Table 1.

Effects of DSE on root morphology of maize under Cd stress.

Cd Stress (mg·kg−1)	Treatment	Root Length (cm)		Root Surface Area (cm2)		Average Root Diameter (mm)		Root Tips Number		Root Branch Number		Root Crossing Number
0	CK	131 ± 27 b		31 ± 4.4 ab		0.76 ± 0.06 a		467 ± 84 bc		1423 ± 204 cd		53 ± 7.9 c
	DSE	165 ± 26 b		36 ± 5.4 ab		0.70 ± 0.06 a		517 ± 66 bc		1499 ± 103 c		64 ± 30 bc
5	CK	121 ± 26 b		29 ± 5.8 ab		0.76 ± 0.11 a		355 ± 72 bc		1272 ± 151 d		47 ± 27 bc
	DSE	212 ± 19 a		38 ± 4.3 a		0.57 ± 0.04 b		885 ± 94 a		2495 ± 320 a		151 ± 43 a
10	CK	113 ± 33 b		25 ± 6.0 b		0.70 ± 0.07 a		361 ± 82 c		1031 ± 128 d		49 ± 23 bc
	DSE	167 ± 28 ab		35 ± 7.0 ab		0.66 ± 0.05 ab		500 ± 73 b		1921 ± 182 b		115 ± 20 ab
20	CK	123 ± 15 bc		28 ± 3.6 b		0.73 ± 0.05 a		551 ± 61 bc		1226 ± 174 d		41 ± 10 c
	DSE	132 ± 25 b		27 ± 4.5 b		0.66 ± 0.08 ab		593 ± 87 bc		1520 ± 105 c		80 ± 17 b
Results of two-way ANOVA
Cd	**		*		NS		*		NS		**
DSE	**		**		**		**		**		**
Cd × DSE	**		*		NS		**		**		**

All values represent the means ± standard deviations, n = 4. Cd: cadmium; CK: non-inoculated control. DSE: Exophiala pisciphila inoculation. Different lower-case letters in the table refer to p < 0.05 according to LSD test. “NS”, “*”, and “**” mean no significance, p < 0.05, and p < 0.01 according to two-way ANOVA, respectively.