Performance Evaluation of Superior Accessions of Jatropha Curcas in Tropical Climate of Madhya Pradesh, India Pandey A.K.1,*, Bhargava Pankaj1, Mandal A.K.1 1Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur *Email ID: akpandey10@rediffmail.com
Abstract Escalating petroleum prices and alarmingly depleting fossil fuel reserves have brought biofuel to the forefront of energy crisis management plans in many developing countries. Due to stagnating domestic crude oil production, India imports approximately 72 percent of its petroleum requirement. The best alternatives are bio-fuels (non-toxic and biodegradable) and among them, bio-diesel have immense potential to mitigate the current and future energy needs of the country. To meet this challenging and catastrophic situation, Jatropha can act as an environmental friendly alternative feedstock for bio-diesel production. The ‘Jatropha oil’ can be easily processed to partially or fully replace petroleum-based diesel fuel. Thus, the use of this plant for large-scale biodiesel production is of great interest with regard to solving the energy shortage, reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, rural employment generation and increasing the income of farmers. For this, vast area should have to be brought under Jatropha plantation with quality planting material particularly in terms of higher yield and oil content of the seeds. With the objective of evaluating the potential and performance of superior accessions of Jatropha under tropical climate, a systematic research has been conducted at Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur under the national network programme of National Oilseeds and Vegetable Oils Development Board. In the study 33 accessions were evaluated for their growth performance (height, collar diameter, no. of branches, fruiting pattern, fruit yield, seed characteristics and oil percentage). The trials were established during 2005 in randomized block design with three replications. Growth data was recorded regularly and statistically analyzed. The study revealed that IGAU-1, TNMC-5 and TFRI-2 accessions are performing better among all other accessions. This study will provide baseline information for planning further Jatropha curcas improvement programmes. Top Keywords Biofuel, Jatropha Curcas, Quality planting material, Superior accessions. Top |
Introduction With the escalating petroleum prices and alarmingly depleting fossil fuels reserve, there is lot of concern among developing countries for developing efficient energy crisis management plans. Energy use is directly proportional to the economic activity once a country goes from “Developing” to “Developed”. These fossil fuels are exhaustible and non-renewable in nature therefore there is a growing demand for economical use of energy and to explore better renewable alternatives. Moreover, the emissions from fossil fuels cause immediate harm to the environment and human health. |
The country's economy depends mainly on agricultural activities, and there will be a substantial increase in demand for oil to manage transportation and to meet various other energy needs. Diesel engine has been widely used as power of engineering machinery, automobile and shipping equipment for its excellent drivability and thermal efficiency. With a rapidly growing economy and rising population, India is one of the fastest growing petroleum oil consumers in the world. Due to stagnating domestic crude oil production, country meets over 72 percent of its crude oil and petroleum products (diesel, aviation fuel, etc.) requirement through imports. Petroleum product consumption has gone up from 100 million tons in Indian fiscal year (IFY) 2001/02 (April/March) to 134 million tons in IFY 2008/09 [1]. Energy demand by the transport sector is expected to grow by 6–8 percent per year during the 11th five-year plan [2]. Diesel