Curcas Plants Research Articles

Response Foliar Applied with Ascorbic Acid to Mitigate the Detrimental Impact of Lead Pollution in Water Irrigation on Jatropha curcas Plants

Response Foliar Applied with Ascorbic Acid to Mitigate the Detrimental Impact of Lead Pollution in Water Irrigation on Jatropha curcas Plants

QUALITATIVE STUDY OF CONTROLLING PEST OF JATROPHA CURCAS FOR LINEAR FUNCTIONAL RESPONSE

In today's world, Jatropha curcas plants are a renewable energy feedstock for producing biodiesel to overcome the limitations of natural fuel. The alternative fuel biodiesel can be produced from the Jatropha plant as its seeds contain oil which is one of the important resources for biodiesel. Despite being toxic to many insects and animals, the Jatropha curcas plant is not pest and disease-free. In view of this, our research article presents the formulation and analysis of a mathematical model that describes the Jatropha plantation along with a prediction to control its natural pests by biological pesticides. We assume linear functional response of predators for susceptible pests, and infected pests as infected pests are weaker than susceptible pests and easy to catch. The dynamics of the system around each of the ecologically feasible equilibria are studied. The reduction of disease eradication and coexistence of predator and pest are observed around the predator-free and disease-free equilibrium respectively.

Role of the whitefly maturation period on mosaic disease propagation in Jatropha curcas plant

Mosaic disease in Jatropha curcas plants is caused by begomoviruses carried by whitefly vectors, and only mature vectors can transmit the virus. In this study, a mathematical model is developed for the dynamic analysis of the spread of mosaic disease in the J. curcas plantation, accounting for the whitefly maturation period as a time delay factor. The existence conditions and stability of the equilibrium points have been studied with qualitative theory. The basic reproduction number, R0, is determined to study the stability of the disease-free equilibrium with respect to it. Transcritical bifurcation of the disease-free equilibrium and Hopf bifurcation of the endemic equilibrium are also analyzed. Using numerical simulations, the analytical findings are verified and discussed the different dynamical behaviors of the system. In this research, the stabilizing role of maturation delay has been established. That means when maturation time is large, disease will be transmitted when the infection rate is high.

Antioxidant activity, total phenol contents, and antimacrobial activity of two Yemeni medicinal plants belongs to Euphorbiaceae family(Jatropha curcas and Euphorbia Cactus Ehrenb

Jatropha curcas and Euphorbia Cactus Ehrenb plants which belonging to Euphorbiaceae family is employed to cure different infections in traditional folklore medicine. Antioxidant activity and total phenol contents (TPCs) for latex of this two plants were analyzed and examined its antimicrobial effect. Both plants showed high antioxidant activity and highly phenolic contents. Positive correlation between antioxidant activity and total phenol has been noted. Jatropha curcas latex demonstrated significant inhibition against the test microorganisms.

Role of algae in alleviated salinity effect on Jatropha curcas plants

This study was carried out at green house on National Research Centre during two successive seasons of 2020-2021 in Giza governate. The aim objective of this work was to investigate the effect of spraying different levels of algae (0, 10 and 15%) on vegetative growth and chemical constituents of Jatropha curcas L. seedlings grown under various salinity concentrations (0, 2000, 4000 and 6000 ppm). Our results showed that, spraying algae at 15% increased both of (plant height, leaves number/plant, stem diameter, root length, branches number/plant, main flowers number/plant, sub-main flowers number/plant, fresh and dry weight of stem, leaves and roots, chlorophyll a, b, a+b and carotenoids, protein contents and total carbohydrates percentage), while a significant reduction in all the same parameters, were occurred by using high salinity level (6000 ppm). The combined proline and phenols contents decreased by using 10 or 15% algae, compares of treated as the control. The results suggested that Jatropha curcas L. seedlings benefited the application of algae especially under salinity concentrations grown in sandy soil.

