Sicklepod (Cassia obtusifolia L.) leaflet epicuticular fatty acid, fatty alcohol, and hydrocarbon contents were measured by gas-liquid chromatography from plants grown under 10-, 12-, 14-, or 16-hour photoperiods and treated with S-(2,3-dichloroallyl)diisopropylthiocarbamate (dialiate) (0, 0.14, 0.28, 0.56, 1.12 kilograms per hectare). As diallate concentration increased, epicuticular fatty acid content decreased. Fatty alcohol content was maximal in plants treated with 0.28 kilograms per hectare diallate and was reduced from that level at herbicide concentrations above or below this rate. Hydrocarbon content patterns were similar to those of the fatty alcohols except that the hydrocarbons at 0.28 kilograms per hectare were 61 % of that present in the control, whereas the concentration of fatty alcohols increased to 200 % of the control in treatments of 0.28 kilograms per hectare diallate.Photoperiodic influence on the various epicuticular lipid classes showed increased fatty acid and hydrocarbon contents as the photoperiod was lengthened. Fatty alcohols were maximal under 16-hour photoperiods and minimal under 12-hour photoperiods.Photoperiod-diallate concentration interactions were demonstrated in the epicuticular fatty acid, fatty alcohol, and hydrocarbon contents of sicklepod leaflets. The amount of each lipid class present per gram leaf fresh weight was influenced by the rate of diallate applied and the photoperiod under which the plants were grown. Each lipid class responded differently to the combination of treatments.Penetration of topically applied herbicides is greatly influenced by epicuticular wax. Periera et al. (14) reported that the intraspecific selectivity of cabbage (Brassica oleraceae var. capitata L.) to nitrofen2 was related to the quantity of wax present on the leaves at the time of the herbicide application. However, leaf age and environmental conditions have been shown to influence the amount and type of plant epi- pod (Cassia obtusifolia L.) and coffee-senna (Cassia occidentalis L.) leaflets. Wilkinson and Kasperbauer (21) reported the epicuticular alkane content of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L.) to vary quantitatively and qualitatively with leaf age, photoperiod, and temperature. However, data on the influence of photoperiod on epicuticular fatty acid and fatty alcohol contents of plant leaves have not been reported.Gentner (4) reported that EPTC vapors inhibit the formation and deposition of foliar wax in cabbage. Still et al. (15) studied the influence of several carbamate herbicides on the deposition of epicuticular waxes in pea (Pisum sativum L.). They reported diallate to inhibit wax synthesis quantitatively but did not qualitatively influence epicuticular lipids except for the primary alcohols. However, Still et al. (15) utilized the entire shoot for extractions of surface lipids and extensive differences in the hydrocarbon and fatty acid contents of various morphological units in sicklepod have been observed in this laboratory (16,17).The influence of photoperiod and ...