Regulatory Effects of Paclobutrazol and Uniconazole Mixture on the Morphology and Biomass Allocation of Amorpha fruticosa Seedlings

Global climate change has intensified land desertification in the arid and semi-arid regions of northwestern China, highlighting the urgent need to cultivate plant species with ideal architecture and well-developed root systems to combat ecosystem degradation. <i>Amorpha fruticosa</i> is widely used as a windbreak and sand-fixation shrub; however, its rapid growth and high transpiration during the early planting stage often result in excessive water loss, low survival rates, and limited vegetation restoration effectiveness. Plant growth retardants (PGRts) are known to suppress apical dominance and promote branching. In this study, one-year-old <i>A. fruticosa</i> seedlings were treated with different combinations of paclobutrazol (PP₃₃₃) and uniconazole (S₃₃₀₇) to investigate their effects on plant morphology and biomass allocation; it aims to determine the optimal formula for cultivating shrub structures with excellent windbreak and sand-fixation effects in land desertification areas. The results showed that both PP₃₃₃ and S₃₃₀₇ significantly inhibited plant height while promoting basal stem diameter, branching, and root development. Among all treatments, the S₃₃₀₇ 200 mg·L^-1 + PP₃₃₃ 200 mg·L^-1 combination (SD3) was the most effective, resulting in the greatest increases in basal diameter, branch number, total root length, and root-to-shoot ratio, while significantly reducing height increment, leaf length and leaf area (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Under the S₃₃₀₇ 200 mg·L^-1 + PP₃₃₃ 300 mg·L^-1 treatment (SD4), leaf width and specific leaf area were reduced by 17.92% and 38.89%, respectively, compared with the control. Correlation analysis revealed significant positive or negative relationships among most growth traits, with leaf length negatively correlated with other morphological indicators. Fresh and dry weights of both aboveground and root tissues were significantly positively correlated with basal diameter (<i>R</i> = 0.38) and branch basal diameter (<i>R</i> = 0.33). Principal component analysis demonstrated that the SD3 treatment achieved the highest comprehensive score (2.91), indicating its superiority in promoting a compact yet robust plant architecture. Overall, the SD3 treatment improved drought resistance and sand-fixation capacity of <i>A. fruticosa</i> by "dwarfing and strengthening plants while optimizing root-shoot allocation." These findings provide theoretical support for large-scale cultivation and vegetation restoration in arid and semi-arid regions and offer a technical reference for growth regulation and windbreak and sand-fixation capacity in other xerophytic shrub species.