Cultivating Jatropha

MANILA, Philippines—High crude oil prices and global warming are pushing governments and businesses to develop biofuels—alternative fuels from renewable sources like crops, plant fiber, trees, poultry litter, animal waste and the biodegradable component of solid waste.

Biofuels include bioethanol, biodiesel and fuels from biomass. Bioethanol is a light alcohol produced by fermenting starch or sugar from sugarcane, corn, cassava and nipa. Biodiesel is fuel extracted from plant oils like jatropha, palm, soy, rapeseed and coconut.

Signed into law in January, the Biofuels Act, or Republic Act No. 9367, mandates the use of biofuels in the Philippines. The law requires that a minimum of 1 percent of biodiesel blend be sold within three months of its effectivity and at least 2 percent within two years.

To meet the demand for biodiesel, the government through the Philippine National Oil Co.-Alternative Fuels Corp. is setting jatropha nurseries and plantations. PNOC-AFC is planning to build a refinery to process oil extracted from jatropha and a petrochemical complex in Limay, Bataan to produce biodegradable polyurethane from the plant.

Jatropha curcas is seen as a promising plant for making biofuel because it can grow on poor land and is less likely to displace food crops.

Q. What is jatropha?A. Jatropha, commonly known as physic or purging nut, is a non-edible oil-yielding perennial shrub that has green leaves with a length and width of 6 centimeters (cm) to 15 cm, and can reach a height of up to 5 meters. It originated in tropical America and West Asia.
Jatropha comes from the Greek words: jatros (doctor) and trophe (nutrition). It belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae.It is known locally as tuba-tuba. Others call it tagumbao, tawa-tawa, kalunay, kasla and tangan-tangan.

Q. Are there different types of jatropha?A. The genus jatropha has 176 species distributed throughout the world. Twelve species can be found in India.

Q. What type of weather is ideal for jatropha?A. Jatropha grows in tropical and subtropical regions. It is drought-resistant.

Q. What type of soil is ideal for jatropha?A. Jatropha can be planted in any kind of soil. It can grow even in highly degraded and marginal areas. However, low yields have been recorded in low rainfall areas while it can be grown with higher yields in high-rainfall or irrigated areas.

Q. What are the uses ofjatropha?A. Jatropha is used as purgative, pesticide, soap and fuel oil for lighting and cooking.

Because of its strong root system, jatropha can grow almost everywhere. It can hold water and survive the driest season. It is, thus, useful in reforestation and soil rehabilitation, and in preventing soil erosion.

In the Philippines, it is mainly used as a live fence for protection of agricultural fields from damage by livestock. As a non-edible plant, it is an effective barrier between livestock and crop fields; thus, the local name tubang bakod.

Q. Is it true that jatropha has medicinal properties?A. Yes. Jatropha has long been used as folk medicine.

The nut itself is used as a purgative and laxative, hence, “physic nut,” its common name in English.Among other uses, jatropha’s seed oil can be applied to treat eczema and skin diseases and to soothe rheumatic pain (Heller, 1996). Leaves are regarded as antiparasitic, applied to scabies (Hartwell, 1967-1971). Latex applied topically to bee stings (Watt and Breyer-Brandwijk, 1962). Cameroon natives use the leaf decoction for arthritis (Watt and Breyer-Brandwijk, 1962). Venezuelans take the root decoction for dysentery (Morton, 1981).

Q. What is the productive life of jatropha?A. Jatropha has a productive life of 35 to 50 years. It starts flowering a year after planting.

Jatropha produces seeds within the first year of planting. Seeds for replanting can be gathered when the fruits are already yellow to dark brown. Seeds that are black and dry can already be used for oil extraction.

Q. What does a jatropha seed contain?A. A jatropha seed contains 18 percent protein, 8 percent moisture, 35 percent fat, 17 percent carbohydrates, 16 percent fiber and 6 percent ash.

Q. How much oil can be extracted from a jatropha seed?A. The oil content varies from 30 to 40 percent. A good quality kernel yields 40 to 58 percent.

With irrigation, fertile soil, favorable climatic conditions and the right choice of seeds, jatropha can achieve six to eight tons of oil per year.

Q. How does one extract oil from jatropha?A. The process of producing biodiesel from jatropha starts with oil extraction. Oil from the seeds of jatropha is separated from the seed kernel and seed shell using mechanical or solvent extraction method.

