Jatropha Curcas

chola1978 · #1 05-22-2007, 10:20 PM

I own some land in Sna Victor , Moca and in Ranchito Piche, Santiago. A few of my college friend and I are looking in to biulding a biodiesel refinary i nthe cibao region. Now we have the land and money to plant it but in order for a porject like this to work it must be in a large scale since the land we own cna only generate seeds 2-3 times per year. We need to get some awareness to the local farmes that projects like this would genera thme a profit. Their are some nonforprofit out their that are looking in to this type of project to combat poverty. Our plant of Choice is Jatropha Curcas(pinon de leche) this plant is having a lot of support world wide in countries like India. Would any one like to ched some light in to this type of project. We are no looking to becomoe millioners out this just get farmes to work the lands.

chola1978 · #2 05-22-2007, 10:20 PM

Ah before I forget .Sorry for any typos. I am a renoun bad speller. So I hope no one gets ofended. Please perdonemen

chola1978 · #3 05-23-2007, 01:51 PM

Here are some links to NGO that are promoting Jatropha Curcas in India. May be Keith you know something about this that my limited research has not shown. Please help me see both sides of this topic.
Home
Bio Diesel - Jatropha Curcas
The Jatropha System

chola1978 · #4 05-23-2007, 01:52 PM

Jatropha Curcas is an excellent biofuel crop which has many other advantages over existing crops.

Jatropha - Grown as a biofuel / biodiesel crop

The biofuel yield of various crops has been measured, and is usually given in barrels of oil per square mile per year. Corn is a common biofuel crop in the USA, but it yields under 200 barrels (per square mile per year). Rice for example yields almost 1000 barrels, however it is an essential worldwide food crop as are most of the other potential biofuel crops.
It is simply not viable to use good quality arable farmland for growing biofuels, biofuel crops need to be grown on marginal land if we are to benefit from them. This is where Jatropha scores highly. Not only does it have a great yield of well over 2,000 barrels of oil per square mile per year, it also increases the fertility of the land on which it is grown so that it can potentially be used for food crops in subsequent years.

Jatropha is perennial which can grow in arid conditions (even deserts), on any kind of ground, and does not require irrigation or suffer in droughts. Therefore unlike the common biofuel crops of today (corn and sugar), they are very easy to cultivate even on poor land in Africa providing great social and economic benefits for that region.

Jatropha is fast growing and it begins yielding oil in the second year and for the next forty to fifty years. Optimal yields are obtained from the sixth year, and spaced at 2 metre intervals, around 2500 plants can be cultivated per hectare. Jatropha absorbs large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and therefore earns carbon credits.

Find out more about Jatropha and its use as a biofuel here with our guide to the facts and figures about Jatropha.
this is formation was provided from REUK website.

chola1978 · #5 05-23-2007, 01:59 PM

We are looking into begin our plantation process of the first 150 tareas in the area of San Victor ,Moca later in June. This week were are preparing a green house to germinate seed to create a nursery for the jatropha plant.
This land is not currently being used for agriculture. It was used before for coffee plantation due to it mountainous nature. The farm is located near the Cafeto part of Moca.
We expect to plant 2500 plant in the fist stage and do so until hitting this year goal of 25,000 p[plant of jatropha.

We hope this thread can help me get a feel of what intelligent and environmentally friendly people need to say about this project.

Chris · #6 05-23-2007, 02:16 PM

This is certainly an interesting plant. It used to be known as a weed and as kids we knew not to mess with the seeds. Here are some pictures of what it looks like.

Biodiesel SA

Also, I believe that it does not act agressively as an 'invasive species', but kinda stays around where it is planted. It apparently does well on marginal soil and if the soil is well managed, the soil quality improves after planting.

Uhm... may the DR government be kind to you and I hope this is a success.

Mirador · #7 05-23-2007, 02:44 PM

The importation of foreign species into a new eco-environment is always fraught with dangers. Remember what the introduction of the species Neem, also imported from India, did to the DR climate?, increasing aridity in many areas where it was used intensively in reforestation projects after the devastatation caused by hurricane David and Tropical storm Frederick in 1979.

A quick googling on the above ref species produced warnings like the following...

"...Due to several different toxic principles including a lectin (curcin), phorbol esters, saponins, protease inhibitors and phytates, neither the seeds nor the press cake nor the oil of Jatropha curcas can be used for human or animal nutrition; even if the plant is not intended for human consumption, its toxicity might represent a problem, especially if grown in areas close to food crops plantations... (24).

....

(24) Trabi, G.M. Gübitz, W. Steiner, N. Foidl: Toxicity of Jatropha curcas seeds. Developed from the Symposium "Jatropha 97" Managua, Nicaragua February 23 – 27, 1997."

chola1978 · #8 05-23-2007, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mirador

The importation of foreign species into a new eco-environment is always fraught with dangers. Remember what the introduction of the species Neem, also imported from India, did to the DR climate?, increasing aridity in many areas where it was used intensively in reforestation projects after the devastatation caused by hurricane David and Tropical storm Frederick in 1979.

A quick googling on the above ref species produced warnings like the following...

"...Due to several different toxic principles including a lectin (curcin), phorbol esters, saponins, protease inhibitors and phytates, neither the seeds nor the press cake nor the oil of Jatropha curcas can be used for human or animal nutrition; even if the plant is not intended for human consumption, its toxicity might represent a problem, especially if grown in areas close to food crops plantations... (24).

....

(24) Trabi, G.M. Gübitz, W. Steiner, N. Foidl: Toxicity of Jatropha curcas seeds. Developed from the Symposium "Jatropha 97" Managua, Nicaragua February 23 – 27, 1997."

"This is so true. Is never s good practice but after further research we found that plant is as much a native to this land as the Platano.
Furthermore we are dedicating this plantation to the production of bio-fuel

chola1978 · #9 05-23-2007, 03:14 PM

I will try to put some links later this week so you guys cna see the land and where we are looking to make this project.
Mil gracias a esos que estan leyendo esta informal explicacion de nuestro projecto.

Mirador · #10 05-23-2007, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chola1978

.... but after further research we found that plant is as much a native to this land as the Platano,

Plantain is not native to this island. When Christopher Columbus "discovered" Hispaniola (known as Haiti or Quisqueya by the aboriginal Taino population), the plant was unknown. Plantain (and all its related varieties) originated in Asia, India and Malasia to be exact, then it entered Africa through Zanzibar and Madagascar. It would have been a blessing if Dominicans were never brought into contact with Platano. Didn't you know that plantain (musaceas) contains a substance, known as "bruteína" that has the capacity of lowering the intelligence quotient (IQ) of people who ingest it?

Do you know that if errant goats, cows, or other farm animals feed on your Jatropha plants and die, you could be liable? Do you need insurance?