cultivation and adaptation of stevia. rodney_cook

8/12/2019 Cultivation and Adaptation of Stevia. Rodney_Cook

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CULTIVATION AND ADAPTATION OF KAA

HEE

A world perspectiveByRod Cook, Director of Agricultural Development, PureCircle


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AGENDA

Kaa Hee in Paraguay

Stevia in China

Expansion areasAdaptation mechanics to these new areas

Discussion of additional directions the crop is

headed for and how we will achieve the growthConclusions


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KA'A HE'E NATURAL HABITAT


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NATIVE HABITAT

Latitude between 22 o and 24 o South LatitudeSoils are generally slightly acidic 5.5 - 6.0 pHSandy loam to loam natural soils are somewhat

mineralized semi-tropical soils in the category ofFerralsolsRainfall is generally in the 1200 1700 mm peryear and normally evenly distributed throughoutthe yearTemperatures considered semi-tropical totemperate averaging 15 o to 35 o C


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CHINA PRODUCTION


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CHINA PLANTINGS

Latitude 30 o 32 o NorthSoils are slightly acidic 4.0 - 6.0pHSoils are red to yellow sandy soils generallyassociated with AcrisolsRainfall averages 900 1400 mm per year andis somewhat distributed throughout the year

although weighted to the summer monthsTemperatures are 15 o 30 o with an distinct

winter with temperatures often sub 0 o


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COMPARABLE SOILS AROUND THE WORLD


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COMPARABLE RAINFALL AROUND THE WORLD


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TOTAL WORLD WEATHER DATA POINTS

Unit Year Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Average high temperature

F 78 87 86 84 78 73 69 69 71 73 80 82 87over 20 years

Average low temperature

F 62 73 71 69 62 57 53 53 55 59 64 66 71over 20 years

Highest recorded temperatureF 102 102 100 100 95 93 95 89 93 100 100 102 102over 20 years

Lowest recorded temperature

F 26 50 41 43 39 34 28 26 30 33 32 46 50over 20 years

Average number of days above90F

days 64 15 11 8 2 1 - - 1 2 5 7 11over 20 years

Average precipitationin 68.1 5.4 6.8 5.7 6.5 6 5.5 4.2 4 5.6 7.3 5.9 5.4over 50 years

Average dew point

F 60 69 69 66 62 57 53 53 53 55 60 62 66over 10 years

Most recorded rainfall

in 104.7 12.8 24.2 13.3 22.6 22.9 13 13.9 11.9 13.4 22.9 21.9 12.4over 50 years

Least recorded rainfall

in 39 0.4 1.1 0.7 0.2 0.4 0.4 0.4 0.2 0.7 1.2 0.1 0.5over 50 years


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DAY LENGTH BY LATITUDE
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hours_of_daylight_vs_latitude_vs_day_of_year.png


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ANALYSIS PROVIDES SOME ANSWERS

There are many areas in the world capable ofcoming close to the same environment asParaguay, the natural home of Kaa Hee

Even more areas are possible with applicationof irrigation, mulching, plastic tunnelsBut are these areas cost effective

???


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ADAPTATION OUT OF NORMAL AREAS

High Latitude PlantingsChinas Heilongjiang Province 43 o 45 o North

Croatias Dalmatian coast 43 o 45 o North

Spain, France, Italy 36 o 42 o North

Australia 32 o 40 o South

USA 37 o 45 o North


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WHEN WE SAY HIGH LATITUDES.


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DALMATIA, CROATIA


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CALIFORNIA, USA


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ADAPTATION OUT OF NORMAL AREAS

Low Latitude PlantingsKenya 0 o

Colombia 6 o North

Indonesia 0 o 6 o South

Ecuador 0 o

Peru 3 o South

Egypt 29 o 30 o North


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LOW LATITUDES - KENYA


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VIETNAM


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INDONESIA


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HOW ARE THEY DOING THIS?

Stevia is much more adaptable than itsherbaceous nature would suggest

We have found the following components have

resulted in successful plantings in many locationsMoisture >70% soil capacity

Stevia is especially sensitive to water in the initial field plantingtimesThis is compounded by rapid evaporation of water from the open

field conditions mulching is a major assistanceOrganic material >5%

More is better - Less is very challenging with bare root plantings


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HOW ARE THEY DOING THIS?

Soil Temperature


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WHERE ARE WE GOING?

The WHO estimated that the sweetener Reb A from Steviacould/should approach 20% of the global sugar market.Sugar today estimated at 160 Million metric tons20% of Sugar = 32 M MT sugar equivalent

Reb A is 400 times sweeter than sugar, hence sugarequivalent = 80 k MT of Reb AAssume 30 kg leaf to 1 kg Reb A = 2.4 million MT leaf Assume 5,000 kg leaf / hectare farming yield = 480,000hectares (todays avg. yield is around 4,000kg, but assumeimprovements)Current world hectares are estimated at 30 50 thousandworld wide


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HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET THERE?

Significant improvement in plant characteristics throughcontinued selection and plant breeding

Leaf to stem ratiosFurther adaptation to expand growing areasIncreases in Steviol Glycosides

Significant improvements in plant/growing systemsMove from vegetative propagation to high volume tissue culturesystems

Decrease costs of current planting systemsMove from vegetation propagation to seed culture

Decrease costs from current planting systemsIncrease likelihood of cost efficient annual production systems

Irrigation and fertigation for maximum production per HA seeing8 to 10 Mt on some fields


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CHANGES IN PLANTING


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CHANGES IN FIELD PRACTICES


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CHANGES IN HARVESTING


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OTHER RESEARCH FOR CROP EXPANSION

As Stevia becomes a significant part of thesweetener industry more advance research will beapplied (like it or not)

Advanced breeding methods for maximizing Steviol

Glycosides productionHigh production greenhouse or laboratory processingsystems for minimizing environmental impacts on thecropChemical company support for herbicides andfungicidesApplication of greater mechanization for all aspects ofthe cropping systems


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INCREASING INTEREST BY RESEARCHERS


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CHANGE WILL OCCUR

The cultivation of Stevia is very new compared tomost other popular crops

30-40 years of aggressive cultivationThe growth cycle of the crop is in its earliest phases

New popularity and demand is driving expansion in traditionalareasThis is accompanied by research to maximize fieldperformance including adaptation and growing systemevaluation

Stevia will continue to be evaluated and planted in everwidening locations far beyond what we see as itsnatural environment


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CHANGE WILL OCCUR

In the end the rate of adaptation is not dependentupon the plant growth parametersInstead it will depend upon

Market demand for the cropProfitability

or the grower or the industry in total


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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

PureCircleSouth America, Fernando Chilavert

Kenya, Niall Deacon

China, Dongwei Yan

ISRIC World Soil Information maps

Robert Huxford GIS mapping project

Western Australian Research Reports onpotential new crops


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AGUIJE(THANK YOU)

Rod CookGroup Director for Agricultural DevelopmentPureCircle

cultivation and adaptation of stevia. rodney_cook

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