JATROPHA
Jatropha curcas (Kattamanakku) is an oil plant. The botanic name Jatropha is derived from Greek, "Jatras" meaning Doctor and "trophe," Nutrition.
Jatropha curcus is a drought-resistant perennial, growing well in marginal/poor soil. It is easy to establish, grows relatively quickly and lives, producing seeds for 50 years.
Jatropha the wonder plant produces seeds with an oil content of 30%-40%. The oil can be combusted as fuel without being refined. It burns with clear smoke-free flame, tested successfully as fuel for simple diesel engine. The by-products are press cake a good organic fertilizer, oil contains also insecticide.
It is found to be growing in many parts of the country, rugged in nature and can survive with minimum inputs and easy to propagate.
Jatropha can help to increase rural incomes, self-sustainability and alleviate poverty for women, elderly, children and men, tribal communities, small farmers. It can as well help to increase income from plantations and agro-industries.
Rushing to turn food crops — maize, wheat, sugar, palm oil — into fuel for cars, without first examining the impact on global hunger, would be a recipe for disaster. Among the potential impacts identified are increasing food prices, increasing competition over land and forests, forced evictions, impacts on employment and conditions of work, and increasing prices and scarcity of water. That is why Jatropha was recently recommended as a biofuels crop for developing countries by UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food
Jatropha curcas grows almost anywhere , even on gravelly, sandy and saline soils. It can thrive on the poorest stony soil. It can grow even in the crevices of rocks. The leaves shed during the winter months form mulch around the base of the plant. The organic matter from shed leaves enhance earth-worm activity in the soil around the root-zone of the plants, which improves the fertility of the soil.
Currently the oil from Jatropha curcas seeds is used for making biodiesel fuel in Philippines, promoted by a law authored by Philippine senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Miguel Zubiri. Likewise, jatropha oil is being promoted as an easily grown biofuel crop in hundreds of projects throughout India and other developing countries.
Characteristic of many members of the family Euphorbiaceae, Jatropha plants contain several toxic compounds, including lectin, saponin, carcinogenic phorbol, and a trypsin inhibitor. Despite this, the seeds are occasionally eaten after roasting, which reduces some of the toxicity. Its sap is a skin irritant, and ingesting as few as three untreated seeds can be fatal to humans.
Jatropha curcas (Kattamanakku) is an oil plant. The botanic name Jatropha is derived from Greek, "Jatras" meaning Doctor and "trophe," Nutrition.Jatropha curcus is a drought-resistant perennial, growing well in marginal/poor soil. It is easy to establish, grows relatively quickly and lives, producing seeds for 50 years.
Jatropha the wonder plant produces seeds with an oil content of 30%-40%. The oil can be combusted as fuel without being refined. It burns with clear smoke-free flame, tested successfully as fuel for simple diesel engine. The by-products are press cake a good organic fertilizer, oil contains also insecticide.
It is found to be growing in many parts of the country, rugged in nature and can survive with minimum inputs and easy to propagate.
Jatropha Seeds
Jatropha Curcas is an inedible energy oil crop that is used as a feedstock in the production of sustainable biodiesel. Jatropha Curcas can be grown in arid and marginal land requiring very little water.
Jatropha Curcas is therefore a high quality feedstock suitable for biodiesel that is;
- Low in cost
- Sustainable and in line with the group's sustainability commitments and values
- Will not compete with global food supply as the Jatropha plant is an inedible crop
- High in oil content and low in free fatty acid content
- High in energy balance with greater carbon savings
- A source of income and livelihood for the rural farmers in India with marginal and arid land.
- Jatropha is adapted to a wide range of climates and soils.
- It can grow almost on any type of soil whether gravelly, sandy or saline and thrives even on the poorest stony soils and rock crevices.
- It is a drought resistant perennial living up to 50 years.
The tree grows up to a height of 3 meters, which means harvesting is an easy task. A hybrid variety of jatropha could give three harvests an year, compared to two harvests by other varieties of jatropha. It takes two years for a 'Jatropha' sapling to begin producing seeds, and they can produce seeds for up to 30 years. The seeds are crushed to extract raw oil, Jatropha seeds contain about 35% of non-edible oil.
