CULTIVATION OF STEVIA REBAUDIANA (B .) B …

1 CULTIVATION OFSTEVIA[ STEVIA REBAUDIANA (BERT.) BERTONI]:ACOMPREHENSIVEREVIEWK. Ramesh, Virendra Singh and Nima W. MegejiNatural Plant Products Division,Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (CSIR),Palampur 176061, HP, India,IHBT Pub. No. 0512I. IntroductionII. Agricultural HistoryIII. Agricultural Impact and UseIV. Botanical DescriptionA. Growth PatternB. Plant Morphological VariationC. Root SystemD. StemE. LeavesF. FlowersG. SeedsH. Sweet Glycoside Content in Plant PartsV. Environmental VersatilityA. Geographic DistributionB. Day Length/PhotoperiodC. TemperatureD. LightVI. CultivationA. Seed Germination, Nursery, and Crop EstablishmentB. Spacing/Crop DensityC. Vegetative PropagationD.

2 Nutrient ManagementE. Crop Weed Competition and Weed ManagementF. Water RequirementG. Soil RequirementH. HarvestI. Growth RegulatorsJ. Seed ProductionK. Correlation StudiesL. Biotic StressesM. Crop ProductivityVII. Chemistry and QualityVIII. Research Needs137 Advances in Agronomy, Volume 89 Copyright 2006, Elsevier Inc. All rights $ : (05)89003-0 AcknowledgmentsReferencesStevia REBAUDIANA (Bert.) Bertoni is one of the 154 members of the genusStevia. It is a sweet herb of Paraguay. The leaves of the shrub contain specificglycosides, which produce a sweet taste but have no caloric value. Forcenturies, this herbal sweetener has been used by native Guarani Indians tocounteract the bitter taste of various plant based medicines and countries have shown interest in its CULTIVATION , and research activitieshave been initiated.

3 Incorporation of this species in agricultural productionsystems, however, depends upon a thorough knowledge of the plant andits agronomic potential. The published literature on research and develop-ment of this crop is meager. The aim of this chapter is to describe theecology, importance of the plant, and its production requirements, butmajor emphasis is given to the agronomic and management aspects of theplant to be grown as a crop. Further, this chapter represents an eVort tocompile the literature onS. rebaudianaand review the current status ofunderstanding of the plant and its potential as an alternate source ofcane sugar.#2006, Elsevier INTRODUCTIONS tevia REBAUDIANA (Bert.)

4 Bertoni is one of the 154 members of the genusStevia. It is a sweet herb of Paraguay, which contains natural noncaloricsweetener. It is of immense value due to its adaptability to wide climaticrange, the high sweet content, and its significant contribution to the welfareof human life. This oVers a solution for complex diabetic problems andobesity in humans, being calorie free. The worldwide demand for highpotency sweeteners, particularly natural sweeteners, is expected to increasein the years to come. This assumes center stage in the society, which is underthe organic and natural food regime. Incorporation of this species in agri-cultural production systems, however, depends upon a thorough knowledgeof the plant and its agronomic potential.

5 The published literature on re-search and development of this crop is meager. The review of the literature inpast emphasized on nutritional qualities and safety of stevioside, rather thanSteviacultivation (Felippe, 1977, 1978; Fletcher, 1955). Further, a reviewfrom China was recently done byLiu (1992).The aim of this chapter is to describe the ecology and importance of theplant and its production requirements, but major emphasis is given to theagronomic and management aspects of the plant to be grown as a , this chapter represents an eVort to compile the literature on138K. RAMESHET rebaudianaand review the current status of understanding of the plantand its potential as an alternate source of cane AGRICULTURAL HISTORYS teviarebaudianaisanendemicherbfromParagu ayandtheBrazilianborderwith that country (Felippe, 1977; Monteiro, 1982).

6 The genusStevia(Eupator-ieae, Asteraceae) [which consists of approximately 150 200 species of herba-ceous, shrub and subshrub plants (Gentry, 1996)] is one of the most distinctivegenera within the tribe (1967)expressed thatSteviaismainly found in Amambay, including the zone of San Pedro, Yhu, and nearJejui Guazu. It was used for many centuries as a came totheattentionofEuropeansinthe1800s,yeti tremainedrelativelyobscureuntilitwas planted and used in England during the sugar rationing of World War authors described the herb (Klages, 1951; Levy, 1984). History ofSteviawas dealt in detail byMachado and Dietrich (1981).Although geographically widespread, this genus occurs exclusively intropical and subtropical regions of the United States and Central andSouth America (Robinson and King, 1977).

7 This has been historically usedby the people of Paraguay as a sweetener and herbal remedy. Early reportsindicated thatSteviawas known to the Spanish during the 16th century, butit remained in obscurity until it was again brought to the attention ofEuropeans in 1888 by M. S. Bertoni. ErstwhileEupatorium rebaudianumcame to the attention of M. S. Bertoni in the year 1809, who studied it andrenamed it asSteviain 1905 (Bertoni, 1899, 1905, 1918, 1927). Prior to anyEuropean discovery, it had long been known to the indigenous Guaranipeople native to that region. The leaves of this sweet herb, known to theGuarani Indians as Ka aHe e, was used for centuries as a sweetener forbitter drinks such as mate (Soejartoet al.)

8 , 1983).Steviais reported to beoriginated in South American gene center (Cerna, 2000).During 1971, Japanese introducedSteviafrom Brazil (Crammer andIkan, 1986) and conducted research to evaluate potential ofStevia. Today,Japan is a major grower and marketer for the sweetener and has approved itfor use in many food products, including cereals, teas, and soft an ancient and venerable history in certain parts of the world. It is clearthat this crop is native to valley of the Rio Monday in North EasternParaguay and is commonly found on the edges of marshland on acid infertilesand or muck soils of Paraguay. In Canada,Steviais being sold as aningredient in tea but not as a sweetener (Borie, 2000).

9 The task now is toconvertSteviafrom its wild habitat to a modern crop well suited to diVerentproduction environments along with eYcient mechanized OFSTEVIA139 III. AGRICULTURAL IMPACT AND USES teviapossesses numerous characteristics that make it a potentially valu-able agricultural species (Tables I and II), although there are few reasonsgenerally limiting its agronomic utility (Table III). Information on produc-tion of the 10 glycosides responsible for its sweetness in diVerent plant partsis of great importance for both understanding the peculiarities of diterpenoidglycoside production and for adoption of mass scale production conducted so far could suggest few management approachesfor improving production requirements.

10 This crop had made significantagricultural impact in countries such as Japan, China, Taiwan, Korea,Mexico, USA, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Tanzania, Canada,Abkhazia, Russia (Brandle and Rosa, 1992; Chen and Chang, 1978; Chuand Cheng, 1976; Donalisioet al., 1982; Dzyuba, 1998; Goenadi, 1983;Gvasaliyaet al., 1990; Katayamaet al., 1976; Leeet al., 1979; Lester,1999; Saxena and Ming, 1988; Shock, 1982; Sumida, 1968), and eVortswere initiated in India recently (Chalapathi, 1996).Randi (1980)reviewed the potential uses ofSteviathat produces sweetglycosides like stevioside, which may vary from 2 to 10% (Magalhaes,2000), a noncaloric sweetener that does not ferment in the human body(Table II).