Potassium sulfate affects the morphological characteristics and chemical properties of Catharanthus roseus

Catharanthus roseus is an ornamental plant of the Apocynaceae family. Its flowers have pink or white petals and it is considered as a medicinal plant for being a source of vinblastine and vincristine, which are antitumor agents. One macro-element necessary for the accumulation of carbohydrates and maintaining the optimum yield and quality of agricultural produce is potassium. In this regard, three concentrations of potassium sulfate S1 (5000 ppm), S2 (10000 ppm) and S3 (15000 ppm) were used along the control (0 ppm) with 6 replicates in a completely randomized design. Results showed that the application of potassium sulfate increases the number of lateral branches, flower numbers, leaf area, anthocyanin, chlorophyll content, shoot fresh weight, flower longevity, membrane stability and seed germination. As the concentration of potassium sulfate increased, morphological characteristics and chemical properties of Catharanthus roseus were increased accordingly, which the greatest impact was observed in the S3 (15000 ppm) treatment.