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1. March 2014, Vol. 8, No. 3, pp. 238-245
Journal of Life Sciences, ISSN 1934-7391, USA
Effect of Amended Organic Media and Different
Concentrations of Seaweed Extract on the Growth and
Flowering of Periwinkle (Vinca rosea) Plant
Yousif Ali Abdulrahman and Janan Abdul-Khaliq Sadeeq
Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, Duhok University, Duhok 273, Iraq
Received: December 10, 2013 / Accepted: January 23, 2014 / Published: March 30, 2014.
Abstract: A pot research has been conducted in Horticultural Department Nursery, Faculty of Agricultural and Forestry, Duhok
University, during the period of May 15, 2012-Sep. 1, 2012. The study involved in testing the effects of two amended organic media
(loam + sheep manure and loam + peat moss (1:1)) and different concentrations of seaweed (sea force 2) extract including (0, 0.5, 1,
1.5 and 2 mL/L) on growth and flowering of Periwinkle (Vinca rosea) plant. The results showed that growing vinca plants in peat
moss medium and spraying sea force 2 extract with low concentrations especially 0.5 mL/L resulted in positive significant difference
in vegetative and flowering characteristics.
Key words: Amended organic media, sea weed extract, Vinca rosea plant.
1. Introduction
Periwinkle (Vinca rosea syn. Catharanthus roseus),
which is popularly known as Vinca Victory in the
gardening community, belongs to Apocynaceae family.
It is an interesting ornamental plant with a very high
medicinal value [1, 2]. For example, it can cure
diseases like leukemia and diabetes [3-5].
Periwinkle plant is native to Madagascar, an island
locating off the African coast. That plant is well
adapted to hot, dry weather and needs bright
sunshine and well-drained soil. Vinca requires long
periods of bright light and warm conditions to
produce strong roots. It does not like high levels of
nutrients in soil especially nitrogen and phosphorus.
It is grown as pot as well as bedding plant and also
performs best as a ground cover. It also has many
medicinal uses, which need further exploration. It is
reported that sand + rice husk media when used for
propagation of cuttings in ornamental plants showed
Corresponding author: Yousif Ali Abdulrahman, Ph.D.,
research fields: ornamental plants, turf grass, medicinal plants.
E-mail: yousifmizory@yahoo.com.
significantly greater vigour even after 51 days than
in sand alone, and the growth rate was also higher [6].
It is observed the growth and flowering of periwinkle
(Catharanthus roseus) grown in different growing
media containing varying percentage of coconut dust
and tropical peat (100:0, 75:25, 50:50, 25:75 and
100%, v/v) [7]. Plants grown in 100% peat were the
shortest and accumulated the least amount of dry
matter.
The seaweed (sea force 2) extracts are one kind of
the most important sea resources in the world, and that
the extracts are sold for many years as a fertilizer [8],
As it has been studied for a long time, the possibility
of using sea force 2 in modern agriculture and in
various forms which extracts liquid sea force and sea
force liquid fertilizer, etc [9, 10]. These studies
indicated that useful effects in cereal crops and
flowering plants, as characterized by the grass being
organic fertilizer free of the weeds and fungi harmful.
The use of plant extracts is begun to be applied like
sea force 2 extract which contained macro and micro
elements plentifully. Important plant hormones like
DDAVID PUBLISHING

2. Effect of Amended Organic Media and Different Concentrations of Seaweed Extract on the Growth and
Flowering of Periwinkle (Vinca rosea) Plant
239
Auxins, Gibberellins and Cytokinin which inducing
cell division, increasing cell enlargement，leading to
the balance of physiological and biological processes,
increasing photosynthesis processes and even
improving growth characters [11]. It is described that
the positive effects of sea force 2 extract on plant
growth and increasing yield of potato plant
significantly [12]. It is describe that using sea force 2
extract (sea buck thorn) causes increasing growth and
fresh weight of vegetative and roots growth
significantly of rosemary plant [13]. It is mentioned
that farmers on the shores of the sea applied sea force
2 and fish waste as fertilizer to the gardens and fields
[14] while Ref. [11] stated that sea force 2 extract
contains micro elements (Co, B, Mo, Zn, Cu) and
macro elements, auxins, gibberellins and cytokinin
whose existence may lead to an increasing nutrient
absorption, root growth ability and stem thickness.
