Syed Shabab Hussain1, Abdur Rauf1,*, Wajid Khan2, Tanweer Kumar2, Muhammad Arif2, Kashmala Jabbar1, Guleena Khan1, Wisal Khan1, Ruby Wali Khan1, Majeed Ullah1, Asghar Ali1, Ameer Sultan1, Farhan Ullah1 and Ikramullah Khan1
1Garden Campus, Abdul Wali Khan University, Mardan, Pakistan; 2Sugar Crops Research Institute (SCRI), Mardan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
*Corresponding author: rauf77@awkum.edu.pk
Stevia rebaudiana, a perennial shrub known for its sweet leaves, is gaining global recognition as a high-potency natural sweetener due to its steviol glycosides (SvGls), which are 300 times sweeter than sucrose. This research focuses on enhancing the cultivation of Stevia rebaudiana for sustainable production of steviol glycosides, with a particular emphasis on optimizing growth parameters through a novel clonal propagation method. Two groups of Stevia rebaudiana, one from stem cuttings and the other from seeds, were subjected to identical experimental setups in beds enriched with a mixture of pure soil and agricultural waste. The growth parameters, including plant height, leaf area, root length, stem diameter, and number of roots, were meticulously measured at regular intervals from 40 and 120 DAP (days after plantation). Our findings highlight the effectiveness of the stem tip clonal propagation over the seed-grown method in establishing a genetically uniform population of Stevia rebaudiana. Throughout this comprehensive study, the technique of stem cutting consistently demonstrated its dominance, highlighting superior growth characteristics in various parameters in fostering enhanced plant height, root length, leaf area, number of roots, and stem diameter. The sustained dominance of stem cutting across various parameters underscores its efficacy in promoting robust Stevia plant growth over an extended 120-day period. The study contributes valuable insights into optimizing Stevia rebaudiana cultivation for sustainable and high-yielding production of steviol glycosides.