and petrol contribute 98 percent of the energy consumed in the transport sector. Petroleum resources are finite and therefore search for alternative is continuing all over the world. With the growing rate of energy consumption and that India has only 700 million tones of economic reserves of crude oil left, need to reduce dependence on imports and search for better alternatives has become indispensable [3]. Development of bio-fuels as an alternative and renewable source of energy for transportation has become critical in the national effort towards maximum self-reliance. Biofuels like biodiesel is an environment friendly, non-toxic and biodegradable alternative to fossil fuels prepared from renewable resources i.e. vegetable oil (edible or non edible) and animal fat. These natural oil and fat is made of triglycerides and when treated have similar properties to petroleum-derived diesel and are called “Biodiesel”. Bio-fuel commands crucial advantages such as technical feasibility of blending, use of existing storage facility and infrastructure, superiority from the environment and emission reduction angle, its capacity to provide energy security to remote and rural areas and employment generation. These biofuels will also provide rich biomass and nutrients to the soil and check degradation of land -a major problem affecting nearly 65 million hectares of degraded land in the country [4]. Jatropha curcas has been found most promising and potential source to meet the challenging and catastrophic situation of growing energy requirement [5] and also to act as an environment friendly alternative feedstock for bio-diesel production. Due to the use of its seed oil (jatropha oil) as biodiesel and other favourable attributes like hardy nature, short gestation period, and adaptability in a wide range of edhapho-climatic conditions [6], high oil recovery and quality of oil, etc, it has universally accepted as biofuel crop [7,8]. All these characteristics along with its versatility make it of vital importance to developing countries [9]. |
The Government of India (GOI) is also looking at ways to promote production and use of bio-fuels to mitigate the current and future energy needs of the country. Consequently, the GOI has developed an ambitious National Biodiesel Mission for contributing to energy security and addressing major issues like environmental protection and climate change. To reduce dependence on crude oil and to achieve energy independence by the year 2012, Jatropha has been promoted under the National Biodiesel Mission in India. Jatropha curcas (Ratanjyot) a tropical plant belonging to family Euphorbiaceae, is a quick maturing plant that starts bearing fruits within a year of its planting. It is a hardy, drought-tolerant and grows well in a wide variety of edhapho-climatic conditions. The Jatropha oil can be easily processed to partially or fully replace petroleum-based diesel fuel. It is also not browsed by cattle and so its plantation can be easily under taken in the farmers’ fields and boundaries, under-stocked forests, public lands and denuded lands facing increasing degradation, canal sides, road sides, both sides of railway track, fallow lands etc. Its plantation, seed collection, oil extraction etc. will create employment opportunities for a large number of people, particularly the tribals and will help to rehabilitate unproductive wastelands and save precious foreign exchange by substituting imported crude. The chain of activities from raising nurseries, planting, maintaining, primary processing and oil extraction is labour intensive and will generate employment opportunities on a large scale, particularly for the rural landless and help them to escape poverty. The GOI's Planning Commission set an ambitious target of 11.2–13.4 million hectares to be planted with Jatropha by 2012, in order to produce sufficient bio-diesel to blend at 20 percent with petro-diesel. To meet this target vast stretches of wasteland should have to bring under plantation with quality planting material of Jatropha. |