The present experiment was conducted to determine
the most suitable organic growing medium and the
comparison between peat moss and manure medium
for the better production of Vinca rosea plant, and
obtain the best used concentrations of sea force 2
extract to improve the production.
2. Materials and Methods
The growth and flowering of Vinca rosea plant was
conducted in nursery of Horticultural Department,
School of Plant Production, Faculty of Agricultural
and Forestry, Duhok University, for period May 15,
/2012 to Sep. 1, 2012. The study contained of testing
the effects of two amended organic media sheep
manure (loam + sheep manure 1:1) and peat moss
(loam + peat moss 1:1) and different concentrations of
seaweed (sea force 2) extract included 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5
and 2 mL/L.
Plastic pots of 20 cm size will fill with the required
media. Seedlings with four leaves of Vinca rosea were
planted (plant/pot). The plants were watered and left
to establish in the pots for 30 days and then sprayed
by sea force 2 once time each 10 days and repeated for
three times through the experiment (June 15, June 25
and July 5, 2012) so that a new uniform growth could
be studied under the new media conditions.
The studied measurements included:
(1) Plant height (cm);
(2) Branches number;
(3) Leaves number;
(4) Leaf area (cm2
);
(5) Shoots dry weight (g);
(6) Number of flowers;
(7) Flowers diameter (cm);
(8) Length of longest root (cm);
(9) Root dry weight (g);
(10) Total chlorophyll in leaves (%).
Plant height was measured with a measuring tape
from soil surface of pots to the tops of three highest
branches in each plant of each treatment and then the
average was calculated.
The plant materials were kept in an electric oven (at
70 °C) for three days and then the dry weight was
recorded.
The testing was arranged affording to a RCBD
(randomized complete block design) of two factors in
three replicates. Duncan multiple range test under
probability level (0.05) was used for evaluation of
means [15].
3. Results and Discussions
3.1 Plant Height (cm)
The data concerned plant height was shown in
Table 1. The plant height was significantly affected by
the different media; the means recorded for media
conclude that maximum plant height (42.20 cm) was
observed in plants grown in peat moss media, while
minimum plant height (32.47 cm) was recorded for
the plants that were grown in sheep manure. The
reason for this phenomenon might be the adequate
amount of nitrogen, potassium and organic matter
contents in peat moss, which positively contributed
towards the plant height. Minimum plant height in
sheep manure may be due to the excessive of nitrogen,

3. Effect of Amended Organic Media and Different Concentrations of Seaweed Extract on the Growth and
Flowering of Periwinkle (Vinca rosea) Plant
240
Table 1 Effect of amended organic media and sea force 2 extract concentrations on plant height (cm) of Periwinkle (Vinca
rosea) plant.
Media
Sea force 2 extract concentrations, mL/L
Media means
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Sheep manure 29.80 f 35.60 d 33.00 d-f 30.27 ef 33.70 de 32.47 b
Peat moss 36.00 cd 39.40 c 43.33 b 47.30 a 44.97 ab 42.20 a
Sea force 2 32.90 b 37.50 a 38.17 a 38.78 a 39.33 a
Each number represents a mean of 3 replicates and the numbers that carry the same letter have no significant differences according to
Duncan test under probability level of 0.05.
Table 2 Effect of amended organic media and sea force 2 extract concentrations on branches number of Periwinkle (Vinca
rosea) plant.
