Jatropha

''Jatropha is a plant native to Central America that was taken to India 400 years ago by Portuguese sailors to be planted there as “living fences.” The plant is very thick and hearty, drought tolerant, grows in marginal soil, and is not palatable to insects or animals or suitable for human consumption. It therefore served perfectly as an inexpensive fence to keep insects and animals out of crop land. The Indian farmers also found that the nuts of the jatropha could be ground up to provide a source of lamp oil. Over a period of 400 years, the Indian farmers selectively bred higher oil yielding varieties.

As part of an international project funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development and the U.S. Trade Development Agency, Biodiesel Industries was commissioned to research jatropha as a feedstock, and was able to discover some of the most oil-rich jatropha varietals in India. Seeds from these prime varietals were brought back to the U.S. under a special USDA permit for test plots in various geographic areas, including Santa Barbara, California. These test plots are being used to selectively breed a cold tolerant varietal of jatropha better suited for the coastal California climate. Using these new varietals, there is the potential for growing enough jatropha in Santa Barbara County alone to produce about 30 million gallons of biodiesel per year''

http://www.biodieselindustries.com/

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