Advantages Of Jatropha Curcas :

Oil yield per hectare is among the highest of tree borne oil seeds. It can be grown in areas of low rainfall (500 mm per year) and in problem soils. In high rainfall and irrigated areas too it can be grown with much higher yields. Therefore, it can be grown in most parts of the country. It can be grown in desert areas, with the help of drip irrigation. Jatropha is easy to establish, grows relatively quickly and is hardy. Jatropha lends itself to plantation with advantage on lands developed on watershed basis and on low fertility marginal, degraded, fallow, waste and other lands such as along the canals, roads railway tracks, on borders of farmers’ fields as a boundary fence or live hedge in the arid / semi-arid areas and even on alkaline soils. As such it can be used to reclaim waste lands in the forests and outside. Jatropha seeds are easy to collect as they are ready to be plucked after the rainy season and as the plants are not very tall. Jatropha is not browsed by animals. Being rich in nitrogen, the seed cake is an excellent source of plant nutrients. Seed production ranges from about 0.4 tons per hectare in first year to over 5 tons per hectare after 3 years. The plant starts giving seed in a maximum period of two years after planting. Raising plants in nurseries, planting and maintaining them and collection of seed are labour intensive activities. Except for the cost of fertiliser and transportation of the plants from the nursery, all the activities in the nurseries and in plantation consist of labour. Various parts of the plant are of medicinal value, its bark contains tannin, the flowers attract bees and thus the plant has honey production potential. Like all trees, Jatropha removes carbon from the atmosphere, stores it in the woody tissues and assists in the build up of soil carbon. It is thus environment friendly. Jatropha can be established from seeds, 3 months old seedlings and vegetatively from cuttings. Use of branch cutting for propagation is easy and results in rapid growth. The plant is undemanding in soil type and does not require tillage.