Media
Sea force 2 extract concentrations, mL/L
Media means
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Sheep manure 11.00 c-e 14.00 b 11.00 c-e 8.33 e 10.33 de 10.93 b
Peat moss 13.33 bc 14.67 ab 17.00 a 13.67 bc 12.00 b-d 14.13 a
Sea force 2 12.17 bc 14.33 a 14.00 ab 11.00 c 11.17 c
which resulted in weaker structure and slowly growth
of the plants [16]. The results showed as well that
sprayed plants with different concentration of sea
force 2 caused positive significant differences in plant
height as compared with control. The highest
concentration 2 mL/L of sea force 2 gave the highest
values of plant height characteristic 39.33 cm
compared with other concentrations while the lowest
value was 32.90 cm for control treatment. The
increase of plant height might be due to the Auxins
content in the sea force 2 extracts which have an
effective role in cell division and enlargement [17].
The interaction between treatments medium and
spraying of sea force 2 extract was significant in its
effect. Since plants which were planted in peat moss
and sprayed with 1.5 mL/L of sea force 2 shown the
highest values of plant height 47.30 cm while
minimum height 29.80 cm was recorded for the plants
that grown in sheep manure without spraying.
3.2 Number of Branches/Plant
The data relating to number of branches in Table 2
showed that the planting media had a significant effect.
The mean values for media reveal that maximum
branches 14.13 were founded in plants grown in peat
moss, while minimum leaves 10.93 were produced by
those grown in sheep manure. Maximum branches in
peat moss may be attributed to its adequately
concentrations of NPK. Although sheep manure has
optimum organic matter content, the less number of
leaves may be due to its high concentration of
nitrogen and phosphorous because excess of nitrogen
and phosphorous creates toxic effect, which may even
burn the plant and also weaken the plant’s structure
[16]. This table also shows that spraying plants by sea
force 2 extracts affect significantly on branch number
at low concentrations 0.5 and 1.0 mL/L which gave
14.33 and 14.00 branches/plant respectively as
compared with high concentrations and control
treatment. The increase in shoots number might be
due to the minerals Zn, Cu and B content in the sea
force 2 extracts, which have a great role in cell
division and enlargement and induce the
photosynthesis and then a great shoot growth [18].
The interaction between the media and sea force 2
spray was significant, the highest number of branches
were obtained 17.00 branches/plant when the treated
plants grown in peat moss media.
3.3 Number of Leaves/Plant
The data recorded for the number of leaves are
given in Table 3. The leaves number was significantly
affected by the different media. The maximum leaves
(193.27) were found in plants planted in sheep

4. Effect of Amended Organic Media and Different Concentrations of Seaweed Extract on the Growth and
Flowering of Periwinkle (Vinca rosea) Plant
241
manure, while minimum leaves (146.40) were
produced by those grown in peat moss. The
improvement of leaves production in sheep manure
media may be due to numerous probable reasons
which have been mentioned by many authors like the
porosity of the medium which leads to a well
ventilation, which prevent CO2 accumulation and that
resulted from roots and microorganisms respiration in
the medium and the analysis of its components which
deceased respiration as a result of the growth [19, 20].
The results showed as well that spraying plants with
both concentrations of sea force 2 extracts 0.5 and 1.0
mL/L caused positive significant differences as
compared with control and high concentrations which
gave 193.00 and 190 leaves/plant, respectively. The
increase in leaves number might be due to the Auxins
content in the sea force 2 extracts which have an
effective role in cell division and enlargement. This
leads to increase the leaves numbers [17]. The
interaction between sheep manure media and 1.0
mL/L of sea force 2 gave the significant highest
values of leaves number 231.00 when compared with
other treatments. While minimum value 120.33 leaves
was obtained between same concentration of sea force
2 and peat moss.
