How To Care and Cultivate Stevia Plant

How To Care and Cultivate Stevia Plant - Stevia plant is a shrub from the family Compositae. The high is ± 65 cm, trunked round, furry, segmented, highly branched, and the color green. Single leaves are opposite, oval-shaped, flowers hermaphrodite, tubular purple crown and roots riding. This plant has a strong regenerating power that is resistant to cuts. Stevia as a source of natural sweetener has a bright prospect in the foreseeable future, different with synthetic sweetener often adversely affect health. The main sweetener in stevia are stevioside, a diterpene glycosides are very sweet, but almost no calories.

Stavia Plant Nurseries

Seedlings stevia can be done in several ways, such as by seed, cuttings, saplings, and tissue culture. But most use the cuttings for faster and more convenient. Nursery techniques with cutting performed by using airtight plastic cap that covered, so that the temperature in the lower cap and the humidity approaches 100%. Approximately 3-4 weeks later cuttings can already be moved to a land that has been provided previously.

How To Planting

Prior to planting hoe twice to obtain the soil texture is crumbly. Subsequently made ​​beds, beds with a length of approximately 5 m or in tune with the land and the width between 100-125 cm. Height of each bed is just about 20 cm. If planting is done on land sloping contours, terraces should be made in advance.

Seedlings are planted with spacing of 25 × 25 cm or 30 × 30 cm, so that each contains 4-5 rows of beds. In each planting hole should be approximately 250 g of organic fertilizer (manure or compost). Which is considered the best time to plant stevia is the rainy season so that sufficient water supplies and crops refreshed quickly (usually 1-2 days after planting).

How To Care Stevia Plant

Stevia Plant Seeds

The most important job in the stevia plant care is fertilizing, pruning, and pest and disease control. One week after planting, each plant needs to be given artificial fertilizers each 1 g of urea, TSP and 1 g 1 g KCl. Artificial fertilizer is repeated each time freshly harvested stevia. At 2-week-old stevia plants, each end of the plant should be pruned to form a branch that leaves the production will be more good.

Pests and Diseases Control

Pests are often attacked stevia are aphids and caterpillars. A form of pest infestation include aphids, Aphis sp which can damage the buds. While the form of caterpillar pests include caterpillars Heliothis sp. Both types of these pests will attack the stevia plant, especially if planting is done on a tract of land vegetables care less. While this type of disease that may be found on this sweetener plant fungus Poria hypolateria is causing the red brick on the trunk and finally the plants wither. The source of the disease is the rest of the roots and orchard sanitation should be done for preventive measures. Other diseases include type of Sclerotium rolfsii and Fusarium sp.

Use of insecticides, fungicides or pesticides are not done on stevia plants, both in order to prevent and control pests and diseases. Therefore need to be cultivated in order to get stevia plantations and intensive special curing.

Harvesting Stevia Plant

The timing and how to harvesting for the stevia plant must be controlled. If the slow harvest, the sugar content decreased stevia leaf. Conversely, if the harvest is too early than the yield or sugar content not maximum number of leaves produced too little.

For the first time stevia leaves harvested between 40-60 days after planting and harvesting for the next one could use the time between 30-60 days. In addition to using these guidelines, harvesting for stevia leaves can also be based on plant height. Typically, harvesting the leaves when the plant is done already as high as 40-60 cm with a lush growth of leaves. At the height of these plants have started to enter a period of flowering and at this same sugar content (steviosida or substance that determines levels of sweetness) plant is at the highest level.

The best time to harvest is in the morning, harvesting is done by cutting the stem or stalk is approximately 10-15 cm from ground level. Tool used to cut stems or stalks can be a big pair of scissors or a sharp pruning shears. When harvesting, leave as much as 1-2 stalks on each plant so that the new plants harvested it can grow back properly. Was subsequently taken their leaves only.

That are a tips for cultivate and care stevia plant, the stevia plant leaf like a basil plant leaf but this plant have different type. We hope this article will useful for you don't late to read other article such as How To Cultivate and Grow Pineapple Plant.