Role of algae in alleviated salinity effect on Jatropha curcas plants

Role of algae in alleviated salinity effect on Jatropha curcas plants

RESPONSE OF Jatropha curcas PLANTS TO EM WHEN GROWN IN SAND SOIL AMENDED WITH ORGANIC MATTER

This study consummated in the open field at the nursery of Hort. Res. Inst., A.R.C., Giza, Egypt during 2020 and 2021 seasons to explore the response of Jatropha curcas plants to EM (effective microorganisms) which was applied as soil drench at 3 ml/L, 5 times with one month interval. Plants cultured in 25-cm-diameter plastic pots filled with sand only as control (T1), sand + plant compost 10 % mixture (T2), T2 + EM (T3), sand + plant compost 20 % mixture (T4), T4 + EM (T5), sand + plant compost 30 % mixture (T6) and T6+ EM (T7). The obtained results showed that means of the different growth parameters ;expressed as: plant height, number of leaves / plant , leaf area , root length , as well as fresh and dry weights of stem, leaves and roots were ascending increased as the ratio of compost was increased in the soil especially with EM treatments compared to means of control in most cases of the two seasons, otherwise stem diameter trait, which progressively increased with the middle ratio of compost (20 %) and compost (20 %) + EM followed by the highest one (30 %) and (30%) + EM reached to the lowest values of compost (10 %) and (10 %) + EM over control in the first and second season. A similar trend was also obtained regarding the leaf content of chlorophyll a, b, carotenoids beside the percentages of N and total carbohydrates which were recorded the highest values with sand + compost (30%) subsequent sand + compost (20%) and sand + compost (10%) individually or with EM. Whereas, the leaf contents of P% and K% significantly increased in sand + compost (20%), (30 %) and then (10%) whether with EM or without. Hence, it can be recommended to drench EM (3 ml/l) in sand soil mixed with plant compost (30 %) in which J. curcas plants are grown to keep good growth and the best quality plant.

Promising applications of seedcake of Jatropha curcas plants: bioethanol production and bio-sorbent material for dye and heavy metal removal

Abstract Jatropha curcas L. as a member of Euphorbiaceae family had many copious applications due to its richness content of oil, cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin. Therefore, this work was directed to increase the value of the seedcakes of Jatropha curcas by their applications in bioethanol production and removal of methylene blue dye (MB) as well as hexavalent chromium Cr (VI) from contaminated wastewater. The seedcakes sources were collected from different irrigation treatments: tap water (1), sewage water (2), sewage water and sludge (3), sewage water and sludge sprayed with tap water, 100, 200, 300, and 400 ppm of chlorocholine chloride (cycocel or abbreviated as CCC), (4), (5), (6), (7), and (8), respectively. Results showed that sewage water only (2) and the combination between sewage water and sludge irrigation (3) produced the highest ethanol quantity (4.59 & 5.15 ml/l, respectively) after the fermentation of the hydrolysates by Candida tropicalis Y-26. In respect to CCC spraying, the maximum ethanol concentration (5.57 ml/l) was achieved from Jatropha curcas seedcake irrigated with CCC at a concentration of (300 ppm). In the other application, a preliminary screening experiment was demonstrated for the different forms of Jatropha curcas seedcake and results revealed that the Jatropha curcas seedcake irrigated with sewage water only (2) achieved the highest removal efficiencies of 78.8% and 41% for MB and Cr (VI), respectively. After that, the optimization process stated the optimum parameters; Jatropha curcas seedcake dose of 15 and 5 g/l, conc. 50 ppm, pH 7 and 5, and contact time 240 & 120 min were the optimum factors that achieved high (methylene blue (MB)) and hexavalent chromium [Cr (VI)] removal efficiencies, respectively. Langmuir isotherm and the pseudo-first-order model were stated as selected models that explain the adsorption mechanism of MB and Cr by Jatropha curcas seedcake.

