Table 3.

A detailed account of morphological characteristics in maize seedlings under varying NaCl concentrations and irrigation levels.

Treatments	No. of Roots	Shoot length	leaf length	leaf width	Root length	Root weight	shoot weight	Leaf area	Root to shoot length ratio
Control	6.23c	7.3c	2.7b	2.2a	4a	0.084b	0.191c	4.396b	0.548a
Salt stress
25 mM NaCl	7.23b	8.1b	2.9a	2.3a	13.15b	0.082c	0.181d	4.936a	0.432ab
50 mM NaCl	5.74d	8.6a	2.8a	2.21b	13.31c	0.080c	0.181d	4.351c	0.360b
75 mM NaCl	6.26c	7.9b	2.7b	2b	13.1c	0.088a	0.194b	3.996d	0.380b
100 mM NaCl	4.41c	7.7b	2.6c	1.9c	12.8d	0.084b	0.191c	3.656e	0.364b
150 mM NaCl	9.2a	7.1c	2.5c	2.2a	12.1e	0.080c	0.195a	4.070c	0.282c
Drought stress
80% irrigation	10.24b	9.3a	2.92b	2.6a	13.5a	0.309a	0.395a	5.387b	1.500c
60% irrigation	11.12a	8.6b	2.9a	2.6a	13.4b	0.301b	0.322b	5.580a	1.375c
40% irrigation	9.45c	4.34c	2.7c	2.4b	13.1c	0.302b	0.312c	4.795c	1.250b
20% irrigation	10.28b	2.32d	2.4d	2.1c	13.1c	0.309a	0.399a	3.730d	1.050a

Parameters assessed include the number of roots, shoot length (cm), leaf length (cm), leaf width (cm), root length (cm), root weight (g), shoot weight (g), leaf area (cm²), and root-to-shoot length ratio. Distinct lowercase letters (a–e) denote significant differences between treatment means. Units for each parameter are presented where applicable.