Data Sheet for Jatropha Cultivation
I. Plant:
- The species Jatropha curcas L. is a plant whose
extract oil from seeds containing between 25% and 35% oil. The common name is Jatropha.
- The plant began producing from the first year, If planting seeds comes and from 9 months if it comes to cutting
- It is a perennial plant whose life span can exceed 50 years.
- Jatropha is a plant that is adapted to drought and infertile land.
- Jatropha produces 2 times a year and annual production is 6 to 10 tons per hectare depending on the culture conditions.
II. Technical cultuvation:
The planting of Jatropha can be made from seeds, seedlings or cuttings.
The seeds must be healthy.
The seeds are sown per hill from 1 to 2 seeds 3 cm deep.
Once transplanted, begin to germinate in the first week.
After germination, to do singling (leaving one plant per hole).
On one line, the plants are separated by 2m, the distance between two lines is 2.5 to 3 meters if the lines are separated by 2m the density is 2,000 plants per hectare and if the lines are separated by 3m density is 1650 plants per hectare. But the advantage of the low density is the ease of harvest.
The seeds planted in the small bags of 1kg of soils.
It must water every two days, if it rains, one week, and germination begins the first week.
Seedlings raised during his two months, then they are transferred and transplanted by the method used for planting seed.
From a plant, cut branches of Jatropha 40-50 centimeters, once cut, leave the cuttings for a day to remove the excess of weans.
Plant the cutting in a hole 15-20 cm deep.
The density will be the same as from seed.
- After six weeks, it should cause the appearance of branching by cutting the terminal bud on each plant Jatropha.
Intercropping:
It may associate the development of Jatropha with food crops (groundnuts, beans, maize, cowpea, pepper, tomato, upland rice.) Between the planting lines.
As a precaution, this association is made only the first year of planting.
III. Maintenance:
Jatropha is easy to maintain.
From the plantation, we must weed the seedlings, making it round 1m diameter.
Between the lines make beating two times a year.
IV. Harvest:
- The clusters are beginning to come to maturity from the 4th month of flowering.
- hen the fruit turns from green to yellow, harvest, this yellow stage is ideal for separating the seeds from the fruit pulp.
When the harvest is delayed, fruits will be dry, the separation between the seed and the pulp becomes more difficult.
Therefore harvest every three days, during which time the fruit ripens.
- Harvesting is done 2 times per year.
V. Drying and storage:
The harvested seed must be placed on a flat surface to facilitate drying; the seeds moved from the glossy black to a black matte; whether the seeds are dry, take a few seeds in hand and stir them; a dry sound to be heard.
The dried seeds should be placed in bags, closed and placed in a dry place.
