JATROPHA CARCUS

JATROPHA CURCAS PLANTATION AT BIODEC KATSINA

Introduction

Jatropha (Jatropha curcas) is one of the 170 known species that belong to the family Euphorbiaceae. Jatropha is a small shrub tree which has a green leaves and produces latex when the plant is cut. The Jatropha plant derives its name from the Greek word iatros (doctor) and trophe (food) which indicates the plant’s medicinal value in ancient times. The species name ‘curcas’ comes from the name physic nut found in Malabor, India. Jatropha usually grows to a height of 3-5 meters, but under favorable agronomic conditions it can grow up to 8-10 meters.

Jatropha found in Nigeria is of wild type, it has been used for many decades as hedge plants to demarcate farms against invasive wild and domestic animals. Recently Jatropha was used as a source of income in Nigeria due to development of biofuel industry. Some of the advantages of the plant are that it has medicinal value, a source of organic manure, because the Jatropha seed coat and seed Cake are rich in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (NPK), and the seed cake is used for soap making, the Jatropha oil is used as a lubricant. Furthermore the oil extracted from Jatropha seeds is being used as biofuel for diesel engine, which will enhance self sufficiency in transportation, industries, and rural electrification. This will help in reducing the importation of Kerosene and diesel and save foreign exchange and petroleum subsidy.

As drought-resistant plant, Jatropha plant has the ability to grow on marginal, wild or arid land and produce seeds that were used for biogas production. The plant has outmost advantage in preventing desertification and soil erosion in sub-Sahara areas like Katsina State.

Two methods were used to germinate Jatropha in BIODEC Katsina. These are 1) Planting in to the polybags 2) Direct planting in the nursery bed. The germination was highest in the seeds that were planted directly in the nursery bed compared to those that were planted in the poly bags. Those planted directly in the nursery bed were transplanted within 5 weeks of plantation, while those in the polybags 8- 10 weeks.

Conclusion

As Jatropha curcas is becoming a new perennial cash crop for many regions of the world. There is need to give special attention for jatropha plantation due to its economic importance.