In vitro study of virus new strain JLCuGV infected nodal explants and production of planting material through meristem culture from virus-infected Jatropha curcas plants

Abstract Jatropha curcas is an important biodiesel plant as its seed contains 27–40% oil. The virus infection causes adverse effects on plant growth, and yield. The present study was carried out to develop plantlets from virus-infected plants using meristematic cultures. Cultures were also raised using nodal explant to figure out culture loss caused by the new strain of Jatropha leaf curl Gujarat virus (JLCuGV). Poor (48.3 ± 15.1 %) shoot bud induction was noted in virus-infected explants on MS medium supplemented with 6-benzylaminopurine (BAP) and Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Severe culture loss was noted upon subsequent sub-cultures of nodal explants. Apical meristem (MC) developed the highest (86.3 ± 12.5 %) shoot bud induction on Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/L Thidiazuron (TDZ). Best results in shoot proliferation and elongation were achieved on 1.0 mg/L BAP, 1.5 mg/L IAA and 0.5 mg/L Gibberellic acid (GA3) containing medium with 9.9 ± 1.7 number of shoot buds of 5.2 ± 0.5 cm shoot length. It was interesting to note that the rooting percentage was not affected by virus infection. Shoots obtained from virus-infected and meristem cultures rooted well without any significant difference in rooting percentage. It was known by the study that the generation of planting material from virus-infected plants was possible with meristem explants but recalcitrant with nodal explants.

Non-destructive allometric models for leaf area prediction of Jatropha curcas L.

Jatropha curcas received a lot of attention as a biodiesel feedstock in several countries around the world. The leaf area (LA) estimation is important for biological research due to its close relationship to soil fertility, plant physiological parameters, and photosynthetic efficiency. Allometric models for reliable and accurate models for estimating the leaf area of Jatropha curcas plants based on non-destructive measurements of leaf length (L), width (W), and/ or leaf margins length (P) were developed. Jatropha plant leaves were randomly selected for model construction to estimate the leaf area using L, W, and P leaf values. Simple and accurate equations were obtained, based on leaf width (AL = W1.795), R2 = 0.987, rib length (AL = L32.081), R2 = 0.989, width and rib length (AL = LW0.320), R2 = 0.997, rib length and leaf periphery segment (AL = LP1P120.274), R2 = 0.995, and half rib and width length (AL = LW/0.50.467), R2 = 0.994. The equations were accurate for estimating leaf area of small, medium, and large size of Jatropha leaves.

Analysis of growth, yield and control of Cophes notaticeps and Polyphagotarsonemus latus in Jatropha curcas plants under different doses of silicon

The present study aims to evaluate the effects of Si on growth, yield and resistance of Jatropha curcas plants to Cophes notaticeps and Polyphagotarsonemus latus. The study was carried out in two consecutive years with J. curcas plants with 3 years old in 3x2 m spacing. The assays were set up with randomized complete block design with five concentrations (0, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mM L-1) and five replications. It was set up another experiment in a greenhouse following completely randomized factorial design 5x2 with five silicon concentrations (0, 10, 20, 40 and 80 mM L-1) and two water supply: daily irrigation with water volumes according to 50% and 100% of evapotranspiration, six replications and one plant per plot. The present study allows clarifying that J. curcas plants are non-accumulating plants, for accumulating less than 1% of silicon in the leaves. The low accumulation of silicon in the leaves did not significantly inferred in growth of J. curcas, however, the reduction of specific leaf area possibly occurred by the formation of a thin silica layer and reduced the yield by the decrease sunlight absorption. The silicon did not mitigated the damages by Cophes notaticeps and Polyphagotarsonemus latus by the low ability of the plant to accumulate silicon, however, is possible to affirm that the injuries severity by Cophes notaticeps is proportional to stem diameter.

