The biofuel industry is finding it tough to remain in business, with both government pricing and raw material availability working against them.
The government, on its part, has launched a massive programme to develop high-yielding varieties of jatropha, a plant that can grow in wastelands across India, to meet the severe raw material shortage for the green fuel industry.
After what seems a failed experiment of Tughlaqian proportions that saw the Indian railways spending several lakhs on planting crores of jatropha trees along its railway tracks, the ministry appears to have junked jatropha for producing bio-fuel.
New Delhi: Soon, one might see cultivation of plants like Jatropha and Karanja for biofuel production in the Ridge area and along all major drains in the city. Chief minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday said that the government would study the viability of the proposal to ensure that no agricultural land is given up for growing these crops.
JAIPUR: Experts attending a zonal consultation on bio-fuel for semi-arid eastern plains of Rajasthan here over the week-end called for evolving a balance between the commercial production of bio-fuel bearing plants such as jatropha and the use of common land, crucial for the rural poor, for their cultivation.
Effect of auxins (IAA, IBA and NAA) and vitamin B1 (thiamine) on rooting response of branch cuttings and air-layers of Jatropha curcas during spring and monsoon seasons was studied. Spring season was found best for clonal multiplication of genetically superior material in jatropha. Cuttings treated with 600 and 800 mg l
The existing Jatropha curcas in the country exhibit varying degrees of success in terms of seed oil yield and susceptiblity to pest and diseases. Hence, an intensive hybridization programme has been attempted between Jatropha curcas and other Jatropha species to develop new hybrids with higher yield potential and resistance to diseases. Among the interspecific crosses, the cross between J.
