Study of accession source variation in morpho-physiological parameters and growth performance of Jatropha curcas Linn.

Jatropha (Jatropha curcas Linn.) is a non-edible oilseed plant with adaptability to marginal semi-arid lands and wastelands. The Indian Government is promoting jatropha to reduce dependence on the crude oil and to achieve energy independence by the year 2012, under the National Biodiesel Mission. Adaptive trials on J. curcas were undertaken at the North East Institute of Science and Technology, Jorhat, Assam. The aim of the study was to determine source variation in J. curcas accessions collected from 17 states (34 locations) of India and to identify the best sources to be utilized for reforestation and future genetic improvement work. The evaluation of 34 cultivars revealed a good degree of variation for plant height, stem girth, branches per plant and 100 seed weight. The accessions have shown measurable growth responses, which were sufficient for a conclusive remark. Hence the present study was carried out with the respective first and second year growth performances. Variation in the physiological parameters of different sources was also studied. The pattern of variation exhibited for different characters was found to be different and varied with age. Such variation among different populations may be due to different intensities of natural selection acting upon the traits in their natural habitat. High 100 seed weight (142 g) was observed in one cultivar. The performance of Naharlagun (Arunachal Pradesh), Lamphelpat (Manipur), Dergaon (Assam) and Namsa (Nagaland) sources was satisfactory. The results indicate that genetic differences exist among accessions of J. curcas. The relative performance of these sources was fairly consistent throughout the observation period.