TY - JOUR
T1 - Dynamics of yield components and stevioside production in Stevia rebaudiana grown under different planting times, plant stands and harvest regime
AU - Serfaty, Mordechai
AU - Ibdah, Mwafaq
AU - Fischer, Ravit
AU - Chaimovitsh, David
AU - Saranga, Yehoshua
AU - Dudai, Nativ
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Chief Scientist of the Israeli Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development . We thank Mr. Daniel Segev for his help in this project.
PY - 2013/10
Y1 - 2013/10
N2 - Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Bertoni is well known because of its accumulation of the sweet-tasting ent-kaurene diterpeneoid glycoside, which tastes about 300 times as sweet as sucrose. Although stevioside is one of the most abundant and best analyzed, more than 30 additional steviol glycosides so far have been identified and described. Stevioside concentration in the leaves is known to vary widely, depending on the growing conditions and agricultural practices. The present study aimed to examine the feasibility of growing Stevia as an open-field crop in Israel. In order to determine the agricultural practices required for optimizing Stevia biomass production and stevioside yield, effects of planting and harvest times upon plant development, biomass yield components, and stevioside content were examined. The optimal planting season, manifested in intensive plant development and maximal plant biomass yield, was at the beginning of spring, i.e., mid-March to early April. A minimal stand of 10 plants/m2 was found more favorable than lower stands of 6, 8, or 10 plants/m2''. The optimal harvesting time, with the highest stevioside yield of about 30g/m2 was at the beginning of September, prior to flowering initiation. Moreover, harvesting at this time yielded increased leaf biomass, highly suitable for commercial stevioside extraction. Thus, Stevia rebaudiana offers substantial potential for introduction as a commercial agricultural crop for stevioside production in Israel.
AB - Stevia rebaudiana (Bertoni) Bertoni is well known because of its accumulation of the sweet-tasting ent-kaurene diterpeneoid glycoside, which tastes about 300 times as sweet as sucrose. Although stevioside is one of the most abundant and best analyzed, more than 30 additional steviol glycosides so far have been identified and described. Stevioside concentration in the leaves is known to vary widely, depending on the growing conditions and agricultural practices. The present study aimed to examine the feasibility of growing Stevia as an open-field crop in Israel. In order to determine the agricultural practices required for optimizing Stevia biomass production and stevioside yield, effects of planting and harvest times upon plant development, biomass yield components, and stevioside content were examined. The optimal planting season, manifested in intensive plant development and maximal plant biomass yield, was at the beginning of spring, i.e., mid-March to early April. A minimal stand of 10 plants/m2 was found more favorable than lower stands of 6, 8, or 10 plants/m2''. The optimal harvesting time, with the highest stevioside yield of about 30g/m2 was at the beginning of September, prior to flowering initiation. Moreover, harvesting at this time yielded increased leaf biomass, highly suitable for commercial stevioside extraction. Thus, Stevia rebaudiana offers substantial potential for introduction as a commercial agricultural crop for stevioside production in Israel.
KW - Biomass production
KW - Stevia rebaudiana
KW - Stevioside
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84883646906&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.indcrop.2013.08.063
DO - 10.1016/j.indcrop.2013.08.063
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AN - SCOPUS:84883646906
SN - 0926-6690
VL - 50
SP - 731
EP - 736
JO - Industrial Crops and Products
JF - Industrial Crops and Products
ER -