3.4 Leaf Area (cm2
)/Plant
The data regarding leaf area are presented in Table
4. Leaf area was significantly affected by used
growing media. Average values for media conclude
that maximum leaf area 68.98 cm2
was attained by the
plants grown in sheep manure. Minimum leaf area
64.75 cm2
was produced by the plants grown in peat
moss. Maximum leaf area in sheep manure was due
to the fact that plants grown in this medium produced
larger leaves with a greater in number may be
attributed to its water and nutrient holding capacity
due to its high organic matter content which
contributed positively to the growth of plants. Besides,
spraying plants with sea force 2 extracts significantly
influence the leaf area. Maximum leaf area 75.20 cm2
was produced for plants that received 2 mL/L while
comparing with other concentrations of sea force 2
and control treatment. The increasing of leaf area
might be due to the minerals Zn, Cu and B content in
the sea force 2 extracts, which have a great role in cell
division and enlargement, and even induce the
photosynthesis which resulted in a great shoot growth
[18] or might be attribute to the macronutrient content
in sea force 2 extract. Macronutrients have a great role
in plant nutrition like nitrogen, potassium and
phosphorous which are very essential for the growth
and development of the plant [21]. The interaction
between the media and different concentrations of sea
force 2 extract was found significant in its effect. Since
plants treated with 2 mL/L extract and grown in peat
moss perform the highest value of leaf area 73.69 cm2
as compared with other interactions.
3.5 Vegetative Dry Weight (g)
It can be noticed from Table 5 that the media have
significant effects on the vegetative dry weight and the
highest value 7.78 g was obtained in plants grown in
peat moss, which significantly differed from sheep
manure media 6.39 g. The results showed as well that
spraying plants with low concentration of sea force 2
0.5 mL/L caused positive significant differences in dry
weight 8.51 g as compared with higher concentrations
Table 3 Effect of amended organic media and sea force 2 extract concentrations on leaf number of Periwinkle (Vinca rosea)
plant.
Media
Sea force 2 extract concentrations, mL/L
Media means
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Sheep manure 182.00 cd 208.00 b 231.00 a 194.00 c 151.33 e 193.27 a
Peat moss 156.00 e 178.00 d 149.67 e 120.33 f 128.00 f 146.40 b
Sea force 2 169.00 b 193.00 a 190.33 a 157.17 c 139.67 d

5. Effect of Amended Organic Media and Different Concentrations of Seaweed Extract on the Growth and
Flowering of Periwinkle (Vinca rosea) Plant
242
Table 4 Effect of amended organic media and sea force 2 extract concentrations on leaf area (cm2
) of Periwinkle (Vinca
rosea) plant.
Media
Sea force 2 extract concentrations, mL/L
Media means
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Sheep manure 66.14 cd 69.58 bc 70.08 bc 67.00 cd 72.13 ab 68.98 a
Peat moss 61.29 ef 57.93 f 63.36 de 65.97 cd 75.20 a 64.75 b
Sea force 2 63.72 b 63.75 b 66.72 b 66.48 b 73.69 a
Table 5 Effect of amended organic media and sea force 2 extract concentrations on vegetative dry weight (g) of Periwinkle
(Vinca rosea) plant.
Media
Sea force 2 extract concentrations, mL/L
Media means
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Sheep manure 6.34 bc 8.61 a 6.82 b 4.83 d 5.36 cd 6.39 b
Peat moss 7.15 b 8.42 a 8.36 a 8.34 a 6.64 b 7.78 a
Sea force 2 6.74 c 8.51 a 7.59 b 6.58 cd 6.00 d
and control. While the lowest value was 6.00 g for 2
mL/L treatment and the increase in vegetative dry
weight of plants which were sprayed with sea force 2
extracts may be due to its role in increasing the plant
height, branches and leaves numbers so the
physiological activities like photosynthesis that
providing plant by nutrition may be resulted in the
increasing vegetative dry weight [22]. The interaction
also appeared significant differences in different
studied characteristics. The highest dry weight 8.61 g
was obtained from the interaction between sheep
manure media and 0.5 mL/L of sea force 2 extract,
while the lowest dry weight 4.83 g was recorded for
the interaction between peat moss media and same
concentration of sea force 2 extract.
3.6 Number of Flowers/Plant
Table 6 reveals a significant effect of growing
media on flowers number for vinca plant; the higher
significant number of flowers was recorded for the
peat moss 41.33 flowers/plant, while the minimum
number of flowers was obtained from sheep manure
32.67 flowers/plant. The improvement of the
branching and plant growth in peat moss media
caused increasing the generation of flowers [19, 20].
