Jatropha continues to generate headlines around the world and in leading business, environmental and scientific publications as one of the most sustainable and economically viable feedstocks for biofuels. Keep track of our latest news and events, as well as news about Jatropha.
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SG Biofuels Continues Advancements in Jatropha Research
In May 2009, SG Biofuels opened its Jatropha Genetic Resource Center, featuring the world’s largest, most diverse library of Jatropha genetic material – a necessary foundation for any crop improvement effort. Through its GRC, SG Biofuels is evaluating thousands of diverse accessions of Jatropha obtained from a range of geographical and climatic conditions from around the world. As of October 2009, the GRC now contains more than 6,000 distinct accessions of Jatropha.
The traits the company is focused on at the GRC are those that increase the profitability of the grower, such as:
a. Yield
b. Vigor
c. Synchronous flowering
d. Fruit & Seed size
e. Pest resistance
f. Cold-tolerance
Additional traits are related to any aspect of decreasing the grower’s cost. Yield is important, but equally important are traits that will decrease the agronomic inputs. For example:
1. Improved fertilizer uptake and utilization
2. Improved water use efficiency
3. Flood tolerance
4. Insect resistance, viral and fungal disease resistance
Through its research, the company recently disclosed the identification of 10 cold-tolerant ecotypes, capable of thriving in climates previously thought to be outside of the crop’s preferred subtropical habitat. The strains were collected from various sites in Central America at elevations ranging from 1,600 meters (5,200 feet) to over 1800 meters (about 6,000 feet), where the average daily low temperature between December and February are typically around 45 degrees Fahrenheit, and nightly temperatures can fall well below freezing.
Utilizing the strains, the company has initiated a breeding program to develop Jatropha as an oil-producing crop in colder climates of the United States.
“To find a collection of strains that thrive at higher elevations with considerably lower temperatures provides us with a tremendous opportunity to utilize these naturally cold adapted ecotypes to breed new varieties that will perform well in colder climates,” said Dr. Robert Schmidt, chief scientist for SG Biofuels.
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