Pruning and fertilization effects on Jatropha yields under smallholder’s conditions in a Tropical Dry Forest from Ecuador

Abstract

Jatropha seed is a biomass suitable for bioenergy production that can be produced by smallholders, even on marginal lands. However, the current oilseed production is too low to meet the needs of the planned renewable electricity system in the Galapagos Islands. Pruning and fertilization are management options that can be used to increase the dry seed yields. The effects of both treatments were tested in a split-plot design with jatropha trees, which were monitored during a three-year production period. The average seed production was 643±58 kg ha-1 year-1 in the unpruned trees and 696±50 kg ha-1 year-1 in the pruned trees. Although this difference is small, it is expected to increase over time. The pruned trees developed more slowly than the unpruned trees but showed higher (and still increasing) yields at the end of the three-year test period, while the unpruned trees appeared to have reached their maximum production by the second year of the trial. The low fertilizer doses approved by the smallholders did not have a significant impact on the dry seed yield, and the management options that show benefits in the long term are generally not accepted or adopted by them. Cost-effective nutrient enhancement should be investigated, such as inoculation with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.

In situ assessment of Jatropha curcas germplasm under tropical dry forest conditions in Manabí-Ecuador

“…At the same time, Cañadas-López et al (2018) observed a production of 316.46 g tree -1 year -1 (791.15 t ha -1 year -1 ) for the Jatropha accession CP041 Assessment of in situ Jatropha curcas germplasm under tropical dry forest conditions, Manabí-Ecuador of an eight-year-old. It would mean that Jatropha's productivity could be lower than 1000 kg ha -1 year -1 under dryland conditions in Ecuador (Cañadas-López et al, 2020). These productions registered in Ecuador were below the production variability ranges reported by Openshaw (2000) between 0.4 to 12 t ha -1 year -1 .…”

Explorando el aprendizaje significativo en profesores de educación básica general, Distrito 13D07, provincia de Manabí.

“…Descripción del área de estudio En la Figura 1 se muestra la extensión geográfica del Distrito 13D07 Chone-Flavio Alfaro, que abarca un total de 4,913 km2 en la provincia de Manabí y comprende un total de 387 instituciones del circuito 13D07 (Figura 1). Es importante destacar que el Distrito Chone se encuentra ubicado en un área de Bosque Seco Tropical (Cañadas, 1983), con una precipitación promedio anual de 979 mm y una temperatura media anual de 25.8°C (Cañadas et al, 2020a;Cañadas et al, 2020b;Cañadas et al, 2018a;Rade et al, 2017). Según Martínez-Molina et al ( 2017), estas condiciones climáticas pueden tener un impacto negativo en el aprendizaje de los alumnos y el desempeño de los profesores, debido a un entorno térmico insatisfactorio, un fenómeno que ha sido respaldado por numerosas investigaciones.…”

Critical Analysis of World Status of Research on the Development of High Yielding Strains of Jatropha Curcas L

“…A grower with experience can determine the exact pruning time and quantum of pruning operations. Pruning has considerably increased branch number and the seed yield in Jatropha [1,2,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41]. As the main mission is to increase the yield, pruning will be a good option in this direction.…”