According to an article by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the science, technology and innovation ministry has been working on encouraging the planting of stevia across Sabah.
This is part of a government project intended to bring financial gain to the rural population.
Norazlina Noordin, a plant breeder at the Malaysian Nuclear Agency, said stevia could meet the growing demand for natural sweeteners across Asia.
“Once the right varieties are available, Sabah and other parts of Malaysia will be well suited for cultivation of this plant.”
Global demand for stevia has increased as it is seen as an alternative to both sugar and artificial sweeteners. Sugar has been blamed for the increasing number of diabetes cases.
Stevia is difficult to grow well in Malaysia under normal circumstances. But researchers at the Malaysian Nuclear Agency did some research and used chronic irradiation to develop a breed of stevia that can thrive in the Malaysian climate.
This breed has a heightened resistance to humidity, and also has more and larger leaves when compared with conventional breeds of stevia.
Chronic irradiation involves irradiation of plants at low rates over long periods, stretching several months.
This method increases the mutation spectrum while minimising plant damage caused by radiation.
Zaiton Ahmad, a liaison officer for the agency’s gamma greenhouse, said chronic irradiation lowers the chances that the plants will naturally undo the desired genetic changes brought on by the radiation.
Chronic irradiation has also been used to bolster rice production in Bangladesh and boost soybean yield in Indonesia.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/leisure/2012/11/02/sweet-talking-stevia/
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