EFFECT OF SODIUM CHLORIDE ON STEVIA PLANT GROWTH IN VITRO
The research was conducted to study the effect of sodium chloride on the growth of stevia plants in vitro, the experiments included the selection of two types of plant parts, the middle cutting and the shoot tips, and the effect of different concentrations of sodium chloride on the number of nodes and branches, the fresh weight of the plant and the height of the plant. The plantings were established on MS medium, and the results showed that the effect of the plant parts was significant if the media cutting gave the highest average number of nodes of 6.2 nodes per plant. As for the interaction between the plant part and the concentration of sodium chloride, the measurement treatment was superior when using the middle cutting, as it recorded the highest rate of nodes of 10 nodes per plant and the highest rate of number of branches reached 2.6 branches/plant, and the highest rate of fresh weight of the plant amounted to 1.106 gm/plant compared to the measurement treatment when using shoot tips , which recorded the lowest rate for each of the above traits, a significant decrease in the number of nodes and branches, plant height and plant fresh weight was noted with an increase in the concentration of sodium chloride.
Keywords: In Vitro, Stevia Plant and Sodium Chloride.