Optimization of Green House Conditions for Stevia rebaudiana Cuttings

The present study was conducted to study optimization of green house conditions for Propagation of Stevia rebaudiana cuttings. Stevia rebaudiana belongs to Asteraceae family and this plant is native to the Brazil and Paraguay. Stevia rebaudiana leaves produces stevioside and rebaudioside. The sweetness of stevioside is 150 -300 times greater than sucrose.Seeds of Stevia are very small in size and infertile and production of Stevia through seeds is not beneficial because seeds are not viable for germination.In present study different concentrations of NAA,IBA, IAA and their combinations were used to study their effect on the rooting of Stevia rebaudiana cuttings and observed the results of different auxin concentrations on rooting and shooting of Stevia rebaudiana.The highest number of roots per cutting was observed to be 34.9 from 2% Naphthalene acetic acid. 2% NAA gave the maximum root length, root number as well as shoot length and number of nodes per cutting. IBA, IAA has no noticeable results. Cuttings of Stevia rebaudiana responded well in NAA treatments as compared to the IBA treatments.