Sustainability
Jatropha is a valuable multi-purpose crop to alleviate soil degradation, desertification and deforestation, which can be used for bio-energy to replace petro-diesel, for soap production and climatic protection, and hence deserves specific attention.
Jatropha can help to increase rural incomes, self-sustainability and alleviate poverty for women, elderly, children and men, tribal communities, small farmers. It can as well help to increase income from plantations and agro-industries.There are various trees that are suitable for bio-diesel production. Out of all these trees, Jatropha must be regarded as a sure inclusion and the foundation around which a plan can be built if for nothing but its pure hardiness and stress handling ability. It is just a tree that has enough credentials. That is why the Planning Commission of India has nominated it as ideal plant for bio-diesel.
Food VS Fuel
Rushing to turn food crops — maize, wheat, sugar, palm oil — into fuel for cars, without first examining the impact on global hunger, would be a recipe for disaster. Among the potential impacts identified are increasing food prices, increasing competition over land and forests, forced evictions, impacts on employment and conditions of work, and increasing prices and scarcity of water. That is why Jatropha was recently recommended as a biofuels crop for developing countries by UN Special Rapporteur on the right to foodIn recent years, the Indian government has shown a major interest in Jatropha, and alongside other developing countries, a number of international groups are now sharing this interest. There have been substantial political and social pressures to promote the growing of such crops (in particular Jatropha curcas) in India, as a means of economic empowerment, social upliftment and poverty alleviation within marginalized communities.
Ecological Requirements
Jatropha curcas grows almost anywhere , even on gravelly, sandy and saline soils. It can thrive on the poorest stony soil. It can grow even in the crevices of rocks. The leaves shed during the winter months form mulch around the base of the plant. The organic matter from shed leaves enhance earth-worm activity in the soil around the root-zone of the plants, which improves the fertility of the soil.Regarding climate, Jatropha curcas is found in the tropics and subtropics and likes heat, although it does well even in lower temperatures and can withstand a light frost. Its water requirement is extremely low and it can stand long periods of drought by shedding most of its leaves to reduce transpiration loss. Jatropha is also suitable for preventing soil erosion and shifting of sand dunes.
Vegoil and biodiesel
Currently the oil from Jatropha curcas seeds is used for making biodiesel fuel in Philippines, promoted by a law authored by Philippine senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Miguel Zubiri. Likewise, jatropha oil is being promoted as an easily grown biofuel crop in hundreds of projects throughout India and other developing countries.Toxicity
Characteristic of many members of the family Euphorbiaceae, Jatropha plants contain several toxic compounds, including lectin, saponin, carcinogenic phorbol, and a trypsin inhibitor. Despite this, the seeds are occasionally eaten after roasting, which reduces some of the toxicity. Its sap is a skin irritant, and ingesting as few as three untreated seeds can be fatal to humans.Jatropha: costs and benefits
Jatropha needs at least 600mm (23in) of rain a year to thrive. However, it can survive three consecutive years of drought by dropping its leaves.
- It is excellent at preventing soil erosion, and the leaves that it drops act as soil-enriching mulch
- The plant prefers alkaline soils
- The cost of 1,000 jatropha saplings (enough for one acre) in Pakistan is about £50, or 5p each
- The cost of 1kg of jatropha seeds in India is the equivalent of about 7p. Each jatropha seedling should be given an area two meters square.
- 20 per cent of seedlings planted will not survive
- Jatropha seedlings yield seeds in the first year after plantation
2 comments:
if we are growing jatropha everywhere so what about the food which we eat
The choices should be such that your energy requirements should be met using local resources. Perhaps there is need for a new invention. Or may be getting back to the earlier methods. Instead of designing vehiles it is good breed good horses that can run faster and need no roads. You may have design new carriages combining the modern sciences like mechanical engineering and electronics and computer sciences which are rugged in nature but are capable of impacting the quality of life.
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