For us Texas folks, here's a group that is doing an extensive test on 21 varieties of canola, mustard, rape and radish to produce biodiesel.  They are testing in 10 counties in the central, south central part of Texas.

http://www.txfb.org/NewsManager/templates/tfbnews.asp?articleid=2678&zoneid=1

thats a nice grant they have going on there. personally. I'll still to jatropha curcas. there are only a few other options to produce more oil per acre. and most of them are very heavy on all of the different processes.

jatropha seems by far to be the easiest.

and yes, im still looking for the land to grow it on. you should see my yard. a few JC here and there, and soon to be a LOT more.

Yeah, I was surprised JC wasn't in the test mix.   I've got a connection with the Texas Ag Extension who's participating in the study.  I'll find out why they didn't inlcude JC.  

i wish you would, that would be great info. I pass by TAMU's research site almost every day (depending on my route to and from work).

I think i'll drop by today and see what they have going on. I've been emailing Dr. Miller at TAMU, and a few prof's at Florida U. TAMU at least responds. nothing from florida yet.

well, i dropped by the ag research station they have on the airport highway in corpus christi, its not JC they are growing there.

Dr. Miller mentioned most of the JC they are growing is further north. I hope they have no issues with frost.

He also mentioned starting a new project somewhere south of Corpus Christi (where I am).

just a quick update on JC for you guys.

just got in 15 packs of jatropha seeds from echo.org yesterday, they were supposed to average 4 to 8 seeds per pack. I opened 2 packs and planted 24 seeds yesterday, ran out of planters. today i stop at the nursury and pick up some more.

31 trees growing so far. man do i need to find some land for sale at a reasonable price.

:)

Hi everyone, I am exploring the possibility of using my 5 acres of land to grow jatropha and could use some advice.  First how labor intensive is it and will I need to hire a few hands to deal with it while I am away, second where is the best place to buy the seed, and lastly some good sites or contacts to learn the actual methods of getting the seed planted and maintained.  Thanks any advice would be of great help.  Oh and btw a friend of mine may donate his 10 acres to me for the planting of seed so 15 acres of jatropha if it turns out this seed can handle coastal texas weather.

hey General,

JC (jatropha curcas) is doing just fine in my backyard in corpus christi, I have purchased 1 sapling from "The Cactus Jungle" in Berkeley, California, (Hap runs the place there).

and I purchased 15 packs of seeds from http://echobooks.org/product_info.php?products_id=1609&osCsid=f9231331f57318b6abedaed470f2b629

Echo's seed resources in Florida. Click my name and you can read some of my posts on my progress and find my blog as well. but here's the gist of all of it.

I left for the weekend, I had planted 24 (2 packs) seeds on June 16. yesterday, june 22nd, 10 of them had germinated and are springing up, this morning, another 2 is up, thats 50% so far in 6 days, the germination time is supposed to be 9 days so that 50% will be much better in a day or two.

the harvesting of the fruit for the first 5 years will be labor intensive, done by hand, selecting the ones you wish to pick. if you do your planting all at once, you will be able to automate a little utilizing those shakers made for apple trees (hooked up to a tractor or backhoe or something or other, possible a stand alone piece of equipment if you care to look around or modify one yourself). place out the nets. attach, shake, rattle and roll. gather up the nets and move to the next tree.

im still looking for land. im hoping to find up to about 50 acres, more is a possibility later on but I'd love to start with 5 and go from there. it will take approximately 1000 - 1200 trees per acre. though you can start off like i have. i have 31 total (counting those which havent germinated) and 13 packs of seeds to plant still. i just dont have the room, so im filling up my back yard. when i find the land. I'll make cuttings and the rest of the seeds and order more seeds and go from there.

the cuttings are kind of weird, you whack off a good sized stem (like you would a rose bush) and i've been soaking the tip for 12 hours in root stimulator (liquid), then dip it in another powered stimulator and stick it in a planter). all of the leaves die off, then just when you think your cutting has croaked, viola, theres a new sprout. I'll have to time it better cause i always think they're dead but i leave them alone and poof, one day there's a new leaf on it.

so, where are you in south texas? JC can definately handle south texas weather. Im talking in emails with Dr. Miller at TAMU and a few others, so far, I am the only one growing in the Corpus Christi area.

you can email me also at clcheek@yahoo.com

Clint

 I have several questions:

How many jatropha plants can you grow per acre ?

What is the expected oil out put per acre ?

 What is the expected oil production per plant ?

How often do you have to pick your crop ? 

hickorystone:

 I have several questions:

How many jatropha plants can you grow per acre ? 1000- 1200 is average

What is the expected oil out put per acre ? depends on how much rain you get, or how much you water. i've read reports that mention 238 gallons per acre while the University of Florida reports over 1000 gallons

 What is the expected oil production per plant ? in one season? 2 gallons, maybe 3 under optimal conditions. over the lifetime of the tree? average 2 gallons per season for 40-60 years.

How often do you have to pick your crop ? as often as the fruit ripens. once per year for sure, twice per  year under good conditions, possibly 3 times per year under great conditions.

 

what i think would be more important questions follow:

does it grow on land totally useless for food production? yes

does it reduce  carbon emissions from diesel engines by 85%? yes

do diesel enginers get better mpg than gas driven cars? yes

can the tree resist draught? yes

will it withstand freezing temps? NO (but it may be cultivated to do so in the future, scientists have only been working on it for a couple of years).

can it grow in the desert? yes (ok so its a rehash of the above, but how many can actually thrive in the desert?)

im sure im forgetting a lot of questions, its early, havent had my required doses of caffiene yet.

 

 

 

 

 

just ordered another 1000 seeds from ebay, put in my application at the Texas Veterans Land Board for a 25 acre mini-farm(they finanace 95%), found another 8 acres for a 20 year lease....

time to hit walmart again and get some more planters. i wonder if i should build a greenhouse in my back yard? 300 plants back there is getting crowded LOL.

 I have another question and that is: How long does it take the plant to start producting fruit  once it is planted ? 

So the plants have the capability to yeild between  238 - 2400 gallons per acre per year.

depends on what you buy, if you buy seeds. 2 years to first fruit. if you buy saplings, depends on how old the sapling is, i purchased 1 sapling, approximately 2 or 3 months old. i doubt i'll get fruit off of this this year, but next year for sure.

reminder - you can harvest the plants twice per year, so thats where i get my 2400 per year, per acre. 1200 the first harvest, and if the weather is good and you get plenty of rain, or you water from a well or whatever. 1200 gallons for the second harvest too. plus, if things are great all year long, sometimes you can get a third harvest. i'll know more at winter of 2009 since i plan to take very very very good care of my trees and we'll see if 50% of the crop yields a third harvest. or if 30% or 80% or all. or none.