Effect of pruning in biomass production and steviol glycosides contents of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni var. Morita II

Abstract

For the production of dry leaf of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni under the Cuban climatic conditions, it is necessary to identify the agrotechnical variables with the greatest impact on its yield. Therefore, the objective of this work was to determine the effect of pruning frequency on biomass production and steviolglycoside content. Plants of S. rebaudiana var. Morita II grown for 180 days in the stonecutter were employed. Three pruning frequencies were tested: every 30, 60 and 90 days. As a control, plants without pruning were used. The variables evaluated were the height of the plant, the number of branches per plant, the number of leaves per plant, the fresh and dry mass of the leaves and stems per plant and the percentage of flowering. In addition, the yield of dry mass per hectare was estimated and the content of steviolglycoside was determined. The results revealed that the best pruning frequency of S. rebaudiana plants was every 60 days. The results of the agronomic variables evaluated were higher than those obtained with pruning every 30 and 90 days, with the exception of the height of the plant and the percentage of flowering. With pruning every 60 days the yield was 1.19 t ha-1 and the steviolglycoside content reached 255.39 mg g-1 of dry mass. The results showed that the pruning frequency influences the production of biomass and the main components of the biomass yield, as well as the content of steviolglycosides in clarified aqueous extracts of S. rebaudiana var. Morita II grown under conditions of stonecutter.

Keywords

• pruning frequency
• stonecutter
• sweet grass