Energy Analysis of Irrigated Jetropha Cultivation for Producing Biodiesel

Gupta, Akshay; Bharadwaj, Kv V.; Lama, Suvha; Mathur, Jyotirmay

doi:10.4236/lce.2010.12007

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…This might be due to the young age of the plants, and also due to pruning. As Gupta et al (2010), Prueksakorn et al (2010) and Islam et al (2011) mention that J. curcas can begin bearing yield within 9 months, but the yield is low in the first 2 years. In addition, recent studies such as, Krishna et al, 2008;Ghosh et al, 2011 indicate that pruning may reduce J. curcas seed yield up to 96%.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Floral display and effects of natural and artificial pollination on fruiting and seed yield of the tropical biofuel crop Jatropha curcas L.

et al. 2013

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Floral display and effects of natural and artificial pollination on fruiting and seed yield of the tropical biofuel crop Jatropha curcas L. Abstract Jatropha curcas L. is a tropical tree grown on large scale as a potential biofuel seed crop. However, little information on the reproductive ecology of the species is available. This lack of knowledge makes it hard to predict yield. The higher number of male flowers than female flowers results in a very low yield. In this context, field experiments were conducted in mature (site 1) and young (site 2) plantations in Zambia and mature plantation (site 3) in Malawi to study flowering characteristics and the effect of pollination methods on the fruiting and seed yield of J. curcas. Pollination treatments were open pollination, autogamous pollination, self-pollination, cross-pollination and pollen supplemented open pollination. The result showed J. curcas is not only of protandrous nature as reported earlier. The male female flower sex ratio was 17 : 1, 22 : 1 and 10 : 1, respectively, for site 1 and 2 in Zambia and site 3 in Malawi. The mean flower longevity periods were 1.80 AE 0.07 days for male and 4.5 AE 0.18 days for female. Fewer fruit set and seed yield were recorded from autogamous pollination in Zambia sites. In the case of Malawi, more matured fruits resulted from autogamous pollination but the fruits contained fewer seeds. High fruit and seed yield were recorded for open pollination similar to pollen-supplemented pollination at Zambia sites, which indicates there was no pollen limitation in these sites. In the Malawi site there was no seed yield difference between pollination treatments. The experiment showed that J. curcas can be both protandrous and protogynous and able to produce seeds through both self-and cross-pollination. The natural fruit set and seed yield indicates that stimulating natural pollination will improve J. curcas fruit set and seed yield. IntroductionUnderstanding the flowering and breeding system of agricultural crops has a strong economic and ecological significance, and it has implications for both crop and pollinator management (Strickler, 1999). In plant breeding mechanisms there are three types of possible mating: geitonogamy (self-pollination), xenogamy (cross-pollination) and apomixis (asexually without pollen contact to the stigma) (Richards 1997). Different mating mechanisms may result in different fruit and seed yields (Trueman & Turnbull, 1994;Rao & Raju, 2002;Bieniasz, 2007;Hassan et al., 2007;Kaushik et al., 2007;Hui-Juan et al., 2008).Jatropha curcas L. is an insect-pollinated oil-producing crop and oil yield therefore directly depends on successful flowering and pollination success (Carels, 2009) Jatropha curcas is still a semi-wild plant and basic agronomic research on cultivation practices to optimize seed and oil yield is only emerging recently (e.g., Achten et al., 2008Achten et al., , 2010Maes et al., 2009 Information regarding flower phenology, pollination mechanisms, fruit formation and development to final ripenin...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Floral display and effects of natural and artificial pollination on fruiting and seed yield of the tropical biofuel crop Jatropha curcas L.

et al. 2013

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“…() and Ariza‐Montobbio & Lele () who have reported the conversion of fallow land in other Indian states for jatropha production and substitution of edible oilseeds with jatropha in south India, respectively. Several studies have observed yield increases in irrigated jatropha systems (Gupta et al ., ; Behera et al ., ; Lapola et al ., ). With merely 30% of cropland under irrigation, water availability for irrigation of jatropha is limited.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Modelling regional scale biofuel scenarios – a case study for India

