The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Coimbatore News : TNAU initiative to promote jatropha cultivation

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Sunday, Aug 08, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Coimbatore

TNAU initiative to promote jatropha cultivation

By Our Staff Reporter

COIMBATORE, AUG. 7. Efforts to promote cultivation of `jatropha curcas' as a bio-fuel crop began at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) on Thursday, with the release of a booklet for farmers.

Booklet released

The Vice-Chancellor, C. Ramasamy, who released the booklet prepared by the University scientists, said the publication contain information on cultivation practices, besides addresses and telephone numbers for collecting more details.

Entrepreneurs could also approach the University for information.

He said farmers needed to change their methods owing to scanty rainfall, falling groundwater levels and subsequent water shortage.

They needed to shift from water-intensive crops such as paddy and sugarcane to ones that would provide steady income despite low water requirement.

Hence the emphasis in Tamil Nadu was on three crops: jatropha curcas (kattamanakku), sweet sorghum (sarkarai cholam) and sugar beet (sarkarai kizhangu).

These bio-fuel crops were likely to gain importance in the years to come, when fossil fuel would be in demand at higher prices. The dean (Horticulture), Horticultural College, TNAU, E. Vadivel, said jatropha curcas was commonly used in African countries as liquid fuel in stoves, lamps and torches.

In advanced countries, people were interested in this crop because the fuel extracted from it caused low levels of environmental pollution.

However, India was worried more about the mounting expenditure on crude oil, second only defence spending.

Jatropha extracts could be blended with diesel up to ten per cent and used in locomotives. Two months ago, a goods train drawn by a locomotive with this blended fuel was operated successfully in Chennai.

High oil recovery

He said that jatropha had been cultivated on three acres of TNAU's land for demonstration purposes. Its fruit was green at first but changed to yellow and then black. Dry seeds could be crushed in a rotary machine used for extracting neem oil.

By following established procedures, the oil recovery could be as high as 30 per cent. After filtration, the oil had the consistency of kerosene.

It could be used for lighting lamps and making soap, besides running tractors, oil engines and motorbikes.

The dean, Forest College and Research Institute, Mettupalayam, P. Neelakantan, said the crop could be cultivated in most areas of Tamil Nadu except parts of the Nilgiris that were prone to formation of frost.

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