The role of strigolactone in alleviating salinity stress in chili pepper

Salinity stress can significantly delay plant growth. It can disrupt water and nutrient uptake, reducing crop yields and poor plant health. The use of strigolactone can be an effective technique to overcome this issue. Strigolactone enhances plant growth by promoting root development and improvement in physiological attributes. The current pot study used strigolactone to amend chili under no salinity and salinity stress environments. There were four treatments, i.e., 0, 10 mu M strigolactone, 20 mu M strigolactone and 30 mu M strigolactone. All treatments were applied in four replications following a completely randomized design (CRD). Results showed that 20 mu M strigolactone caused a significant increase in chili plant height (21.07%), dry weight (33.60%), fruit length (19.24%), fruit girth (35.37%), and fruit yield (60.74%) compared to control under salinity stress. Significant enhancement in chili chlorophyll a (18.65%), chlorophyll b (43.52%), and total chlorophyll (25.09%) under salinity stress validated the effectiveness of 20 mu M strigolactone application as treatment over control. Furthermore, improvement in nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium concentration in leaves confirmed the efficient functioning of 20 mu M strigolactone compared to other concentrations under salinity stress. The study concluded that 20 mu M strigolactone is recommended for mitigating salinity stress in chili plants. Growers are advised to apply 20 mu M strigolactone to enhance their chili production under salinity stress.