Jatropha is a plant of Latin American origin which is now widespread throughout arid and semi-arid tropical regions of the world. It is called ‘igi lapalapa’ in Yoruba.  It is drought-resistant and perennial, living up to 50 years and growing on marginal soils. Jatropha seeds contain about 35 per cent of non – edible oil. The seeds contain 27 – 40 per cent oil that can be processed to produce a high – quality biodiesel fuel, usable in a standard diesel engine. If planted in hedges, the reported productivity of Jatropha is from 0.8 kg to 1.0 kg of seed per meter of live fence. The seed production is around 3.5 tons/hectare (seed production ranges from about 0.4 tons per hectare in first year to over 5 tons per hectare after 3 years). While Jatropha curcas starts yielding from 9 – 12 months, the effective yield is obtained only after 2 – 3years. It is believed that one hectare of plantation can give 1.6 metric tonnes of oil if the soil is average.

According to report, Jatropha curcas is generally well-known among the populations of Mali and has long been recognized as a plant of many uses. If carefully planted, Jatropha hedges not only protect gardens from hungry livestock but also reduce damage and erosion from wind and water. Traditionally in Mali, the seeds were harvested by women and used for medical treatments and local soap production. As far back as at the end of the 1930’s the oil’s potential as a fuel source was also recognized.  Currently, it can be used to substitute for the “gazoil” mixture used in the Indian type diesel engines that drive grain mills and water pumps in rural areas of Mali.  The Jatropha project in Mali has helped in:

·    Renewable Energy

·    Erosion Control and Soil Improvement

·    Promotion of Women

·    Poverty Reduction

Currently, Mali has about 10.000 km of Jatropha hedges with a growth rate of 2.000 km per year, which represents a potential of 1.7 million liters of oil per year.

Many uses of Jatropha

· Used as medicinal plant - Latex contains an alkaloid known as Jatrophine which is believed to have anti-cancerous properties.

· Used for skin diseases and rheumatism and for sores on domestic livestock.

· Twigs used for cleaning teeth.

· Juice of the leaf is used as an external application for piles.

· Oil cake is rich in nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium and can be used as organic manure.

· Leaves are used as food for the tusker silkworm.

· Seeds act as insecticide/pesticide.

· Leaves used for fumigating houses against bed-bugs.

· Oil can be used as fuel in pre-combustion chamber diesel engines and also as a lubricant.

· Oil and the sediment can be used for soap production.

· Dark blue dye produced from the bark of the Jatropha curcas plants used in coloring cloth, fishing nets and lines.

·Used as ornamental plant.

·Used as a fence.

·Used as a potential oil crop.

·Used as raw material for industrial use.

·Used for enrichment of soil.

·Used as non-conventional energy crop.

·Used as profitable agro forestry crop.

· The press cake which remains after the oil extraction by the expellers is a very good organic fertilizer, with mineral composition comparable to that of chicken manure.

Table: Uses of different parts of Jatropha plant

Whole plant    Roots    Leaves    Latex    Seeds    Bark    Twig

Planted to prevent water erosion and for conservation    Used as ethno medicine    Used as ethnomedicine      Resembles shallac    Source of oil (30-40%) suitable as fuel for biodiesel engine    Yields tannins (37%)    Used as medicine
Promising live fence     Yield a dye used to give tan &brown    Used for making ink    Useful as illumitant, lubricant, in soap and candle making         Used as Dataun (Herbal tooth brush) useful as green manure         Useful as botanical    Used as ethnomedicine    Used as medicine both internally and externally         Young one cooked and eaten
useful in controlling sand drift                

For further reading visit, www.jatropha.com. To be continued next week.