Encapsulated ABA treatment fine-tunes hormone signalling and improves salt-stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Encapsulated ABA in silica and chitosan matrices enhances salt-stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana by improving hormone stability and controlled release.

• Why it matters: Soil salinity severely limits plant growth and crop yields, and current ABA applications are hampered by instability and growth-inhibitory effects, creating a need for more effective delivery methods.
• What they did: Researchers encapsulated ABA using spray drying into silica- and chitosan-based microparticles, then tested their effects on wild-type, ABA-deficient, and ABA-insensitive Arabidopsis plants under salt stress.
• The result: Encapsulated ABA reduced oxidative damage, improved hormonal balance, and promoted plant growth more effectively than free ABA, demonstrating a promising approach to enhance plant salt tolerance.