Pankaj Oudhia's Blog on Stevia Farming in India

Heat tolerant Stevia varieties are need of the day in Chhattisgarh and Odisha :My Stevia Diary My Stevia Diary by Pankaj Oudhia Severe heat during summer and moderate heat during most of the part of year are curse for Stevia cultivation in Chhattisgarh and Orissa. There is need to screen the suitable Stevia varieties available in different parts of the world. Unfortunately not much work is in progress in this direction. The Agricultural research organizations in these areas have yet not started systematic research on this aspect. Certain private companies are claiming that they have developed new Stevia varieties but without systematic trials and scientific studies they are claiming that these varieties are capable of performing in these areas. It is cheating with the farmers interested in Stevia cultivation. Many farmers when presented me these so-called new varieties I found through initial observations that these are established varieties and private companies are naming i...

Your Question: Is it possible to get 2700 Kg. of Dry Stevia leaves per acre everywhere? Pankaj Oudhia's Reply: No it is not possible everywhere. But it is possible in papers as many such false claims are made by Stevia Mafia active in our country. Like other medicinal crops the yield of Stevia depends on many factors from soil to climate and Agronomical methods. So if you are beginner PLEASE don't believe in such hypothetical data. Indian researchers have conducted multilocational trails and new trials are still on. So, instead of believing the false claims based on fake studies please believe on researchers and their authentic research findings.  You can post your queries on Stevia at this forum.

Since year 2005 we are discussing different aspects of Stevia Globally through Yahoo group Stevia People. You can join this group by visiting this link http://in.groups.yahoo.com/group/stevia_people/

Pankaj Oudhia’s Reply to your Stevia related Queries -12114 Your Question: We are planning for large scale Stevia farming in Central India. The internet search is resulting in lots of confusion. The planting material is available @5-8 Rs. per plant. Many are talking about tissue culture plants whereas some are claiming about self developed Stevia varieties. No one is available for genuine guidance. Agricultural Universities have no information on this new crop. Please guide us regarding planting material. Pankaj Oudhia: Thanks for your message and interest in new crop Stevia. For profitable Stevia farming the cost of planting material must be near 50 paise to 1 Rupee per plant. If it is from tissue culture then price must be lesser than 50 paise per plant. In well established tissue culture plant you can raise Stevia plants at very low cost. It is main advantage of tissue culture technique. It is always good to check whether Stevia grower’s claim is true or not? I visited m...