Soil salinization severely inhibits rice germination. Although GR24 can enhance salt tolerance, its synthetic complexity limits application. Simplified strigolactone analogues, in contrast, are readily accessible but have been explored primarily for stimulating parasitic weed germination; their potential in host plant stress tolerance remains largely unexplored. From a screening of such analogues, we identified SPL7 as a highly effective agent in alleviating salt stress in rice. Subsequent structure-activity relationship optimization yielded derivative 5j, which exhibits a >3000-fold enhancement in aqueous solubility while maintaining activity, providing a promising lead for developing agricultural regulators. This work opens a practical avenue for designing water-soluble strigolactone-based agents to improve crop resilience in saline soils.