One can easily extract oil from jatropha by using a presser-expeller.It has been estimated that for a presser-expeller to be economically viable and have continuous supply of jatropha nut, 5,000 hectares of land should be planted with jatropha.The yield is about 1 liter of oil for every three kilos of seeds. The oil is then refined to produce biodiesel. This process of converting jatropha oil into biodiesel fuel is called transesterification.

For inquiries on presser-expeller, you may contact Prof. Rex D. Demafelis, national president of the Philippine Institute of Chemical Engineers, and chair of the Chemical Engineering Department of UP Los Baños, at 0919-2651816.Plans for the establishment of three biodiesel processing plants and a central biofuels terminal facility are now underway in Philippine National Oil Co.-Alternative Fuels Corp.’s industrial park in Bataan. For inquiries, you may get in touch with the PNOC-AFC park manager at 0928-4303006.

Q. Can one use jatropha oil to power a stove?A. Yes. After about two years of pilot testing in the towns of Baybay and Onopacan as well as in Ormoc and Tacloban cities in Leyte province, a stove powered entirely by plant oil is now commercially available in Leyte, and eventually, in other parts of the country.Apart from jatropha, coconut oil can be used, which is abundant in Leyte and Samar.

Dr. Roberto C. Duarte, project director of Protos stove, developed by BSH Bosch and Siemens Hausgerate GmbH in partnership with Leyte State University, said that nearly 200 households and small restaurants were using the stove.

Protos is safe. Its emission is not hazardous to health. It is likewise not flammable under normal room conditions compared with other gases. Thus, it is less prone to fire. It does not have soot compared with a petroleum-based stove.The single burner stove is being sold for P2,000, while the double burner can be bought at P3,500.

For more information about Protos, you may contact Dr. Roberto C. Guarte, project director of the Plant Oil Stove Project-Philippine Component, College of Engineering and Agri-Industries, Leyte State University in Baybay, Leyte. You may e-mail him at guarte_rc@yahoo.com.

Q. What are the effects of jatropha biodiesel on the environment?A. The use of jatropha biodiesel reduces air pollution because it has zero sulfur emission.

Tests by the United States Environment Protection Agency have shown that the use of biodiesel almost completely eliminates life-cycle carbon dioxide emissions. It is neutral in its net addition to global warming because whatever carbon dioxide (CO2) released in combustion is sequestered while growing the crop.

Indeed, jatropha plantations that sequester CO2 are sources of “CO2 emission credits” that could be purchased by countries that are unable to cut their CO2 emission reduction targets.

This is in line with the Kyoto Protocol.

Q. Is the Philippines ideal for the cultivation of jatropha?A. Yes. In 2006, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) studied the potential of jatropha as biodiesel feedstock in the Philippines. It found that the country has sufficient arable areas, and favorable climatic conditions with adequate rainfall. These account for large feedstock production every year.

Q. Does the Philippines have a sufficient area for jatropha cultivation to meet the various biodiesel blends?

A. Yes. Based on 2006 FAO estimates, the country has a sufficient area for jatropha cultivation vis-à-vis the total area required for jatropha plantation to meet the various biodiesel blends (1 percent, 2 percent, 5 percent, 10 percent and 20 percent).

Q. Is there a market for jatropha?A. Yes. With the enactment of the Biofuels Act of 2006, the local demand for biodiesel is expected to increase to about 78 million liters in 2007, with a minimum of 1-percent blend; and 167 million liters by 2009 at 2-percent blend.

Q. How does one start to propagate jatropha?A. Jatropha is normally propagated through main propagation (seeds or vegetative cuttings) and micro-propagation or tissue culture.Seeds. Healthy seeds are selected for raising seedlings. Before sowing, seeds are soaked in water for 12 hours and seeds are subsequently sown in 10 cm x 20 cm polyethylene bags filled with soil, sand and organic fertilizer at a ratio of 1:1:1.

Raising seedlings in polyethylene bags can accelerate the initial growth of a plantation by at least four months. Four-month-old seedlings can be planted in fields.

Vegetative cuttings. Jatropha can also be propagated through cuttings. Normally, five roots are formed from a jatropha seed, one central (tap root) and four peripheral. Cuttings, when planted, do not form a tap root.Proper care is required in selecting the cuttings, which should be at least one-year-old and about 60-cm long.

