Effect of adenine sulphate on in vitro mass propagation of Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni

Stevia rebaudiana, a medicinal plant normally used as a natural herbal sweetener, has documented properties of antimicrobial, antihypertensive and anti-hyperglycemic and hence a boon to diabetic people. An efficient protocol has been developed for the in vitro plant regeneration established from nodal explants of stevia. Best shoot proliferation was observed when nodal explants were inoculated on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with Kinetin (9.3 µM) and adenine sulphate (Ads) 40 mg/L. Proliferated shoots were transferred to rooting media having different concentration of α-n-Naphthalene acetic (NAA) acid and Indole-3-butyric acid (IBA). Best rooting was observed with NAA 5.3 µM. The plantlets were successfully subjected to hardening media containing soil, soilrite and vermiculite (2:1:1 w/w) and then rooted plant transferred to pots and acclimatized, which showed 65% survival in the field with normal growth.   Key words: Stevia rebaudiana, adenine sulphate, in vitro.