干旱区生态环境知识资源中心

This study describes the variation in seed and seedling characters of Jatropha curcas L.. Seeds of J. curcas were collected from 6 zones (geographical regions) within India and 4 - 6 provenances within each zone. Significant variation was found among vines and among different provenances within zones, for all traits of seed and seedlings of J. curcas. Among six zones, sub-humid to humid eastern, south eastern uplands, semi arid lava plateaus and central highlands showed maximum seed length, seed weight, oil content and plant height. All seed and seedling characters were lowest for humid western Himalayan zone. Among 32 provenances, Danikundi, Pendra road, Nainpur and Indore-1 provenances showed better seed and seedling characters. This study has implications for identifying potential seed sources of J. curcas for exploiting for higher oil content.