This article on STEVIA was contributed by Dr. Barathi.N, CEO, Growmore Biotech Ltd.
and appeared in the national newspaper
"THE HINDU" under Science and Technology on19/09/02.

STEVIA - A WAY TO SWEETEN LIFE

Stevia is a sweet herb that originated in Paraguay and has been in use as an effective alternate to sugar for over 1500 years. Botanically, it is Stevia rebaudiana, a member of Compositae family, which we have named as Cheenitulasi. Having identified its versatility, nearly 50 Tons of this natural sweetener is consumed in Japan annually.

The leaves of Stevia is used as a replacement for all other artificial sweetening agents. The leaves of Stevia has a sweet taste which is 30 times stronger than natural sugar but surprisingly without any calories. Hence it is named as "hypocaloric bio-sweetener". The sweetener extracted from Stevia is known as Stevioside, which is 300 times sweeter than cane sugar. The leaf of Stevia contains 15 - 20 % of Stevioside.

Stevia can be grown easily as any other vegetable either few in the house or a few hundreds in the garden. The plant reaches a height of 45 cm in 3 months. This is a short day plant. The concentration of stevioside in the leaves of Stevia increases when the plants are grown under long day. While cultivating Stevia on a large scale, this can be grown in well-drained soil like red soil and sandy loam soils. The soil should be of fine tilth. An ideal planting density is 30,000 plants per acre with spacing of 23 x 60 cm. The soil can be enriched with a basal dressing of 25 Mt of FYM / ac.

As the plant cannot tolerate drought, frequent irrigation is required. It is recommended to have drip irrigation for better results. Irrigation is scheduled depending on the moisture holding capacity of the soil, light intensity and the wind velocity. The ideal climatic condition for the plant is 50,000 - 60,000 lux of sunlight for more than 12 hours in a day with low wind velocity and 25 - 35 deg. Celcius of day temperature and the night temperature not falling below 10 deg Celcius. First harvest can be made after 4 - 5 months from the time of planting. Subsequent harvests can be made every 3 months, for 3 consecutive years. The sweetener in the leaf is maximum till the plant flowers. Just before flowering, we can cut the plant leaving 10 cm from the ground, from where again new flush of leaves will sprout, which will be ready for harvest again in 3 months time.

The expected yield in the first year in 4 harvests could be 2700 kgs of dried leaves per acre which is presently marketed at RS. 400 - 500 / kg. Even at RS. 200 / kg. The expected returns in the first year would be RS. 5.46 lacs as against the first year expense RS. 4 lacs. In the subsequent years, the expense is only Rs.75, 000 as against an income of RS. 5.46 Lacs.

The fresh leaves harvested should be hanged upside down and dried under shade in a relatively dry place. In bulk method, the leaves are spread on a screen or net and dry air is allowed to pass through the net at room temperature. After the shoots get dried, the leaves are stripped off the twigs. Drying time of more than a day will lower the stevioside content of the final product. It is the leaf, which has got the maximum stevioside responsible for sweetness.

For export it is preferred to keep the leaves as a whole. For domestic usage, the dried leaves should be crushed for the final use either directly as a powder or can be made in to a liquid Stevia extract by adding a cup of warm water to one fourth cup of fresh finely crushed Stevia leaves. This mixture should be kept for 24 hours and then be refrigerated.

India has been projected by W.H.O. as the country with fastest growing population of diabetes. It is estimated that the number of diabetic patients will be around 3.2 crores by the end of 2002. This calorie free natural sweetener can sweeten those sugar-deprived diabetic and the health conscious individuals.

Stevia is the safest means of natural sweetener, that it can be used as an artificial sweetener in diet soda, tea, fruit juice, chewing gum, and other food beverages. Stevia has been used with success to treat many ailments including diabetes, high blood pressure, digestion ailments, addictions, topically for acne and other skin ailments including weight loss aid. It has been proved to be safe for diabetics as it does not raise blood sugar.

It can replace sugar in most of our recipes. 1 teaspoon crushed or powdered leaves are equivalent to 1 cup of sugar. Stevia sweetens tea, coffee, yogurt, cakes and in all Indian sweet dishes including payasam. One dry leaf of Stevia is sufficient to sweeten a cup of tea.
   
The versatile plant can be grown in pots in your balcony or in any sunny spot in a 10-12 inches diameter pot filled with red soil, sand and cocopeat in equal proportion.

Growmore Biotech Limited, has standardized tissue culture methodology of propagating elite plants of superior quality Stevia and supplying to farmers in minimum batch of 10,000. Growmore Biotech Ltd. also is planning to offer the benefit of this incredible plant to every family who would be interested in growing them in pots by providing young plants of 4 - 5 inches via courier.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATIONS PLEASE CONTACT
Dr.N.Barathi,
Director
Email : growmore@vsnl.com
website : www.growmorebiotech.com