The present paper highlights about the institute's effort in evaluating the potential and performance of superior accessions of Jatropha under tropical climatic conditions of Madhya Pradesh. The study was carried out under the network programmes on research and development of Jatropha funded by National Oilseeds and Vegetable Oil Development Board (NOVOD). |
Top Materials and Methods In order to evaluate the performance and variation in Jatropha curcas under tropical climatic condition of Jabalpur (MP), multilocational trials (national and zonal trial) have been established at Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur campus. Superior accessions were collected from various other network partners. The details of superior accessions received from network partners are shown in Table-1. |
Establishment of Multilocational Trials National trial has been established in July 2005 comprising of 19 accessions received from 8 participating institutes and zonal trial was raised in July 2005 from the seed material of 14 accessions received from 6 participating institutes as per agro techniques of Pandey and Mandal [10]. Nursery Practices Seeds were sown in nursery in the first week of April in poly bags filled with soil, sand, FYM in the ratio of 1:1:1. Germination was observed within 10–15 days. Seeds sown in poly bags of 6” x 9” size were found suitable to raise seedlings in nursery. The plants were given regular irrigation at nursery stage. Layout and Designing The experimental field was divided into 57 equal size blocks for National trial, 42 blocks for zonal trial and 16 plants were planted in each block at the spacing of 3 x 3 m. Plantation was done in Randomized Block Design in three replications [11]. The pits were digged and filled with the soil and FYM (2:1) before plantation. However experimental site has poor soil texture with low nutrient status and low water holding capacity. Observation and Growth Data Recording Regular observations were taken for height, collar diameter, branch number, fruit number, and oil content and data was recorded. A comparative study was done to find out best performing accession on the basis of observed growth data. The growth characteristics of the trials established are depicted in Table-2. Phenological and Chemical Evaluation The data on flowering time, fruiting time, seed setting, seed maturity, growth, leaf fall etc. has been recorded. Variations in morphological characters of fruits and seeds e.g., fruit size, seed size, weight of seed and seed yield were recorded from the seeds collected from various regions (Table-5). Fatty oil was extracted by using Soxhlet apparatus and its yield was estimated. Data Analysis The data were subjected to statistical analysis using mean values, ANOVA, simple correlation and summary statistic with the help of SX software. Individual mean were used to compute ANOVA while provenance means were used to carry out correlation Top Results and Discussion The growth followed a more or less similar trend in all accession and variation studies for growth performance, fruit characteristics and oil content among 33 provenances showed significant differences (Table-2 and Table-5) for all the nine parameter studied, which were discussed as below- |
