Mingguang Stevia

Mingguang Stevia

　　Mingguang Stevia is a specialty of Mingguang City, Chuzhou, Anhui Province. Stevia is a perennial herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family. Its leaves contain stevioside, which is 150 to 300 times sweeter than sucrose, making it an excellent natural sweetener.

　　Stevia is also known as sweet leaf, sweet grass, honey leaf, or sweet tea. It is originally from South America and is a subtropical perennial herbaceous plant of the Asteraceae family, with very sweet leaves.

　　Mingguang City has a transitional climate between the northern subtropical and warm temperate zones, featuring distinct seasons, abundant sunshine, significant plum rain, concentrated rainfall, simultaneous rain and heat, and susceptibility to both drought and flooding. The multi-year average evaporation is 1114.0 mm, the average frost-free period is about 220 days, the annual average rainfall is 915 mm, and the annual average temperature is 15.2°C. The main soil types include yellow-brown soil, paddy soil, coarse skeletal soil, limestone soil, fluvo-aquic soil, and purple soil. Since stevia is native to subtropical regions and is a warmth- and moisture-loving crop, it is drought-resistant, easy to cultivate, and simple to manage. It can be grown extensively or with refined cultivation. Based on the above meteorological data, Mingguang City, located in the Jianghuai region, enjoys ample sunshine, distinct seasons, a long frost-free period, high accumulated temperature, and soil and climatic conditions that are highly suitable for stevia growth.

　　Stevia has been cultivated in Mingguang City for nearly 20 years. However, in the past, due to scattered farming by farmers, low levels of organization, and difficulty in expanding planting scale, it was hard to achieve benefits or improve market competitiveness. Since 2005, driven by brokers and promoted by Ganzhou Julong High-Tech Food Co., Ltd. in Jiangxi Province, farmers have seen significant improvements in planting benefits, leading to a rapid expansion of stevia cultivation area across the city. Mingguang City has a perennial stevia planting area of 80,000 mu, making it the largest stevia production base in China. The quality of Mingguang Stevia is top-notch nationwide, with total glycosides of at least 11% and Ra content exceeding 50%, making it the preferred raw material base for various stevia sugar manufacturers.