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Hussein, Jwan Ali; Noori, Ali Mohammed

doi:10.58928/ku26.17317

	Micropropagation of Stevia rebaudiana plant in vitro
Kirkuk University Journal for Agricultural Sciences (KUJAS)
Volume 17, Issue 3, September 2026, Pages 169-179 PDF (794.02 K)
Document Type: Research Paper
DOI: 10.58928/ku26.17317
Authors
jwan ali Hussein¹; Ali Mohammed Noori^* ²
¹University of kirkuk / college of agriculture / department horticulture and landscape design/ iraq / kirkuk.
²University of Kirkuk, College of Agriculture, Department of Horticulture, Kirkuk, Iraq
Abstract
This study investigated the effect of plant growth regulators on the initiation of in vitro culture of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni. The experiment focused on surface sterilization protocols and the evaluation of explants derived from stem nodes, along with studying the effect of cytokinins (BA and Kin) on shoot regeneration. Surface sterilization with 4% sodium hypochlorite (NaOCI) for 6 minutes showed the highest effectiveness. The explants were cultured on MS medium supplemented with benzyl adenine (BA) at concentration of (0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5, 2.0) mg.l-1 and kinetin (Kin) at concentration of (0.0, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, 8.0) mg.l-1 during the establishment and multiplication stages.In the establishment stage, the highest response rate (100%) was recorded for the concentration of 1.5 and 0.5 mg.l-1 of BA, and for Kin at a concentration of 4.0 mg.l-1. The highest number of shoots (9.20 shoots. explant -1) and the highest total number of leaves (58.30 leaves. explant -1) were achieved with 1.0 mg.l-1 of BA, while the longest shoot length (7.15 cm) was achieved with 1.5 mg.l-1 of BA.In the multiplication stage (after 8 weeks), treatment with 1.5 mg.l-1 of BA produced the highest number of shoots (33.70 shoots. Explant -1) and the highest total number of leaves (139.40 leaves. Explant -1), while the longest shoot length achieved with 0.5 mg.l-1 (5.77 cm) as for the kin treatment in the establishment stage, the highest number of shoots (4.50 shoots. Explant -1) and the highest total number of leaves (33.80 leaves. Explant -1) were achieved at 8.0 mg.l-1 , while the longest shoot length (5.02 cm) was achieved at 4.0 mg.l-1. In the multiplication stage, treatment with (2.0 mg.l-1 of kin) produced the highest number of shoots (6.50 shoots. explant -1), the longest shoot length (7.35 cm), and the highest total number of leaves (48.00 leaves. explants -1).
Keywords
stevia rebaudiana; MS medium; HPLC; sativoside; rebaudioside-A

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Micropropagation of Stevia rebaudiana plant in vitro