Plant Height In national trial, the recorded value for height was highest in TNMC-5 (203.46 cm) accession followed by TNMC-7 (176.8 cm). The height of TNMC-22 (92.0 cm) is found to be lowest followed by MPKV-1 (108.0 cm). The plant height ranged 92.0 – 203.46 cm with a mean value of 136.28 cm ±25.08. However in zonal trial, it was found to be highest in IGAU-1 (152.48 cm) followed by TFRI-1 (152.36 cm). The height of RRL-1 (87.53 cm) accession was found to be lowest followed by RRL-4 (87.66 cm). The plant height ranged 87.53 – 152.48 cm with a mean value of 130.10 cm ±25.36. Collar Diameter In national trial, the average collar diameter was recorded maximum in TNMC- 5 (10.3cm) followed by PDKV-2 (8.86cm) and was recorded minimum in TNMC-22 (4.5cm) accession. The collar diameter ranged 4.5–10.3 cm with a mean value of 7.08 ±1.46. However, in zonal trial it was recorded maximum in SFRI-1 (8.29cm) followed by RRL-3 (7.63 cm) and was found to be minimum in RRL-1 (5.97 cm). The collar diameter ranged 5.89–8.29 cm with a mean value of 6.70 ±8.92. Number of Branches In national trial, maximum number of branches per plant were found in PDKV-2 (21.10) followed by TNMC-7 (20.66) and were found to be minimum in 4 accessions i.e. TNMC-2 (12), PDKV-1(12), TNMC-22 (12) and GBPUAT-2(12). Number of branches in different accessions in national trial ranged 12.0–21.10, with a mean value of 14.87 ±3.72. However, in zonal trial number of branches were recorded maximum in RRL-3 (16) followed by TFRI-2 (14.66) and minimum was recorded in RRL-1 (8.33). Number of branches ranged 8.33 - 15 with a mean value of 13 ±2.89. The graphical presentation of growth characteristics of trial are depicted in figures 1 to 4. Number of Fruits In national trial, TNMC-5 yielded maximum number of fruits (892 fruits) followed by TNMC-4 (695 fruits) and SFRI-1 (452 fruits) yielded minimum number of fruits. However, in zonal trial IGAU-1 accession yielded maximum number of fruits (583 fruits) followed by TFRI-2 (580 fruits) and RRL-3 yielded minimum numbers (320) of fruits. Fruit Weight In national trial, the weight of 100 fruits was recorded maximum in TNMC-5 (315.50 gm) followed by TFRI-2 (302.25gm) and minimum fruit weight was recorded in TFRI-1 (230.40gm). However, in zonal trial the weight of 100 fruits was recorded maximum in TFRI-2 (298.00gm) followed by RRL-3 (265.30gm) and minimum in IGAU-3 (205.50gm). The fruit weight ranged 205.50–315.50 gm. Seed Weight In national trial, the maximum weight of seeds from 100 fruits was recorded in TNMC-5 (240.30gm) followed by TFRI-2 (198.60gm) and minimum was recorded in IGAU-1 (172.60gm). However, in zonal trial it was recorded maximum in TFRI-2 (204.63gm) followed by SFRI-2 (198.20gm) and minimum in IGAU-2 (172.50gm). The weight of 100 seeds ranged 172.50 – 240.30 gm. Seed Length In national trial, the maximum seed length was recorded for the seeds of TNMC-5 (18.32 mm) followed by three accessions i.e. TNMC-2, TNMC-3, and TFRI-2 (16.37 mm). The minimum seed length was recorded for IGAU-1 (14.30 mm). However, in zonal trial, the maximum length was recorded for the seeds of IGAU-3 (18.32 mm) followed by IGAU-2 (16.26 mm) and it was recorded minimum in seeds of TFRI-1 (14.20 mm). The seed length ranged 14.20 – 18.32mm. Seed Width In national trial, the maximum seed width was recorded in the seeds of IGAU-1 (9.80mm) followed by TNMC-5 (9.65mm) and minimum seed width was recorded in the seeds of three i.e. TNMC-2, TNMC-3 and TFRI-2(8.37mm). However, in zonal trial the maximum seed width was recorded in the seeds of IGAU-3 (10.20mm) followed by MPKV-1 (9.50mm) and minimum seed width was recorded in two accessions i.e. RRL-3 and SFRI-2 (8.20mm). The seed width ranged 8.20 – 9.80 mm. Variation in seed characteristics of J. curcas has also been reported by Pandey et al.