Vegetos
(An International Journal of Plant Research & Biotechnology)
Potassium enhances the growth, yield, and quality of mondo grass (Ophiopogon japonicus (L.f.) Ker-Gawl.) under rainfed conditions
*Article not assigned to an issue yet
Hoang Dinh Thai, Khuynh Bui The, Phip Ninh Thi, Vinh Nguyen Dinh, Mai Nguyen Phuong, Thom Nguyen Mai, Hai Nguyen Thi Thanh
Research Articles | Published: 19 December, 2025
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Keywords: Medicinal mondo grass, Rainfed, Potassium
Abstract
Potassium supplements should be a strategy to solve the water shortage problems in medicinal mondo grass production. The experiment evaluated the impact of potassium application on the growth, yield, and secondary metabolites of mondo grass under rainfed conditions. The split-plot design with three replications was used with the main factor of five potassium levels (0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 kg K2O ha−1 year−1) and the sub-factor of two mondo grass genotypes (Mach Mon 2 and Mach Mon 6). Under rainfed conditions, increasing potassium supplement increased canopy size, the number of leaves and tillers, root growth, leaf osmotic pressure and chlorophyll fluorescence, total biomass, yield components, uptake of macronutrients, contents of polysaccharide, saponin, flavonoid, and decreased leaf water deficit and ion leakage. A potassium amount of 90 kg K2O ha−1 year−1 seemed the optimum dose for productivity and medicinal quality of mondo grass under rainfed conditions.
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Author Information
Department of Industrial and Medicinal Plant Science, Faculty of Agronomy, Vietnam National University of Agriculture, Hanoi, Vietnam