Jatropha has the potential productivity three times higher than soybeans - BRAZIL

Jatropha curcas is a raw material that can be used to scale extraction of oil for the manufacture of biodiesel, but it has features that need improvement. With a potential yield three times higher than that of soybean, jatropha requires modifications so that it can adapt to different regions of the country and is no longer toxic.

The need for a specific study on the species was presented at the 1st Brazilian Congress on Research in jatropha, sponsored by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply, in partnership with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) and the Brazilian Association of Producers of Jatropha (ABPPM). The meeting last week brought together researchers, technicians, teachers and students in Brasilia.

The main scientific goal is to tame the peanuts to be used in animal nutrition. Also need to make it resistant to pests and make the crop is uniform.

Currently, the production plant in Brazil is about 60 hectares of planted area. According to technical director ABPPM, Luciano Piovesan, the cultivation of jatropha is not exclusive or exclusive. "It's a plant that recovers even degraded soil."

Making pinion resistant to pests is one of the challenges of the scientific / Photo: Beedies
The interest in investing in jatropha is because it is rich in oil and fat and therefore has the potential source of biofuel production, according to the expert. Brazil needs to achieve the target set for the so-called B5. The plan released in October by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva for the addition of 5% biofuel to diesel consumed in the country, but for this, Brazil needs to produce 2.4 billion biodiesel.

Today, most of that demand comes mainly from soybean, sunflower, peanut, castor bean, cotton, canola and palm oil. "The biodiesel program in Brazil requires a great demand for oil. This means that we are taking these traditional species, "said the head of Embrapa Agro, Frederick Durães.

According Durães, in Brazil there are 22 million hectares of soybeans produces 60 million tons of grain annually. "The operation of the soybean seed is high, it presents in its constitution 18% of oil and this causes it to generate 550 kg per hectare," he said. In his view, this productivity was possible thanks to years of study for the soybean and therefore the importance of researching the benefits of jatropha.