[12]. Oil Content In national trial, the maximum oil content was recorded in seeds of TNMC-5 (36.40%) followed by IGAU-1(34.52%) and minimum was recorded in SFRI-1(29.32%). However, in zonal trial the maximum oil content was recorded in seeds of TFRI-2 (35.32%) followed by IGAU-2 (35.30%) and minimum oil content was recorded in the seeds of TFRI-1 (30.50%). The oil content in the seeds ranged 29.32 – 36.40%. The graphical presentation of seed characteristics and oil content is depicted in Figure 5. Descriptive statistical analysis and correlation studies with respect to plant height, collar diameter and number of branches are presented in Table-3 and Table-4. The data revealed that some accessions are performing well among other accessions under topical climatic conditions of Madhya Pradesh. The analysis also revealed that growth parameters i.e. plant height, collar diameter and number of branches of selected accessions are statistically significant and positively associated with each other. Variations in accessions of J.curcas with respect to morphological growth characteristic, fruit and seed characteristics could be mainly due to the fact that the plant grows over a wide range of edhapho-climatic conditions. Variations in growth performance of different accessions have also been reported in North-East region of India [13]. Correlations among seed weight and seedling characters in J. curcas have also been reported in central India [14]. Top Conclusion In the present study, all the selected accessions are growing well under tropical climatic conditions of Jabalpur and among them following accessions (Table-6) have showed better performance in terms of selected growth parameters. This study will be helpful for assessment of the potential of the locally adapted accessions and provide baseline information for future Jatropha improvement programmes. |
Top Figures | Figure 1.: Comparison of average plant height in different accessions (NOVOD- National trial)
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| | Figure 2.: Comparison of average collar diameter and no of branches in different accessions (NOVOD-National trial)
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| | Figure 3.: Comparison of average plant height in different accessions (NOVOD- Zonal trial)
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| | Figure 4.: Comparison of average collar diameter and no of branches in different accessions (NOVOD-Zonal trial)
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| | Figure 5.: Comparison of seed length, seed width and oil content in various accessions (NOVOD)
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| | Figure 6.: Comparison of average plant height in different accessions (DBT- Multilocational trial)
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Tables | Table 1.: Details of superior accessions of Jatrophacurcas included in experimental trials
| | S.No. | Number of accessions | Participating Institute/centers | | National Trial (July2005) | Zonal trial (July2005) | | | 1. | 03 | 03 | IGAU, Raipur | | 2. | 06 | 0 | TNAU, Mettupalayam | | 3. | 02 | 02 | SFRI, Jabalpur | | 4. | 02 | 02 | TFRI, Jabalpur | | 5. | 02 | 0 | GBPU A&T, Pantnagar | | 6. | 01 | 01 | MP KV, Rauri | | 7. | 03 | 02 | PD KV, Akola | | 8. | - | 04 | RRL, Bhubneshwar | | Total | 19 | 14 | |
| | | Table 2.: Growth performance of different Jatrophacurcas
accessions
| | S.No | Accessions | Height (cm) | Collar Diameter (cm) | No. of Branches | | National trial | 1. | IGAU-1 | 116.66 | 5.61 | 12.66 | | 2. | TNMC-2 | 112.9 | 6.86 | 12.0 | | 3. | TFRI-1 | 121.0 | 7.24 | 14.2 | | 4. | PDKV-1 | 122.6 | 7.3 | 12.0 | | 5. | TNMC-3 | 121.53 | 7.26 | 15.0 | | 6. | SFRI-1 | 122.6 | 7.73 | 17.0 | | 7. | NAGPUR | 108.86 | 7.54 | 14.0 | | 8. | IGAU-2 | 134.4 | 7.2 | 14.3 | | 9. | TNMC-4 | 142.53 | 6.76 | 15.33 | | 10. | TFRI-2 | 154.83 | 7.46 | 14.33 | | 11. | IGAU-3 | 149.23 | 6.60 | 13.11 | | 12. | TNMC-5 | 203.46 | 10.3 | 13.66 | | 13. | TNMC-7 | 176.8 | 8.33 | 20.66 | | 14. | CBPUAT-1 | 143.0 | 5.56 | 19.33 | | 15. | PDKV-2 | 137.83 | 8.86 | 21.10 | | 16. | TNMC-22 | 92.0 | 4.5 | 12.0 | | 17. | MPKV-1 | 108.0 | 6.03 | 15.0 | | 18. | SFRI-2 | 150.53 | 6.01 | 13.33 | | 19. | GBPUAT-2 | 122.6 | 7.3 | 12.0 | | CD | | 16.94 | 1.50 | 5.09 | | SE | | 8.35 | 7.39 | 2.51 | | Zonal trial | 1. | IGAU-1 | 152.48 | 7.41 | 12.0 | | 2. | TFRI-1 | 152.36 | 6.39 | 10.0 | | 3. | RRL-1 | 87.53 | 5.97 | 8.33 | | 4. | IGAU-2 | 119.53 | 6.25 | 13.33 | | 5. | TFRI-2 | 134.23 | 6.85 | 14.66 | | 6. | RRL-2 | 123.66 | 7.39 | 13.0 | | 7. | PDKV-2 | 140.86 | 6.69 | 12.33 | | 8. | SFRI-1 | 143.46 | 8.29 | 15.0 | | 9. | IGAU-3 | 118.03 | 7.33 | 14.66 | | 10. | RRL-3 | 146.13 | 7.63 | 16.00 | | 11. | MPKV-1 | 144.94 | 6.03 | 12.0 | | 12. | SFRI-2 | 141.2 | 6.48 | 13.66 | | 13. | PDKV-2 | 128.6 | 5.89 | 12.0 | | 14. | RRL-4 | 87.66 | 6.17 | 12.33 | | CD | | 30.50 | 0.99 | 4.19 | | SE | | 14.83 | 4.84 | 2.04 |
