*2.2. Plant Material and Growth Conditions of A. thaliana*

Wild-type *A. thaliana* seeds (Col-0 background) were used in the experiment. The seeds were surface-sterilized with 70% ethanol, washed with autoclaved double-distilled water and sown on plates containing Murashige and Skoog (MS) basal medium (for media composition, see Table 1), sucrose 1.5% (*w*/*v*) and agar 0.6% (*w*/*v*) (Hi Media Laboratories Pvt. Ltd. Mumbai, India) [44], supplemented with appropriate rohitukine concentrations: 0 (control), 0.25 mM, 0.5 mM and 1.0 mM concentrations. For foliar treatment, plants were grown in plastic pots filled with 300 g autoclaved soil mixture (soil rite–sand–soil) at the ratio of (3:1:1). Seeds were kept at 4 ◦C in the dark for 48 h to ensure homogenous germination. After 48 h, the plates containing seeds were transferred to a growth chamber with the following conditions: photosynthetically active radiation (PAR): 680 μmole/m2/s; temperature: 24 ◦C; photoperiod light/dark cycles: 16/8 h; and relative humidity: 65%, in the Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine, Jammu and Kashmir, India. The plants grown in soil were irrigated with autoclaved distilled water at intervals of 24 h, while 1 mL of quarter-strength nutrient medium was applied at intervals of 48 h up to five weeks.
