Jatropha Curcas is a specie of flowering plant in the spurge family. It is cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions around the world, becoming naturalised in some areas. Other Common names for jatropha include Barbados Nut, Purging Nut, and Physic Nut. It is resistant to a high degree of aridity, allowing it to be grown in deserts. It produces fruits during the rainy season; there may be several cops during the year if the soil moisture is good and temperature is sufficiently high.

It has large green to pale green leaves. Seeds are mature when the capsule changes from green to yellow. The seeds contain 27-40% oil (average: 34.4%) that can be processed to produce a high-quality biodiesel fuel, usable in a standard diesel engine.

The plant can grow in wastelands and grows on almost any terrain, even on gravel, sandy and saline soils. It can thrive in poor and stony soils. Complete germination is achieved within 5 -9days. Jatropha can be propagated by cuttings or seeds; the success germination rate is 99%. From my experience, I discovered that the Jatropha plants propagated by seeds are growing faster and more vibrant than the ones propagated by cuttings. But it generally believed that Jatropha propagated by cuttings yields faster results than multiplication by seeds. The stem cuttings, grafting, budding and air layering methods of propagation could be used as a potential protocol for commercial propagation of Jatropha Curcas

The flowers only develop terminally at the end of a stem. Jatropha plants present many branches and thus produce the greatest amount of fruits. It thrives on a mere 250mm of rain a year and only during its first two years does it need to be watered in the closing days of the dry season. Ploughing and planting are not needed regularly, as this shrub has a life expectancy of 40 -50years. The use of pesticides and other polluting substances are not necessary, due to the pesticidal and fungicidal properties of the plant, while Jatropha Curcas starts yielding from 9 -12months.

The great things about this tree are:

•It’s an oil seed tree.

• It produces very high quality green oil.

• It has a very high yield – 1,000+ litres a year per acre

• It flourishes best on land that is unsuitable for food production.

• A single tree can produce 600 to 1200 new seedlings a year.

• A single tree can produce 1 litre of green oil per year.

• It can also (from the residues after crushing) produce nitrogen-rich fertiliser, medicines and latex.

• It will only grow satisfactorily within the Tropics (+/- 30º latitude) so is ideal for farming in poverty-

stricken regions. In its first five years of life, a Jatropha tree is best employed producing more Jatropha trees – the sustainable rate is 600- 1200 new seedlings per single tree per year.

For the remaining 35 to 40 years of its life, the tree is used for producing oil. Each tree can (conservatively) produce one litre of high quality oil per year.

Jatropha oil can be used directly in diesel engines. The Jatropha plant can yield four times higher than the other biodiesel crops. Biodiesel is reported to be environmentally superior to petroleum diesel, for Jatropha biodiesel emits about two-thirds less in unburned hydrocarbons and almost half as much carbon monoxide and particulate matter as conventional diesel. It contains no sulfur and so emits none.
The glycerin by-product of the trans-esterification process can be used to make a high quality soap, or it can be refined and sold at a range of prices, depending on its purity, to be used in an immense range of products, including cosmetics.

Soap production

The glycerin that is a by-product of biodiesel can be used to make soap, and soap can be produced from Jatropha oil itself. It will produce a soft, durable soap, and the rather simple soap making process is well adapted to household or small-scale industrial activity.

Skin care and Cosmetics
The seed oil can be applied to treat eczema and skin diseases and to soothe rheumatic pain (Heller 1996).

Pesticides
The oil and aqueous extract from oil has potential as an insecticide. For instance, it has been used in the control of insect pests of cotton including cotton bollworm, and on pests of pulses, potato and corn. Methanol extracts of Jatropha seed (which contains biodegradable toxins) are being tested in Germany for control of bilharzia-carrying water snails.

Jatropha Carcus  can prove itself a miracle plant by turning waste land into a moneymaking land. It can help to increase rural incomes, self-sustainability and alleviate poverty for women, elderly, children and men, communities, and small farmers
For further reading visit 
www.jatrophabiodiesel.org