Morphophysiology of Jatropha curcas L. plants under different water regimes

The effect of different water regimes on Jatropha curcas seedling growth was investigated. The study was carried out in a greenhouse covered with transparent plastic. Seeds were sown in five-liter recipients containing substrate consisting of 3:1:0.5 soil, sand and manure, respectively. A completely randomized plot design was used with seven treatments and five replications. The plants were irrigated with 100% substrate retention capacity until 30 days of age when they were submitted to water volumes of 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%, 125%, 150% and 175% substrate retention capacity for 30 days. The short duration of the research explains the slight decreases in the RMR and TRA but they were sufficient to support the assertion that excess water may have inhibited aquaporin activity and partially reduced soil solution absorption and TRA. Thus, both water deficit and excess water inhibited the growth of J. curcas plants, however, the water deficit inhibited more strongly the development of the species at the initial stages of the restriction, while excess water only caused damage after a longer period of exposure. The assessments were made when the plants were 60 days old. The J. curcas plants showed an isohydric mechanism of stomatal control and maintained turgidity under water shortage, and, under excess water, the alterations in the root system and relative water content preceded reduction in stomatal conductance. The initial growth of J. curcas plants was shown to be sensitive to water shortage and but not very vulnerable to water excess

Importance of brassinosteroids in activating the antioxidant system and growth in Jatropha curcas L. plants under water deficit

Climatic changes and drought reduced plant growth and development. Brassinosteroids act in maintaining turgor and plant growth, increasing tolerance to water stress. The objective of the present study was to identify the effect of brassinosteroids in reducing stresses caused by water deficit in Jatropha curcas L. plants. The study was carried out in a greenhouse at the State University of Goiás, in a completely randomized block design in a factorial 2 × 5 arrangement (plants submitted to five brassinosteroids concentrations (0, 2, 4, 8, 16 mg L-1) and two levels of daily water supply (50% and 100% evapotranspiration) six replications and the plot consisted of one useful plant. A 10 mL volume of the hormone was applied 30 days after emergence and 20 mL at 60 days after emergence, totaling 30 ml. The water deficit was imposed at 70 days after emergence and the evaluations were made at 100 d after emergence. Under water deficit, production increased of reactive substances that damage membranes and proteins, but brassinosteroids played an important role in mitigating the deleterious effects of water deficit on J. curcas plants by acting as an elicitor in activating photoprotection mechanisms that increased vegetative growth and maintained membrane integrity. The antioxidant and growth machinery activation reached maximum points at the 8 mg L-1 brassinosteroids concentration and even higher concentrations

Leaf morphophysiological changes induced by long-term drought in Jatropha curcas plants explain the resilience to extreme drought

Jatropha curcas plants were cultivated during 4 months in pots containing soil at 90% of field capacity (FC), in permanent drought at 30% of FC and in extreme drought without any irrigation. The permanent drought clearly resulted in significant reductions of 43% on spongy parenchyma thickness and increase of 170% on stomatal index and 80% in photosynthetic pigments content. The measurements of leaf gas showed that growing in permanent drought condition resulted in decreases of 38% on net CO2 assimilation rate, 81% on stomatal conductance, 69% on transpiration, 30% on intercellular carbon concentration (Ci) and reductions on the capacity to refresh leaves. The plants subjected to extreme drought took a period of 12 days of re-irrigation to recover values of CO2 assimilation and stomatal conductance similar to well-irrigated plants. Some of these morphophysiological changes look as though not to directly result from drought, but from secondary variations unleashed by stomatal closure and intensified by long duration of stressful conditions. This seems to result in plants photosynthetically more efficient with competitive advantage in arid situations. Besides these variations, it was possible to show and evaluate the resilience and extreme tolerance of these plants to survive in harsh environment.

