ABSTRACT
Background: The composition of the planting beds and its microorganisms has a very important role on the establishment, growth and phytochemical performance of medicinal plants
Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the effect of different planting beds and inoculation of mycorrhizal fungus on the changes of stevioside, rebaudioside, and morpho-physiological traits of stevia
Methods: This study was conducted in a factorial experiment based on randomized complete blocks design [RCBD] with 10 treatments and 4 replications. The first factor consisted of inoculum and non-inoculum treatment of Glomus intraradices, and the second factor was the different combination of peat moss, coco peat, perlite and soil as planting beds
Results: Mycorrhizal fungi inoculation significantly increased the plant height, number of lateral branches, stem and root diameter, number of leaves, leaf fresh/dry weight, shoot dry weight, root dry weight, and content of stevioside, rebaudioside A and C. Also, different combination of planting beds had a significant effect on the plant height, stem dry/fresh weight, leaf fresh weight, root dry/fresh weight, and content of stevioside, rebaudioside A and C
Conclusion: The results of this study showed that the combination of peat moss + coco peat + soil [2:1:1] with mycorrhizal fungi inoculation among the treatments had the highest positive effect on leaf dry weight and glycoside carbohydrates in stevia plants