| | | Table 3.: Analysis of variance for different characters in trials of Jatrophacurcas
| | Trial | Variable | Mean | SEm | S.D. | F Value | | National trial | Height (cm) | 136.28 | 8.35 | 25.08 | 16.66* | | Collar Diameter (cm) | 7.08 | 7.39 | 1.46 | 6.06* | | Branches (no.) | 14.87 | 2.51 | 3.72 | 2.48 | | Zonal trial | Height (cm) | 130.1 | 14.83 | 25.36 | 4.06* | | Collar Diameter (cm) | 6.70 | 4.84 | 8.92 | 4.71* | | Branches (no.) | 13.0 | 2.04 | 2.89 | 2.09 |
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| | | Table 4.: Correlations of different characters in trials of Jatrophacurcas
| | Trial | Variables | Height | Collar Diameter | No. of Branches | | National trial | Height (cm) | 1.0000 | | | | Collar Diameter (cm) | 0.4076 | 1.0000 | | | Branches (no.) | 0.3468 | 0.2521 | 1.0000 | | Zonal trial | Height (cm) | 1.0000 | | | | Collar Diameter (cm) | 0.3699 | 1.0000 | | | Branches (no.) | 0.2605 | 0.2601 | 1.0000 |
| | | Table-5: Fruits Characteristics and oil content of different accessions
| | S.No. | Accession | Total No. of Fruits | Wt. of 100 Fruits (in g) | Wt of seeds obtained in 100 fruits(g) | Seed length (mm) | Seed width (mm) | Oil content (%) | | 1. | IGAU-1 | 492 | 250.50 | 172.60 | 14.3 | 9.80 | 34.52 | | 2. | TNMC-2 | 480 | 252.16 | 183.21 | 16.37 | 8.37 | 33.00 | | 3. | TFRI-1 | 508 | 230.40 | 198.30 | 15.30 | 9.23 | 35.24 | | 4. | TNMC-3 | 560 | 265.50 | 192.50 | 16.37 | 8.37 | 32.54 | | 5. | SFRI-1 | 452 | 282.50 | 175.60 | 15.30 | 9.23 | 29.32 | | 6. | NAGPUR | 463 | 264.52 | 178.52 | 15.85 | 8.85 | 30.00 | | 7. | TNMC-4 | 685 | 287.32 | 186.50 | 16.35 | 9.35 | 32.50 | | 8. | TFRI-2 | 573 | 302.25 | 198.60 | 16.37 | 8.37 | 32.60 | | 9. | TNMC-5 | 892 | 315.50 | 240.30 | 18.32 | 9.65 | 36.40 | | 10. | IGAU-1 | 583 | 238.64 | 176.50 | 15.20 | 8.32 | 31.52 | | 11. | TFRI-1 | 472 | 247.65 | 186.30 | 14.20 | 9.30 | 30.50 | | 12. | IGAU-2 | 470 | 215.40 | 172.50 | 16.26 | 9.32 | 35.30 | | 13. | TFRI-2 | 580 | 298.00 | 204.63 | 15.20 | 8.32 | 35.32 | | 14. | IGAU-3 | 553 | 205.50 | 184.50 | 18.32 | 10.2 | 35.20 | | 15. | RRL-3 | 320 | 265.30 | 186.54 | 15.2 | 8.20 | 33.20 | | 16. | MPKV-1 | 482 | 215.40 | 187.65 | 14.32 | 9.50 | 34.60 | | 17. | SFRI-2 | 420 | 240.30 | 198.65 | 14.32 | 8.20 | 30.52 |
| | | Table 6.: Characteristics and best performing accessions
| | S.no. | Characteristic | Best Performing Accessions | | 1. | Plant height | TNMC-5(203.46cm),TNMC-7(176.80cm), TFRI-2(154.83cm), IGAU-l(152.48cm),TFRI-1(152.38cm) | | 2. | Collar diameter | TNMC-5(10.30cm), PDKV-2(8.86cm), SFRI-1(8.29cm), TFRI-2(7.46cm) | | 3. | Number of branches | PDKV-2(21.10), TNMC-7(20.66), RRL-3(16.00), CBPUAT-1(19.33), SFRI-1(17.00) | | 4. | Number of fruits | TNMC-5(892), TNMC-4(685),IGAU-1(583), TFRI-2(580) | | 5. | Fruit weight (100 seeds) | TNMC-5(315.50gm), TFRI-2(302.25gm), TNMC-4(287.32gm),SFRI-l(282.50gm) | | 6. | Seed weight (from 100 fruits) | TNMC-5(240.63gm), SFRI-2(198.65gm), TFRI-2(198.60gm),TFRI-1(198.30gm) | | 7. | Seed length | TNMC-5(18.32mm),IGAU-3(18.32mm),TNMC-2(16.37mm), TNMC-3(16.37mm), TFRI-2(16.37mm), TNMC-4(16.35mm) | | 8. | Seed width | IGAU-3(10.20mm), IGAU-l(9.80mm), TNMC-5(9.65mm), MPKV-l(9.50mm) | | 9. | Oil content | TNMC-5(36.40%), TFRI-2(35.32%), TFRI-1(35.24%), IGAU-3(35.20%), MPKV-1(34.60%) |
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