English

Jatropha curcas is a tree species introduced in Niger as a trial experiment to offset land degradation and for biofuel production. The objective of this study is to contribute to the understanding of this species’ potential for adaptation under the edaphic and climatic conditions of Niger through analysis and modeling of the leaf area dynamics. The nondestructive method is used to evaluate the leaf area growth using four provenances and 120 samples of leaves of J. curcas plants. The results show that leaf area is optimal during the wet season of the year with non-significant difference (P > 0.05), while during other periods it is significant (P < 0.05) between provenances. The logarithmic model is the most accurate, and the models developed have a correlation coefficient between 0.95 and 0.99. The error analysis shows a mean absolute percentage of error between 5.92 and 27.43%, depending on the provenances. The accuracies of the developed models were appreciated, with root mean square of error varying from 0.72 to 2.06 cm2. Contrary to the expectation, for production of J. curcas in Niger’s Sahelian climate and soil, it is necessary to ensure additional irrigation water to the plants, especially during the dry period of the year. Key words: Exotic species, Jatropha curcas, adaptation, leaf area models, Niger.

In vitro regeneration and molecular characterization of Jatropha curcas plant

Background and objectiveA simple, rapid, efficient, and reproducible protocol for callus induction and regeneration of plantlets from callus of Jatropha curcas plant was established.Materials and methodsRandomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analyses were used to determine the genetic variation between the regenerated, micropropagated, and mother plants.ResultsThe highest callus induction percentage from leaf explant was recorded with MS medium containing 2.5 mg/l BA (6-benzylaminopurine) + 1.0 mg/l NAA (1-naphthaleneacetic acid). Leaf-derived callus was grown on medium containing 2.0 mg/l BA + 0.2 mg/l IBA (indole-3-butyric acid) for adventitious shoot regeneration. In addition, using five random RAPD primers with the tested samples produced 117 amplified products out of which 25 were polymorphic bands resulting in 21.37% polymorphism, whereas the five ISSR primers used yielded 116 scorable bands out of which 22 were polymorphic bands producing a polymorphism pecentage of 18.96.ConclusionAn optimized protocol for large-scale production of J. curcas plants using plant biotechnology tools was achieved. RAPD and ISSR techniques would introduce an alternative system for large-scale production and establishment of genetically stable plants.

UNRAVELING PHYSIOLOGICAL TRAITS OF Jatropha curcas, A BIODIESEL PLANT, TO OVERCOME SALINITY CONDITIONS

ABSTRACT Dry land systems spread all over the world and comprise 41.3% of the terrestrial area, which host 34.7% of the global population, so it is convenient to propose crops able to grow there. Jatropha curcas is a plant adapted to arid and semiarid regions as well as sub-humid conditions, being a potential source of biodiesel. The challenge is to understand the physiology of J. curcas, which enables it to live under saline and drought conditions. The seeds of J. curcas used came from Ciego de Ávila Province, Cuba. Seven-day-old seedlings were cultivated in 1.5 L pots with half strength Hoagland solution for 42 days under semi-controlled conditions. NaCl added to solutions in pots provided 75 or 150 mM treatments for 240 h before measurements. Leaf growth, net photosynthesis and stomatal pore area were affected by 150 mM NaCl. Non-photochemical quenching of leaves was only changed by 150 mM NaCl after 24 h; the electron transport rate had a tendency to decrease in leaves under saline conditions. The gene expression pattern changed for SOS1 and HKT1 according to the NaCl used in the medium, indicating active mechanism to deal with Na+ in the cell. In general, Cuban J. curcas plants were able to grow and perform photosynthesis under 75 mM NaCl, which represents 7 dS m-1, a condition that restricts growth for many plant species.

Metal Accumulation by Jatropha curcas L. Adult Plants Grown on Heavy Metal-Contaminated Soil.

