trained to count dots). If I could shear off the trichome ends such that the parts that remain look like dots under the microscope, I could easily use a program to count these remaining stubs as they would be disparate and easy to count, not unlike cells in a petri dish.
I've tried several methods to remove the trichomes including shaving with a razor, plucking with tweezers, and removing with packing and scotch tape like how you'd pull off a bandage, but these methods either pull off the entire epidermis (shaving and plucking) or don't work at all (tape methods). I've tried with fresh and frozen tissue.
I'd be grateful for any advice. Thanks!
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