For seedling propagation, cuttings can also be planted in polyethylene bags.Tissue culture. Mass multiplication of high-yielding varieties is possible only through tissue culture. Once high-yielding varieties are identified, millions of propagules can be multiplied through tissue culture. Such plants possess certain advantages like uniformity in yield and oil content and homogeneity in all respects.

The research work on the development of suitable protocol for mass multiplication of elite jatropha has been initiated in India about two years ago. The standardization of protocol is in progress.

Q. Where are PAFC’s jatropha nurseries and plantations?A. The PNOC-AFC, in partnership with the Department of National Defense-Armed Forces of the Philippines (DND-AFP) has established a 500-hectare jatropha meganursery cum plantation in Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija.

Talks have been undertaken to link with the Department of Justice to establish another pilot plantation at the Iwahig Penal Colony in Palawan. Coron, Busuanga and Culion are considered potential sites for jatropha plantation.

PNOC-AFC’s land consolidation in Mindanao is ongoing, and about 1.2 million hectares classified as ancestral or private lands have been identified by the company so far as potential areas for jatropha plantation.

A thorough assessment is ongoing in terms of tenurial instruments covering these areas, availability of labor and basic infrastructure, climatic conditions and soil quality, among others.

Q. What is the ideal land area for planting jatropha?A. The planting density of 2,500 plants per hectare at 2 m x 2 m spacing has been found to be optimal under rain-fed conditions.
Recent experiences in India showed that spacing of 2 m x 3 m accommodating 1,667 plants per hectare is more suitable as it provides sufficient area to undertake inter-cropping and allows easy harvesting and collection of seeds.

It was also observed that a 3 m x 3 m spacing can be followed if there is a sufficient irrigation facility and a well-distributed rainfall.The spacing of 2 m x 3 m and 3 m x 3 m will facilitate intercropping during the initial three years of plantation operations.If jatropha is to be planted as a hedge crop, the spacing of 1 m x 1 m may be adopted.

Q. How much does it cost to develop a plantation?A. Based on the Indian experience of a 2 m x 3 m spacing with about 1,667 seeds per hectare, a hectare costs about P50,000 to develop in the first two years.

Q. How many seeds are required in planting jatropha?A. The requirement has been estimated at 1,667 seedlings per hectare for a 2 m x 3 m spacing, and 2,500 seedlings per hectare for a 2 m x 2 m spacing.

Q. How does one go about in planting seedlings?A. Two-month-old seedlings should be planted in pits (45 cm x 45 cm x 45 cm) at specified spacings.Each pit is filled with organic fertilizer and soil mixture at 3:1 ratio (3 parts soil and 1 part organic fertilizer).

The basal application of fertilizer at the rate of 20 gram (g) urea, 120 g single super phosphate and 16 g murate of potash is mixed with soil and filled into the pits.Then the fertilizer is covered with topsoil in a hill-up manner to avoid erosion and the watering of the plants is done up to two weeks after transplanting.

For cuttings, the same procedure can be adopted provided that the stalk is transferred within five days after cutting.

Q. How much is the cost per seedling and per cutting?A. With very limited sources of jatropha sold locally, per seedling costs P10 to P15; per cutting P5 to P10.

Q. Is there a specific variety that could well reproduce enough seeds for the country?A. Jatropha is grown everywhere in the country and planting materials and seeds may be sourced nationwide.

Varieties from other countries likewise need to be assessed to determine, among others, its impact on local biodiversity.

Q. How does one maintain a jatropha plantation?A. To harness the full potential yield of jatropha, plantations should be maintained by providing the required nutrients and need-based irrigation.

After reaching full growth, pruning should be done not only to achieve desired yield but also to give shape, proper aeration and light required by the plant.

Q. How many seeds are produced per hectare?A. The seed yield of jatropha will vary under different agro-climatic conditions and planting density. Seed yield varies from 5 metric tons (MT) to 7 MT per hectare.

A harvest of 5 MT per hectare on the average is expected under favorable conditions. The suitable intercrop may be undertaken during the initial years of plantation as this does not affect the yield of the jatropha.The average annual income of farmers from jatropha is estimated at P50,000 per hectare.

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