Evaluation of Jatropha curcas Genotypes for Rehabilitation of Degraded Sodic Lands

Jatropha (Jatropha curcas L.) is recently introduced in several states as a source of biomass and bioenergy in India. It can withstand and survive on a wide range of soils. However, information related to identification of a genotype tolerant to certain levels of sodicity is lacking. Five Jatropha genotypes (BTP 1-K, BTP 1-N, BTP 1-A, GCC-1, and TNM-5) collected from different ecological regions of the country were screened and evaluated for three years (2007-2010) at Lucknow, India, in sodic soils having four (20, 40, 60, and 80) exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP) levels. A large variation in plant growth, seed yield, and oil content was observed among genotypes owing to sodicity levels. Plant mortality of all the genotypes increased significantly beyond ESP of 40. Among the genotypes screened, BTP 1-A recorded the maximum plant height (240cm), girth (340cm), biomass yield (1400 +/- 143kgplant(-1)), and number of fruits per plant (148) up to ESP 40. The highest seed oil content was found in BTP 1-K and BTP 1-N followed by BTP 1A and the minimum in TMN-5 and GCC-1. Soil amelioration in terms of soil pH, ESP, organic carbon, and microbial biomass was higher under genotype BTP 1-A than BTP 1-K, GCC-1, and TNM-5. Genotype BTP 1-A was found to be suitable for producing more biomass and bioenergy and rehabilitation of degraded lands. Copyright (c) 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.