WHAT IS JATROPHA AND ITS CULTIVATION IN INDIA

Jatropha curcas belongs to the family. Euphorbiaceae and is thus related to other important
cultivated plants like rubber, varan, neem etc. It is believed to be a native of South America, Africa & the Caribbean. It was introduced by Portuguese traders in the 16th century in India and since then Jatropha has been grown as a medicinal plant & hedge crop.

There are number of varities of Jatropha now thrive in India's varied regional climate. It is found in almost all the states & is generally grown as a live fence for protection of agricultural fields from damage by live stock as it is not eaten by cattle or goat.Amongst all the variety,

JATROPHA curcas is the best since the seed oil is reported to possess insecticidal, mollucicidal, fungicidal & nimaticidal properties. Some of the jatropha varieties are as under:
» Jatropha curcas (Non-toxic) -suitable species for Jatropha oil and biodiesel production.

» Jatropha curcas integrerrima.

» Jatropha Gossypifolia.

» Jatropha Glandulifera.

» Jatropha Tranjorensis.

» Jatropha Multifield.

» Jatropha Podagrica.


JATROPHA CULTIVATION

Jatropha requires specialized nursery techniques to raise the saplings in the nursery. The first step in Jatropha plantation is to plant the seeds to raise the nursery, which is very vital and requires guidance of professionals. Jatropha can also be propagated vegetative from cuttings.

Seeds are best sown during mid-February to mid-march and the seedlings 60-75 cm.tall can be transplanted to the prepared field.

Ideal planting pitch has been found to be 2m x 2m. thereby resulting in 2500 plants per hectare. Wider spacing would give larger yields of fruit @794 Kgs./Hac. Like all perennial plants, Jatropha shows vigorous growth in youth that tails off gradually towards maturity.

1Kg. of good Jatropha seed will give around 1100 seeds.

Germination time under good nursery care is 10-21 days.

In equatorial regions where moisture is not a limiting factor, Jatropha can bloom & produce fruit throughout the year.

Although Jatropha is adapted to soils with low fertility & alkalinity, better yield can be obtained on poor quality soils if fertilizers containing small quantity of nutrients are for first 2 years which is considered to be vital for their growth.

Jatropha starts yielding seeds from the end of first year & the economic yield stabilizes from the end of 3rd year onwards.

Under Indian condition, the yield varies from 6-10 MT Near from the end of 3nl year under proper care & supervision.

The plantation cost per hectare inclusive of site preparation, plant, material, maintenance for one year, overheads etc. shall be in the tune of Rs.30000/Hectare

Ripe fruits are plucked from the tree and the seeds are sun dried. Ripe fruits are decorticated manually or by decorticator.

To prepare seeds for oil extraction, the seed should be solar heated for several hours or roasted for 10 minutes. Overheating is to be avoided.

Oil can be extracted from seeds by mechanical extraction, solvent extraction etc.
For a yearly plantation of 200 Hectares,we propose to raise a nursery of 20 Lakh seedlings to be developed initially and then to raise 10 lakh nursery every year. This figure can be pegged up and down in discussion with you.
The income from the plantation at the end of 3rd year is around Rs.60,000/- per Hectare.