Jatropha curcas has the ability to phytoextract high amounts of heavy metals during its first months just after seeding. Notwithstanding, there is scarce information about metal uptake by adult J. curcas plants. To shed light on this issue, 4-year-old J. curcas L. plants were planted in a soil mixture of peat moss and mining soil (high metals content), and the biomass growth and metal absorption during 90 days were compared with those of plants growing in peat moss. The main metal found in the mining soil was Fe (31985 mg kg−1) along with high amounts of As (23717 mg kg−1). After the 90-day phytoremediation, the plant removed 29% of Fe and 44% of As from the soil mixture. Results revealed that J. curcas L. translocated high amounts of metals to its aerial parts, so that translocation factors were much higher than 1. Because of the high translocation and bioaccumulation factors obtained, J. curcas L. can be regarded as a hyperaccumulator plant. Despite the great capacity of J. curcas L. to phytoremediate heavy-metal-contaminated soils, the main drawback is the subsequent handling of the metal-contaminated biomass, although some potential applications have been recently highlighted for this biomass.

Jatropha curcas growth and productivity under different phosphorus doses

As informações sobre as exigências nutricionais de J. curcas são extremamente importantes no desenvolvimento do manual de adubação para a espécie, pois não há estudos conclusivos com fósforo e a demanda nutricional para este elemento ainda é desconhecida. O presente estudo teve como objetivo identificar e recomendar a adequada adubação fosfatada para o crescimento e produtividade de plantas de J. curcas. Os experimentos foram conduzidos em dois anos utilizando plantas de J. curcas com quatro meses de idade implantadas no espaçamento de 4 x 2 m. Utilizou-se o delineamento em blocos casualizados em arranjo Split plot com cinco tratamentos (doses de fósforo iguais a 0, 75, 150, 225 e 300 Kg ha-1 de P2O5) nas parcelas e anos de avaliações nas sub parcelas, cinco repetições e parcela de duas plantas. O superfosfato triplo foi utilizado como fonte de fósforo (P2O5) e as doses foram parceladas em cinco aplicações mensais iniciadas no primeiro ano em novembro e no segundo ano em outubro logo após a primeira chuva. Os resultados justificam a necessidade de atenção especial a adubação fosfatada por interferir decisivamente no vigor e produtividade de grãos de plantas de J. curcas. O elevado número de estômatos e vigoroso crescimento vegetativo de plantas de J. curcas foram obtidos com adubação nas doses entre 180 e 225 kg ha1 de P2O5. Recomenda-se para a planta de J. curcas a adubação fosfatada na dose de 208 kg ha-1 de P2O5 para obtenção de produtividade em torno de 140 kg ha-1 de P2O5 no 1º ano de cultivo e 214 kg ha-1 de P2O5 para obtenção de produtividade em torno de 600 kg ha-1 de P2O5no 2º ano de cultivo.

Flower-Specific Overproduction of Cytokinins Altered Flower Development and Sex Expression in the Perennial Woody Plant Jatropha curcas L.

Jatropha curcas L. is monoecious with a low female-to-male ratio, which is one of the factors restricting its seed yield. Because the phytohormone cytokinins play an essential role in flower development, particularly pistil development, in this study, we elevated the cytokinin levels in J. curcas flowers through transgenic expression of a cytokinin biosynthetic gene (AtIPT4) from Arabidopsis under the control of a J. curcas orthologue of TOMATO MADS BOX GENE 6 (JcTM6) promoter that is predominantly active in flowers. As expected, the levels of six cytokinin species in the inflorescences were elevated, and flower development was modified without any alterations in vegetative growth. In the transgenic J. curcas plants, the flower number per inflorescence was significantly increased, and most flowers were pistil-predominantly bisexual, i.e., the flowers had a huge pistil surrounded with small stamens. Unfortunately, both the male and the bisexual flowers of transgenic J. curcas were infertile, which might have resulted from the continuously high expression of the transgene during flower development. However, the number and position of floral organs in the transgenic flowers were well defined, which suggested that the determinacy of the floral meristem was not affected. These results suggest that fine-tuning the endogenous cytokinins can increase the flower number and the female-to-male ratio in J. curcas.