The Effect of Apical Pruning and Eco Enzyme Application on Optimizing Growth and Sugar Accumulation in Stevia rebaudiana

Stevia is a medicinal plant that contains stevioside, rebaudioside A and steviol with a sweetness level that is 300 times sweeter than sucrose. High temperatures can stimulate earlier flowering and will reduce the nutritional content. Apical pruning has the potential to stimulate the growth of lateral shoots, thereby increasing plant biomass. At the same time, eco enzyme, as an organic material resulting from the fermentation of kitchen waste, can be a biocatalyst in accelerating chemical reactions, which ultimately supports the growth and production of secondary metabolites. However, the effectiveness of these two treatments in cultivating Stevia has not yet been studied in depth, especially in the context of increasing natural sugar accumulation. This research aims to determine the effect of pruning and the eco enzyme on the production and accumulation of sugar in stevia. The study was conducted in the lowlands and used a factorial Randomized Block Design. Pruning (4 and 8 WAP) was used as the first factor and Eco Enzyme (0, 1, 2, and 3 ml/l water) was used as the second factor. The research result showed that application of 4 WAP shoot pruning and 1 ml/l water eco enzyme could increase shoot dry weight, fresh weight of leaves, leaf epidermis, number of stomata, and total sugar accumulation in stevia.