जत्रोफा लागवडीविषयी माहीती मराठीतुन घेण्याकरीता येथे क्लिक करा.

Among the many species, which can yield oil as a source of energy in the form of biodiesel, Jatropha curcas has been found most suitable due to its various favourable attributes like hardy nature, short gestation period, high oil recovery and quality of oil, etc. It can be planted on degraded lands through Joint Forest Management (JFM), farmer’s field boundaries, fallow lands and as agro forestry crop. Medically it is used for diseases like cancer, piles, snakebite, paralysis, dropsy etc. Jatropha grows wild in many areas of India and even thrives on infertile soil. A good crop can be obtained with little effort. Depending on soil quality and rainfall, oil can be extracted from the jatropha nuts after two to five years. The annual nut yield ranges from 0.5 to 12 tons. The kernels consist of oil to about 35 percent; this can be transformed into biodiesel fuel through Trans-esterification.

Family: Euphorbiaceae , Synonyms: Curcas purgans   Medic. Vernacular / common names: English- physic nut, purging nut; Hindi - Ratanjyot Jangli erandi; Marathi – Mogali Eranda; Malayalam - Katamanak; Tamil - Kattamanakku; Telugu - Pepalam; Kannada - Kadaharalu; Gujarathi - Jepal; Sanskrit - Kanana randa.

Description: Jatropha curcas belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae and is thus closely related to other important cultivated plants like rubber, castor etc. It is believed to be a native of South America and Africa but later spread to other continents of the world by the Portuguese settlers. The Arabs have been using this plant for medicinal purpose.  Today it is found in almost all the tropical and sub tropical regions of the world.