Jatropha stacks up nicely compared with other feedstocks, as soybeans and rape — seed have a relatively low oil yield compared with Jatropha — 375 kg per hectare for soybeans in the United States (280 gallons per acre) and 1000 kg per hectare of rapeseed in Europe (740 gallons per acre) to 3 tonnes of oil per hectare of Jatropha (373 gallons per acre) in India. Good planning, quality planting material, stan­dardized agronomy practices, good crop management, and further research will increase yields substantially.

Prominent research centers in Jatropha are:

1. SG Biofuels, San Diego, California.

2. University of Hohenheim, Germany.

3. University of Wageningen — Plant Research, The Netherlands.

4. University of Sichuan, Chengdu, China.

5. Yunnan University, China (this university has even sent Jatropha seeds up in space — they created an aerospace nursery to change the DNA of Jatropha).

6. Reliance Life Sciences, India.

7. JOil, Singapore (a joint venture of Temasek, Toyota, and Tata).

The present seed yield standard is 6 tonnes per hectare in seeds, which can be pressed into 2 tonnes of crude Jatropha oil. On average there are 10 branches per tree. The yield is much lower if plantations are neglected. With progress in bio­technology the yields will increase substantially, thus making Jatropha plantations very profitable. I think in a few years time we will be able to harvest on a large scale at 12 tonnes of seeds per hectare, which produces 4 tonnes of crude Jatropha oil per hectare coming from 40-50 branches per tree.

3.1.22