## 3 Results and Discussion
### Biometric Measurements of the Stevia Plants  
Various biometric parameters such as the height of the plants, lateral width of the plant (measured at 2/3 of the plant height), number of shoots and number of leaves on the lowest lateral shoot were measured in this study. The results are shown in Table 3 and in Figure 2.  
Height of the stevia plants ranged from 47.61 to 62.31 cm and was the lowest for sample 0 W. Lateral width of the plant was smallest in sample 0 W (25.35 cm) and sample 2 W (26.68 cm), while in sample 1 W, it was equal to 29.04 cm and in sample NR, to 33.92 cm. The total number of shoots on one plant was similar in stevia plants grown in all the watering regimes and ranged from 7.72 to 8.52. Similarly, different watering regimes did not have a significant influence on the number of leaves on the lowest lateral branches, which was in the range of 38.61-43.44. In the study of [PERSON] et al. (2015), where stevia plants were grown using different irrigation regimes, stevia plants irrigated more frequently were characterised with a greater height and greater amount of branches per plant than stevia plants irrigated with the lowest amount of water. However, in the study of [PERSON] (2015), differences between the amounts of stevia leaves were also significant, which is contrary to the results of this study in Poland. The fact that the study by [PERSON] (2015) also consisted of different plant spacing connected to the different watering regimes could have \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c} \hline \hline
**Treatment 1** & \
\begin{tabular}{c} **Number of Shoots of the** \\ **First Order** \\ \end{tabular} &
\begin{tabular}{c} **Number of Leaves on the** \\ **Lowest Lateral Shoot** \\ \end{tabular} \\ \hline
0 W & 7.75 \(\pm\) 5.04 a & 38.61 \(\pm\) 12.24 a \\ NR & 7.72 \(\pm\) 4.88 a & 42.64 \(\pm\) 14.85 a \\
1 W & 8.53 \(\pm\) 5.78 a & 43.25 \(\pm\) 12.68 a \\
2 W & 8.39 \(\pm\) 4.37 a & 43.44 \(\pm\) 13.21 a \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}  
* Values are expressed as the mean (\(n\) = 36) \(\pm\) standard deviation. Mean values with different letters within the same column are significantly different (\(\alpha\) = 0.05) according to [PERSON]’s test; 0 W—not irrigated, 1 W—irrigated once a week, 2 W—irrigated two times a week, NR—irrigated only during the dry periods (no rainfall).  
\end{table} 
Table 3: Influence of irrigation on biometric characteristics of stevia plants measured in the years 2014–2016. an influence on that fact and these results show that there is a possibility of existence of various correlating factors between the stevia plant spacing, stevia plant irrigation regime and amount of the leaves that the plant produces. These data can indicate an interesting research topic to be analysed in the future studies. In another study, by [PERSON] et al. (2019), stevia plants grown with water deficiency in Italy were characterised with 5-10 cm lower height than plants grown with adequate water quantity. Similar results could be noted in the study by [PERSON] et al. (2019), in which stevia plants grown with an inadequate amount of water were characterised with plant height lower by 10-15 cm from the plants grown with the addition of a greater amount of water. A study by [PERSON] et al. (2019) has shown that stevia plants grown in a greenhouse in Egypt, which were grown with an inadequate irrigation level (irrigation at 70 and 50% of the field capacity), were characterised with a lower number of branches per plant and plant height lower by 16-20 cm. Dry Mass Content and Concentration of Reducing Sugars, Phenolic Compounds and Ascorbic Acid in Stevia Leaves  
Chemical analyses of the stevia leaves were performed at two different times: in July and just after the harvest, in September. Results of these analyses are shown in Table 4.  
The concentration of dry mass in the stevia leaves ranged from 23.14 (0 W) to 24.75% (NR) in July and from 26.52 to 30.47%. Differences in the dry mass content in July were not significant, while at the same time, the statistical analysis revealed three homogenous