------------------------------------------------------------------------ Goanetters visiting Viva Goa 2006 in Toronto, Canada on July 29, can use the BMX booth as a meeting point. Please list your name on the message board that will be provided, courtesy of BMX.
http://bmxgoa.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Burning Bush BIO-DIESEL FROM JATROPHA By Miguel Braganza Some childhood memories never burn out no matter how old one grows! I can still remember seeing the live fence of grey-green poles with light pista green leaves that surrounded our neighbours kitchen garden. As children, we would break off a leaf and collect the clear sap in a seashell or a bottle cap. A loop made at the slender end of a broom stick completed the kit required to blow soap bubbles. The soapy sap of this shrub was a legend that was revisited when I joined Goa government service. The motor vehicles had graduated from handle cranked engines to self-start but the windscreen wipers were still of the old technology. During the monsoons, water dripped into the Government jeeps and short circuited the motor of the wind screen wipers. One would be stranded if not for this not uncommon , if not ubiquitous, bio-fence shrub. Rann Eronn is what the jeep drivers called it. It was the same shrub that helped us blow bubbles earlier in life. Much later did I hear the name Jatropha curcas. Now everyone is talking about it as if money grows on trees. Jatropha is a drought resistant perennial growing shrub, non demanding, tolerant to extremes, suitable to tropical and non tropical climate and considerable climatic changes. It grows very easily and lives producing seeds for nearly 50 years. It is known by different names: in Hindi it is called Ratanjyot or Jangli Erandi, in Malyalam it is Katamanak, shile in Tamil it becomes Kattamanakku. Called as Pepalam in Telegu, its name in Kannada is Kadaharalu. To the Gujarati it is Jepal,and in Sanskrit it is listed as Kanana Randa . This plant species can be grown on low fertility, marginal, fallow, waste and other lands such as along the canals, road railway tracks, on borders of farmers field as boundary fence/ hedge in the arid / semiarid areas and even on alkaline soils. Jatropha is easy to be established in nurseries, grows relatively quickly and is hardy. Jatropha seeds are easy to collect as they are ready to be plucked before the rainy season and as the plants are not very tall. Being rich in nitrogen, the seed cake is an excellent sources of plant nutrients. A seedling will start yielding seeds after a year of its plantation. It is planted 2m x 2m and 2500 plants can be grown in 1 hectare 20 % of the plants transferred from a nursery would need to be replaced taking into account the usual rate of mortality of plantations. Jatropha can survive with minimum inputs and propagates easily. Flowering occurs during the wet season and two flowering peaks are generally seen. The seeds mature about three months after flowering. Oil yield per hectare is among the highest of tree borne oil seeds. Seed production ranges from about 0.4 tons per hectare per year to over 12 t/ha. From 2nd year onwards Jatropha cultivation generates an income of Rs. 25,000/- per hectare Seeds have an oil content of 37% by weight. Jatropha Oil can be combusted as fuel without being refined.It burns with clear smoke free flame.It has been tested successfully as fuel for simple diesel engine. One oil expeller requires for minimum 100 hectares of Jatropha plantation. Oil extraction is almost 91%. One esterification plant is required for crop on 1000 hectares. 1.05 Kg of oil is required to produce 1 kg of biodiesel . Cost of biodiesel varies between Rs. 14.98 - 16.59 per litre. Recovery from sale of Glycerol, a byproduct from Biodiesel is, Rs. 40 to 60 Kg. The other possible industrial uses of Jatropha oil are for tanning, candle making, soap manufacture, varnish, cosmetics, different types of non-edible oils and fertilizer. Jatropha can easily be used as a live fence once more in Goa. There is a growing awareness that fossil fuels will not last forever, and even if they do, there is a heavy price to pay. Fr. Inacio Almeida, sfx, of Pilar Nature Farm, R.U.P Desai of Vikas Nursery and a few other enterprising souls have raised Jatropha nurseries in Goa. The Forest Department has schemes of the NOVOD board to promote Jatropha cultivation. Time we all rose to the occasion and planted Jatropha in fallow alnds and to demarcate our property boundaries. Metal fences rust with the rain, Live fences grow stronger. (ENDS) Miguel Braganza's column at: http://www.goanet.org/index.php?name=News&file=article&sid=482 ============================================================================== The above article appeared in the July 21, 2006 edition of Gomantak Times, Goa _______________________________________________ Goanet mailing list Goanet@lists.goanet.org http://lists.goanet.org/listinfo.cgi/goanet-goanet.org