Exogenous 2-(3,4-Dichlorophenoxy) triethylamine alleviates salinity stress in maize by enhancing photosynthetic capacity, improving water status and maintaining K+/Na+ homeostasis

Table 1 Analysis of variance and mean comparisons for plant dry weight (Shoot DW: shoot dry weight; Root DW: root dry weight), leaf water status (RWC: relative water content; Ψw: leaf water potential), root hydraulic conductance (Lp) of maize plants grown under two salinity levels and treated with DCPTA at four rates of application

Source of variation	Shoot DW (g·plant ^− 1)	Root DW (g·plant ^− 1)	Root length (cm·plant ^− 1)	Root surface area (cm²·plant ^− 1)	Root volume (cm³·plant ^− 1)	Ψw (MPa)	RWC (%)	Lp (10⁻⁸·m³·m^− 2·s^− 1 MPa^− 1)
NaCl (mM) (N)
0	0.19 ± 0.02a	0.12 ± 0.01a	475.64 ± 26.49a	120.12 ± 9.24a	3.95 ± 0.26a	−0.73 ± 0.06a	93.34 ± 2.43a	11.63 ± 0.75a
150	0.13 ± 0.02b	0.09 ± 0.01b	279.30 ± 52.22b	71.97 ± 10.93b	2.68 ± 0.32b	−1.69 ± 0.19b	71.99 ± 6.25b	6.00 ± 1.18b
DCPTA (μM) (D)
0	0.14 ± 0.04b	0.10 ± 0.02a	346.20 ± 116.42a	86.95 ± 28.69a	3.10 ± 0.78a	−1.28 ± 0.62a	78.38 ± 15.69a	8.03 ± 3.45a
20	0.17 ± 0.04ab	0.11 ± 0.02a	384.99 ± 118.35a	101.75 ± 26.51a	3.24 ± 0.75a	−1.24 ± 0.58a	84.52 ± 10.90a	8.60 ± 3.22a
100	0.18 ± 0.03a	0.11 ± 0.02a	420.48 ± 73.39a	103.32 ± 22.29a	3.60 ± 0.60a	−1.09 ± 0.34a	85.38 ± 8.60a	9.89 ± 2.42a
400	0.16 ± 0.03ab	0.11 ± 0.02a	358.22 ± 116.24a	92.16 ± 27.96a	3.32 ± 0.69a	−1.23 ± 0.50a	82.35 ± 11.40a	8.74 ± 3.01a
Significance
NaCl (mM) (N)	***	***	***	***	***	***	***	***
DCPTA (μM) (D)	***	***	***	***	***	***	***	***
N × D	ns	ns	**	ns	ns	**	**	*

ns, *, **, and ***: Not significant or significant at P ≤ 0.05, 0.01, and 0.001, respectively. The different letters within each column indicate significant differences according to Duncan’s multiple-range test (P = 0.05)

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