Spraying of sea force 2 extract with different
concentrations revealed significant differences in
number of flowers; the highest number 40.67 was
recorded for 0.5 and 1 mL/L which did not differ
significantly from the control and 1.5 treatments,
while significant minimum number of flowers 27.00
has been obtained from 2 mL/L of sea force 2. As it
has shown in Table 6, a significant difference for the
interaction between growing media and different
concentrations of sea force 2; the interaction between
the plants grown in peat moss media and free of
spraying that generated the maximum flowers number
47.33 flowers/plant which did not differ significantly
from the plants sprayed with low concentrations in the
same media, while the minimum flowers number
25.33 flowers/plant was recorded for the plants that
sprayed with high concentration 2 mL/L of sea force 2
in sheep manure.
3.7 Flower Diameter (cm)
From the data in Table 7, it is clear that the growth
media have a significant effect on flowers diameter
for vinca plant; the higher diameter of flowers was
recorded for plants grown in peat moss media 4.05
cm, while the minimum diameter was obtained for
those grown in sheep manure media 3.82 cm.
Moreover, the highest value of flower diameter 4.33
cm had been obtained from plants without sprayed
by sea force 2 which has no differences significant
from the other concentrations except 1.5 mL/L
treatment which gave lowest significant value of

6. Effect of Amended Organic Media and Different Concentrations of Seaweed Extract on the Growth and
Flowering of Periwinkle (Vinca rosea) Plant
243
Table 6 Effect of amended organic media and sea force 2 extract concentrations on flowers number of Periwinkle (Vinca
rosea) plant.
Media
Sea force 2 extract concentrations, mL/L
Media means
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Sheep manure 30.00 c 35.33 b 35.33 b 37.33 b 25.33 d 32.67 b
Peat moss 47.33 a 46.00 a 46.00 a 38.67 b 28.67 cd 41.33 a
Sea force 2 38.67 a 40.67 a 40.67 a 38.00 a 27.00 b
Table 7 Effect of amended organic media and sea force 2 extract concentrations on flowers diameter (cm) of Periwinkle
(Vinca rosea) plant.
Media
Sea force 2 extract concentrations, mL/L
Media means
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Sheep manure 3.93 a-d 3.90 b-d 3.97 a-d 3.70 cd 3.60 d 3.82 b
Peat moss 4.33 a 3.97 a-d 4.03 a-c 3.77 b-d 4.13 ab 4.05 a
Sea force 2 4.13 a 3.93 ab 4.00 ab 3.73 b 3.87 ab
flower diameter 3.73 cm. The interaction between
peat moss media and plants without spraying by sea
force 2 gave the maximum flowers number 4.33 cm,
while the minimum flowers diameter 3.60 cm was
recorded for the plants that sprayed with 2 mL/L of
sea force 2 in sheep manure.
3.8 Length of Longest Root (cm)
Table 8 displayed that there are no significant
differences between growth media in its effect on the
length of longest vinca plant roots; The results of
spraying plants with sea force 2 showed that spraying
plants with 1 mL/L of sea force 2 caused positive
significant differences in root length and gave the
longest length 24.60 cm as compared with other
concentrations and the control. While the lowest value
of roots length was 21.65 cm for 1.5 mL/L treatment.
The interaction between the peat moss media and 1
mL/L of sea force 2 gave the longest length of root
26.00 cm which differ significantly from other
interactions, while the minimum length of root 19.90
cm was recorded for the plants that sprayed with 1
mL/L of sea force 2 in sheep manure.
3.9 Roots Dry Weight (g)
The data in Table 9 showed that no significant
differences have been discovered among the sheep
manure and peat moss media in its effect on dry
weight of roots. Spraying plants with sea force 2
extracts significantly influence the dry weight of
roots. The highest dry weight of roots was obtained
when plants sprayed with 0.5 mL/L of sea force 2.
