## 4 Discussion  
[PERSON] et al. [27] obtained similar results regarding plant height in a study where _Stevia rebaudiana_ seedlings were planted in spacings of 30 cm \(\times\) 30 cm and 45 cm \(\times\) 30 cm, and different spacings used in this study did not affect plant height. However, in the study of [PERSON] et al. [27], stevia plants grown in the spacing of 30 cm \(\times\) 30 cm had a higher number of shoots than those grown in the spacing of 45 cm \(\times\) 30 cm, which was contrary to the results acquired in this study. Observations by [PERSON] et al. [28] showed that with perennial cultivation, steviaroots extend over 30 cm from each side of the plant, suggesting that the spacing should be greater than 30 cm \(\times\) 30 cm. However, studies by [PERSON] et al. [29], [PERSON] et al. [30] and [PERSON] et al. [31], where the spacing distance was 20 cm, did not show any adverse effects. Additionally, from a farmer's perspective, the yield of stevia plants, especially the leaves, is most important, and smaller spacing positively affects total yield due to the greater number of plants per area. This was confirmed by various researchers, such as [PERSON] et al. [32], [PERSON] et al. [33] and [PERSON] et al. [34]. Both during intensive growth in July and before harvest in September, spacing did not significantly affect plant height, as confirmed by earlier studies on stevia by [PERSON] et al. [27; 35] and on _Chelidonium majus_ L. by [PERSON] et al. [36]. Spacing affected the number of shoots formed by the plants, which was particularly noticeable at the end of the stevia cultivation period. However, [PERSON] et al. [27] observed a different effect, with a 20% increase in shoot number for stevia plants grown at a spacing of 30 cm \(\times\) 30 cm. In a subsequent study, [PERSON] et al. [37] found a greater number of shoots in plants grown at 45 cm \(\times\) 45 cm spacing compared to those grown at 30 cm \(\times\) 30 cm, 45 cm \(\times\) 30 cm, and 60 cm \(\times\) 45 cm spacings. A study on the nitrogen fertilization of stevia plants in Poland by [PERSON] et al. [38] showed that stevia plants grown with various nitrogen fertilization rates (50, 100 or 150 kg of N per hectare, in the form of ammonium nitrate, ammonium sulfate or urea) in the spacing of 45 cm \(\times\) 20 cm had an average height of 57.86 cm, which was similar to the height of plants grown in the spacing of 50 cm \(\times\) 30 cm of this study. The lateral width of unfertilized stevia plants grown by [PERSON] et al. [38] was 26.61 cm, which was comparable to the lateral width of the stevia grown in spacings of 30 cm \(\times\) 30 cm and 45 cm \(\times\) 25 cm. The number of shoots in stevia plants grown in spacings of 50 cm \(\times\) 30 cm and 45 cm \(\times\) 25 cm was greater than the average number of shoots (10.97) in the study of [PERSON] et al. [38]. However, plants in the nitrogen fertilization study had a greater average number of leaves on the lowest lateral shoot (29.21) than those grown in different spacings. In the study of [PERSON] et al. [39], stevia plants grown in the spacing of 70 cm \(\times\) 33 cm in Turkey had an average height of 68.1 cm, which was significantly greater than the height of stevia plants grown in different spacings in Poland. Additionally, the plants in [PERSON] et al. [39] were also characterised by a greater number of shoots, averaging 20.4 per plant. Unlike biometric measurements, different spacings significantly influenced the chemical composition of stevia leaves during two periods: in July, during intensive growth, and in September prior to harvest. Different authors have not analysed the influence of plant spacing on the concentration of various components in the stevia leaves. In other plants, such as _Sorghum saccharatum_ (L.[PERSON], changes in spacing have not significantly influenced the mineral concentrations in plant tissues [40]. Similar results were noted for Columbus grass (_Sorghum almun_ stapf) [41].