Fig. 3: HSAL additive significantly promotes root elongation in different plant species.

a Representative images showing rice roots (Oryza sativa Nipponbare) from seedlings treated with different concentrations of HSAL for 14 days. b, c Quantification of primary root length b and total root biomass c of seedlings in a using boxplots and individual data points. d, e Quantification of shoot length d and total shoot biomass e of seedlings in a using box plots and individual data points. f, g Growth curve on the root f and shoot g of Nipponbare between control and 0.05% HSAL treatments. Line graphs depict mean and standard deviation (error bars). Statistically significant differences between the means were analyzed with Student’s t-test (*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001; ****p < 0.0001) in f, g. h Representative images of corn seedlings grown in soil treated with control solution (- fertilizer), 0.4% fertilizer (HYPONex), 0.4% HSAL, and 0.4% HSAL + 0.4% fertilizer, Scale bars = 10 cm. i, j Quantification of primary root length i and total root biomass j in h. k, l Quantification of shoot length k and total shoot biomass l in h. Boxes represent the 25th–75th percentile range, white lines represent medians and whiskers show the minimum–maximum range in b–e, i–l. Different letters indicate statistically significant differences based on one-way ANOVA and Tukey’s HSD test analysis (p < 0.05). The number (n) of seedlings shown in the figure in b–g, i–l).