The interaction between peat moss media and 0.5
mL/L of sea force 2 had recorded the highest dry
weight of roots (1.97 g), while minimum weight
(0.85 g) was recorded for the plants that were grown
in sheep manure and sprayed with 2 mL/L of sea
force 2.
3.10 Total Chlorophyll in Leaves (%)
The data for percentage of total chlorophyll
mentioned in Table 10 showed that growing media
have significant effects on increasing amount of
chlorophyll in leaves. The highest percentage 48.51%
was obtained in peat moss media, which significantly
differed from other planting media. The use of peat
moss as compared with using sheep manure causes an
improvement in all studied features that can be
attributed to the high fertility which leads to the
increasing of nutrients absorption, especially nitrogen
which has a great role in activating many enzymes and
plant growth hormones that can be attractive centers
for nutrient materials, this interacts in many biological
processes and as a result of promoting photosynthesis

7. Effect of Amended Organic Media and Different Concentrations of Seaweed Extract on the Growth and
Flowering of Periwinkle (Vinca rosea) Plant
244
Table 8 Effect of amended organic media and sea force 2 extract concentrations on longest root length (cm) of Periwinkle
(Vinca rosea) plant.
Media
Sea force 2 extract concentrations, mL/L
Media means
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Sheep manure 23.93 a-c 24.80 ab 23.20 bc 19.90 d 24.20 ab 23.21 a
Peat moss 23.00 bc 22.87 bc 26.00 a 23.40 bc 21.47 cd 23.35 a
Sea force 2 23.47 ab 23.83 ab 24.60 a 21.65 c 22.83 bc
Table 9 Effect of amended organic media and sea force 2 extract concentrations on roots dry weight (g) of Periwinkle
(Vinca rosea) plant.
Media
Sea force 2 extract concentrations, mL/L
Media means
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Sheep manure 1.64 b 1.76 b 1.61 b 0.96 ef 0.85 f 1.37 a
Peat moss 1.13 de 1.97 a 1.30 cd 1.40 c 1.08 e 1.38 a
Sea force 2 1.39 b 1.86 a 1.46 b 1.18 c 0.96 d
Table 10 Effect of amended organic media and sea force 2 extract concentrations on total chlorophyll (%) in leaves of
Periwinkle (Vinca rosea) plant.
Media
Sea force 2 extract concentrations, mL/L
Media means
0 0.5 1 1.5 2
Sheep manure 44.97 cd 50.00 ab 48.10 a-c 37.47 e 43.37 d 44.78 b
Peat moss 48.87 ab 50.67 a 49.53 ab 47.23 a-c 46.27 b-d 48.51 a
Sea force 2 46.92 ab 50.34 a 48.82 ab 42.35 c 44.82 b
and improvement flower generation rather than
increasing chlorophyll and green plastids formation
[23 and 25]. Spraying sea force 2 extract with different
concentrations revealed significant differences in total
percentage of chlorophyll; the highest value 50.34%
was displayed for plants which were sprayed with 0.5
mL/L of sea force 2. This increased chlorophyll
content in leaves might be due to Cytokinins as well
in which induce the physiological activities and some
nutrient materials content in sea force 2 extracts,
nitrogen enter in the molecule structure of chlorophyll
[26]. This will positively reflect on the activity of
photosynthesis and the synthesized materials which
will positively reflects on shoots characteristics [27].
The interaction between peat moss and 0.5 mL/L of
sea force 2 recorded significantly the best total
chlorophyll percentage (50.67%).
4. Conclusions
The experimental results lead us to the conclusion
that both the growing media and different
concentrations of sea force 2 extract had significant
effects on the vegetative growth and flowering
characteristics of vinca rosea plants. In terms of growth
and flower production, the peat moss medium
provided the best results of plant height, number of
branches and flowers, vegetative dry weight and
chlorophyll percentage except number and area of leaves
that significantly increased in sheep manure. As far as the
spraying of sea force 2 extract noticed that low
concentrations especially 0.5 mL/L was slightly better
than the other concentrations and control to increase the
most of vegetative and flowering growth characteristics
of vinca plant.
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