2011

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Biofuel initiatives in India have gained momentum with the national biofuel policy targeting 20% blending of both petrol and diesel by 2017. Most of India's biofuel plans revolve around using sugarcane for bioethanol and jatropha for biodiesel production. This study, taking the southern Indian state of Karnataka as an example, aims at estimating the potential to achieve policy targets. The study spatially analyses land-use change owing to biofuel expansion and its effects on food production. We used an integrated modelling framework to simulate land-use change and bioenergy production under two scenarios -Industrial Economy (IE) and Agricultural Economy (AE). Results indicate that meeting the 20% blending target is a challenging goal to achieve under both scenarios. Bioethanol requirements can be nearly fulfilled (88% under IE and 93% under AE) because of sugarcane expansion. However, biodiesel demands cannot be fulfilled using only degraded lands as currently planned in India, but additional agricultural land (3-4% of the total cropland) will be required for jatrophabased biodiesel production. Food production will not be directly impacted until 2025, because the largest source of additional land could be short-and long-term fallows. We conclude that conservation oriented initiatives, such as water harvesting and energy conservation measures can increase productivities of biofuel crops and reduce fuel demands, respectively. State support and Clean Development Mechanism opportunities can enhance economic incentives for energy cropping. Therefore, a simultaneous and multipronged approach is needed to accommodate food and fuel demands in India.

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“…This might be due to the young age of the plants. As Gupta et al [53], Prueksakorn et al [54], and Islam et al [55] mentioned, J. curcas can begin bearing yield within 9 months, but the yield is low in the first 2 years. J. curcas reaches its commercial productivity in 3 years [55].…”

Section: Seed Yield and Morphology And Seed Oil Content And Concentramentioning

confidence: 90%

Conserving Open Natural Pollination Safeguards Jatropha Oil Yield and Oil Quality

et al. 2014

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The high oil content and suitable fatty acid composition of the seeds are two arguments to promote Jatropha curcas L. as a promising biodiesel crop. For seed yielding crops as J. curcas, it can be expected that successful pollination is a key process affecting oil yield and oil quality. Field experiments were conducted in Zambia to study the effects of different pollination treatments (autonomous autogamy, open natural, open pollen supplemented, self, and cross-pollination) on seed morphology, seed oil content (g), seed oil concentration (%), and oil fatty acid composition of J. curcas in 2-and 5-year-old plantations. For this experiment, 100 inflorescences per plantation were selected. Autonomous autogamy and self-pollination treatments reduced oil yield with 70 and 29 % respectively, compared to open pollination. Cross-and self-pollinations resulted in longer seeds than open pollination but did not affect oil content and concentration. The oil has high unsaturated fatty acid content (80 %) and is composed of nine fatty acids. Pollination treatments had an effect on fatty acid composition of oil from mature trees (5 years old), but had not for 2-year-old trees. The oleic acid content, a determinant fatty acid component for quality biodiesel production was lower for artificial self-pollination (9 % reduction) compared to open pollination. This research demonstrates that overall oil yield and quality are the highest under natural pollination. This shows the importance of safeguarding the quality and effectiveness of open natural pollination. This can be done by enhancing the presence of insects identified as J. curcas pollinators, particularly those pollinators enhancing cross-pollination.

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Energy Analysis of Irrigated Jetropha Cultivation for Producing Biodiesel

Cited by 5 publications

References 2 publications

Floral display and effects of natural and artificial pollination on fruiting and seed yield of the tropical biofuel crop Jatropha curcas L.

Floral display and effects of natural and artificial pollination on fruiting and seed yield of the tropical biofuel crop Jatropha curcas L.

Modelling regional scale biofuel scenarios – a case study for India

Conserving Open Natural Pollination Safeguards Jatropha Oil Yield and Oil Quality

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