Effects of three levels of mycorrhiza and four levels of planting bed on total wet and dry weight of shoots and the number of lateral branches of white periwinkle (Catharanthus alba)

Medicinal and ornamental plant of periwinkle (Catharanthus alba) contains the valuable alkaloids of vinblastine and vincristine in vegetative parts and Ajmalicine in its root that play a role in the chemotherapy types of cancers. This study was conducted for evaluating the effects of three levels of biological fertilizer of mycorrhiza (control (m0), Glomus mosseae (m1) and Glomus intraradices (m2)) and four levels of seed bed (the bed a; included the typical agricultural soil, bed b; contained a mixture of agricultural soil and sheep manure and rotten leaf and Aeolian sand, bed c; included the normal agricultural soil mixed with vermicompost and bed d; contained the normal agricultural soil mixed with compost) and their interactions on total shoot wet and dry weight and number of side branches containing the alkaloids of medicinal and ornamental plant of periwinkle (C. alba) as potted and in a factorial randomized complete block design with three replications and each replication including 12 treatments and each treatment including 4 pot with a total of 144 pots and each pot including two plants that were performed as the indirect culture (first in the nursery and then transfer to the pot), in Tehran. According to the results, the mycorrhizal type of G. interaradices (treatment m2) showed the highest significant effect on the characteristics of total wet and dry weight of shoots and the number of lateral branches. In studying the effect of planting beds, the bed b (agricultural soil mixed with sheep manure, rotten leaves and Aeolian sand) had the highest effect on all the characteristics. But in the interactions of mycorrhiza and planting bed, the treatment bm1 (bed b inoculated with mycorrhizal type of G. mosseae) and bm2 (bed b inoculated with mycorrhizal type of G. interaradices) showed the highest effect on total wet and dry weight of shoots, respectively. Finally, the bed b showed more favorable results in the yield of the medicinal plant of periwinkle.   Key words: Catharanthus alba, shoot wet and dry weight, mycorrhiza, animal manure, vermicompost, compost.