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Biomass Production of Jatropha Curcas L., a Comparison

M. M. Rahman
Institute of Fuel Research and Development (IFRD)

L. B. Banu
Institute of Fuel Research and Development (IFRD).

M. N. Uddin
Planning and Development and BCSIR Laboratories Dhaka, BCSIR, Dr. Qudrat-I-Khuda Road, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205 Bangladesh.

M. N. Begum
BCSIR Laboratories Dhaka, BCSIR, Dr. Qudrat-I-Khuda Road, Dhanmondi, Dhaka-1205 Bangladesh.

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

Height, weight of wood, vegetative growth rates in field and pot condition and a comparison of biomass of Jatropha curcas L. by using fertilizer and without fertilizer were studied. Results showed that although survival rate in pot condition was higher (58.06%) than that of field condition (49.14%), other biomass parameters were better in field condition. Average biomass of plants (dry weight) in pot condition was 62.09 g, and it was 209.28 g in field condition after one year. Associations among the parameters of biomass growth of the plant also studied here to show how the rate of change of length and diameter of stem, number of branches are interrelated in overall vegetative growth. Fertilizers used in the process of cultivation of J. curcas, better yield in terms of biomass production could be obtained than the condition where no fertilizer was used. Here on an average biomass of plants was 291.25 g without fertilizer and it was 683.75 g when fertilizers had been used. The extent of differences in all conditions are analyzed in the paper. Analysis and findings of this study might help to get information on better cultivation of J. curcas for mass production of this plant

Keywords: Jatropha curcas L., Vegetative growth, Biomass production, Fertilizer

Location:

Start Date: 00-03-2010

End Date: 00-08-2010

Program Area: Crop-Soil-Water Management

Commodity: Plant(s)

Objectives:

To show how the rate of change of length and diameter of stem, number of branches are interrelated in overall vegetative growth.

Methodology:

To compare biomass production of J. curcas, cultivation in (i) pot and field condition (experiment-1), and (ii) with and without utilization of fertilizers (experiment-2) was carried out. Experiment - 1 Stem cuttings were collected from Chittagong, Jessore, Sylhet and Thakurgaon districts of Bangladesh. The cuttings were 200 - 300 mm long with a diameter of 13.00 - 20.50mm. A total of 196 cuttings were planted in the research field at Institute of Fuel Research and Development (IFRD) of Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), Dhaka and 115 cuttings were sowed in earthen pot filled with soil. Stem cuttings used in the experiments were collected and planted in March, 2007. All together 311 cuttings were cultivated for comparing the biomass in two different conditions and to assess their variation. Preparation of research field and sowing of stem cuttings: The soil of the experimental field was a clay loam pH with 6.58. Range of annual humidity and temperature were 53- 92% and 14.5-35.0o C, respectively. The line to line distance was 1.5 m. Stem cuttings were sown in the soil at a depth of 4-6 cm and plant to plant spacing of plantation was 2 m. Watering was done four times per week in November to February and two times per week in March and April and no watering was done in May to October of the study period. Weeding and other cultural practices were done as and when necessary. Cuttings were observed regularly to find its bud initiation, growth rate and survival rate. After two years of plantation, data were collected on the basis of some important parameters like stem diameter, stem length, fresh weight of cuttings, dry weight, branch diameter, branch length and fresh weight and dry weight of branch cuttings from October, 2009. Preparation of earthen pots and sowing of stem cuttings The experiment was carried out in the earthen pot at IFRD, BCSIR, Dhaka. Air-dried soil with pH 6.40 was used in the earthen pot. Stem cuttings were sown in the soil at a depth of 6 cm in each earthen pot. Afterwards, the cuttings were examined daily for its bud initiation, growth rate and survival rate. Watering, weeding and data collection were done similarly to the field experiment as mentioned earlier. Finally, 32 plants from each of field and pot cultures were cut down for measuring length, diameter, fresh weight and dry weight. Experiment - 2 Field preparation, stem cutting and sowing, watering and weeding and all other cultivation procedures were performed in the same way as in the first experiment, but the study period was different. Here cuttings were collected and sowed in March, 2010 and after seven months of cultivation they were cut down, processed and data were collected in October, 2010. In this experiment, two different fields 50×60 m were used. In one field no fertilizers were used and in another field root hormone (3G)-3 kg/acre, Magnesium Sulphate (Follymag)-6 kg/acre, Borne-3.6 kg/acre, TSP, Urea and MP each 120 kg/acre were used. The collected data were analyzed statistically and mean, standard deviation and other calculations were evaluated considering 5% level of significance by SPSS (Statistical Package for Social Science), version 12

Source of Information: Bangladesh J. Sci. Ind. Res. 46(4), 533-538, 2011

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

From the present study it can be concluded that best growth performance of J. curcas in respect of vegetative and reproductive cultivation in field condition performed better than pot condition. It can also be concluded that the biomass growth of this plant is far more better if some fertilizers are being used in the field.

Knowledge Management: Journal