Abstract

Jatropha curcas L., a toxic species that does not interfere with the food chain, produces biodiesel of better environmental quality than mineral oils. However, in order to cultivate it sustainably, it is necessary to optimize the limited resources used, mainly water and soil. Therefore, in arid areas, it is necessary to cultivate under intensive conditions, irrigate with reclaimed water and cut production costs. To optimize water consumption, partial root-zone drying (PRD), which keeps a part of the root system dry, was used. This water management strategy, employed successfully in other oil crops, yielded less fruit per bunch, but more fruit bunches per plant. This fact will probably allow to establish higher planting density and, consequently, higher productivity per surface unit. This is one of the few available options for improving profitability as production per tree is stable (1.25 kg seed plant−1 year−1 for the most productive trees, with excellent climate and soil, and no limitations water use). A high percentage of fruit lying on the ground (24%) and non-uniform timing in fruit production (except some specimens) greatly hinder its mechanization. Although this crop’s environmental and socio-economic benefits are not taken into account, it is very difficult, with only the calculated water consumption (15.5 m3 water per L of oil or 5.6 m3 water per L of oil according to our best estimations), to consider it a profitable option.

Highlights

  • Cultivating Jatropha curcas L., a toxic species that does not interfere with the food chain, can provide renewable fuel for the transport sector, a sector that accounts for one third of energy consumption in Spain [1]

  • This study obtained an average yield of 1200 kg seed/ha

  • Seed yield did not increment as a result of alternative irrigation (PRD)

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Summary

Introduction

Cultivating Jatropha curcas L., a toxic species that does not interfere with the food chain, can provide renewable fuel for the transport sector, a sector that accounts for one third of energy consumption in Spain [1]. A limited, non-renewable resource, is another productive factor to be optimized if we wish to find an enviro-friendly solution. The intensive cultivation of this species by using reclaimed water and irrigation techniques to achieve optimized production is the only option that has appeared in developed countries. Very little information is available about how to address Jatropha curcas cultivation under these particular conditions because its high genetic variability [2] makes carrying out such studies difficult. Some recent publications have provided information on its response to drip irrigation with reclaimed water [3,4] under dry conditions

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