Table 3.
Effect of salt stress on the growth of cucumber plants with or without endophyte inoculation
| Growth attributes/salt stress | 0 mM | 60 mM | 120 mM | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Control | P. formosus | Control | P. formosus | Control | P. formosus | |
| Chlorophyll content (SPAD) | 27.3 ± 0.18b | 29.1 ± 0.12a | 28.0 ± 0.24b | 36.5 ± 0.25a | 24.3 ± 0.26b | 37.1 ± 0.14a |
| Shoot fresh weight (g) | 14.9 ± 0.33b | 17.4 ± 0.15a | 16.3 ± 0.29b | 17.3 ± 0.16a | 13.4 ± 0.35b | 15.0 ± 0.41a |
| Shoot dry weight (g) | 2.7 ± 0.07b | 3.1 ± 0.08a | 1.3 ± 0.01b | 1.7 ± 0.02a | 1.1 ± 0.01b | 1.5 ± 0.09a |
| Leaf area (cm2) | 58.6 ± 0.61b | 62.1 ± 0.43a | 48.9 ± 0.42b | 52.4 ± 0.66a | 40.9 ± 0.67b | 43.1 ± 0.12a |
| Photosynthesis rate (μmolm-2s-1) | 1.4 ± 0.05b | 1.7 ± 0.02a | 1.1 ± 0.03b | 1.5 ± 0.04a | 1.0 ± 0.06b | 1.2 ± 0.03a |
| Stomatal conductance (molm-2s-1) | 1.5 ± 0.02b | 2.9 ± 0.01a | 1.7 ± 0.06b | 2.0 ± 0.03a | 2.1 ± 0.02b | 2.5 ± 0.08a |
| Transpiration rate (mMm-2s-1) | 0.07 ± 0.01b | 0.12 ± 0.01a | 0.06 ± 0.01b | 0.16 ± 0.01a | 0.02 ± 0.01b | 0.18 ± 0.01a |
0 mM means only distilled water applied plants while 60 and 120 mM is the NaCl concentrations applied to the cucumber plants. SPAD = Soil plant analysis development. In each row, different letter indicates significant (P < 0.05) differences between P. formosus inoculated plants with non-inoculated control plant as evaluated by DMRT. Values in the table refer to mean ± SD (n = 18).