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Geographical Distribution, Botanical Description and Self-Incompatibility Mechanism of Genus Stevia

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Abstract

Stevia rebaudiana Bertoni, popularly known as ‘candy leaf’, is a sweet native herb of Paraguay. It became economically important for its significant contribution to the sugar and beverage industry throughout the world. This plant has been known to contain a calorie-free natural sugar in its leaves, which is an alternative to other artificially produced sugar substitutes. Stevia is conventionally propagated through seed and cutting, owing to its self-incompatibility, insufficient pollinator activity, and poor seed set, which results in the origination of heterozygous plants with varying concentration of glucosides in leaves, with low multiplication rate. This article compiles the literatures and depicts an overview on the geographical distribution, morphological, reproductive and cytological features, along with incompatibility mechanism of Stevia that would assist researchers to explore further and genetically refine this potential herb with immense medicinal importance.

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Fig. 1

(Source: Chatsudthipong and Muanprasat 2009; modified by Authors)

Fig. 2
Fig. 3

(Source: Das 2009)

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Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Department of Agricultural Biotechnology and Directorate of Research, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, West Bengal, India, for providing the key research and e-library facilities.

Authors’ contribution

SG and AD conceived the idea of the review and drafted the initial manuscript; SG, AD, and JB scrutinized and corrected the manuscript to its submission-ready version. All the authors approved the final version of the manuscript prior to submission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. All India Coordinated Research Project on Groundnut, Directorate of Research, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Kalyani, Nadia, West Bengal, 741235, India

    Saikat Gantait

  2. Regional Research Station, Directorate of Research, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Chakdaha, Nadia, West Bengal, 741222, India

    Arpita Das

  3. Survey, Selection and Mass Production, Directorate of Research, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, 741252, India

    Joydeep Banerjee

  4. Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, 741252, India

    Saikat Gantait, Arpita Das & Joydeep Banerjee

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  1. Saikat Gantait
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Correspondence to Saikat Gantait.

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Gantait, S., Das, A. & Banerjee, J. Geographical Distribution, Botanical Description and Self-Incompatibility Mechanism of Genus Stevia . Sugar Tech 20, 1–10 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-017-0563-1

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