Figure 3.

Effects of shungite on physiological indicators of drought tolerance in cucumber. (A) Determination of relative electrical conductivity. (B) Comparative analysis of MDA accumulation in cucumber leaves. (C) Determination of total chlorophyll content in the same leaf area (3 cm²). (D–F) Comparison of ROS scavenger activity under drought stress. The leaf SOD, POD, and CAT activities in cucumber plants. Experiments were performed using three randomly collected leaves from 18 plants on day 21, at which point severely wilted plants were observed in the control group. All experiments were performed in triplicate, and the average is represented in graph. Error bars represent the mean ± SD. Asterisks indicate statistical significance (Student’s t-test, ** p ≤ 0.05). MDA: Malonyldialdehyde; ROS: reactive oxygen species; SOD: superoxide dismutase; POD: peroxidase; CAT: Catalase.