Jatropha R&D project

R&D goals and stakeholders

To set up a mycorrhizal germplasm reservoir of genetic diversity of

mycorrhizal fungi of jatropha-curcas with high oil yielding for biodiesel
production and the elimination of the toxicity of the meal]waste for
animal feed

Executing organization :

BIOVALE ENERGIA – an emerging biodiesel company based in the Minas

Gerais in partnership with various stakeholders in the oil production chain

Co-executing organizations:
Federal University of Viçosa – DMB/BIOAGRO, ranked as the best university
of Minas Gerais State and 3rd in Brazil
SECTES – Minas Gerais State Science and Technology Secretariat
EPAMIG – EMPRESA DE PESQUISA DE AGROPECUÁRIA DE MINAS, national
bench-mark in jatropha development
CENTRO TECNOLÓGICO DE MINAS GERAIS - CETEC
 New Technologies, New Gains

Biofuel production
has become
substantially more
efficient over the last
25 years as Brazil and
the United States
have scaled up their
industries.

Such incremental
gains are likely to
continue for years to
come.

However, the greatest potential for biofuels lies in the

development of new technologies that will significantly expand
the range of biomass feedstock, increase conversion efficiencies,
and lower production costs.
 Expected results
Documentation, preservation and characterization of J. curcas
and mycorrhizal fungi germplasm

Development of micropropagated plants inoculated of ROC (Root

Organ Culture) of arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi and their in
vitro mass inoculum production

Selection of jatropha genotypes with high oil yielding, envisaging

the biodiesel production

Toxicity elimination of the waste for animal feed

Utilization and reclamation of industry created wastelands

The mycorrhizal technology offers biological means of assuring plant health in an
economically profitable and ecologically friendly manner. The only known fungal system
categorized as a biofertilizer, mycorrhizae provide plant roots with extended arms that
help them tap soil nutrients that are otherwise beyond their reach. This means greater
availability of other, enriching soil, increasing health, and decreasing dependence on
chemical fertilizers.
 Documentation, preservation and characterization
of J. curcas and mycorrhizal fungi germplasm

It exists a wide diversity within the AM fungi which form association

with the roots of almost 80% plant species and enhance mineral
nutrient acquisition and water uptake, as well as increase tolerance
towards different environmental stresses conditions.

To conserve and exploit their diversity, BioVale Project contemplates

to build J. curcas and mycorrhizal fungi culture depository houses
and maintain cultures from different agro-ecological zones, in
different areas of Brazil.

The expected result is to trap isolate a variety of J. curcas and

polysporal/monosporal cultures, setting up a J. curcas and
mycorrhizal fungi germplasm collection of genetic diversity of
agriculturally and industrially species for oil production .
 Development of ROC of different AM fungi and their
mass inoculum production under in vitro

The ROC (root organ culture) system is the most

attractive and advanced cultivation methodology for
AM (arbuscular mycorrhizal ) fungi: it uses root-
inducing transfer-DNA-transformed roots of a host
plant to develop the symbiosis on a specific medium
in vitro which provides pure, viable, contamination-
free inoculum using reduced space.

BioVale R&D Project aims at gaining expertise in

ROC for in vitro culture and utilize mass production
of AM fungi under in vitro.
 Mass inoculum technology

Although the facts and figures of potential role of mycorrhizal

association in enhanced nutritional and water needs of plants in
laboratories, the major bottleneck for its widespread application
to reach the end-users is its bulk production to cater the huge
requirement.

A known fact that culturing mycorrhizal fungi in laboratory

conditions like other microbes was not possible due to its strict
biotrophic nature of proliferation in the presence of suitable
host has been the major reservation of its future contribution in
agriculture.

The mass inoculum technology envisages to exploit the

genetically modified host roots using the Agrobacteriumum
rhizogenes carrying Ri T-DNA plasmid. The technology offers the
mass production of viable, healthy, genetically pure and high
quality fungal propagules, without any pathogenic contamination
under in vitro environment.
 More and earlier productivity

Jatropha has been identified as one the best plant

alternative to offer clean fuel for achieving energy
security. Jatropha seeds inoculated with in vitro-
raised mycorrhiza exhibits early fruition and
flowers from the 7th month onwards as against a
year with conventional clonal plantations and two
years from seed raised plantations.

The mycorrhized Jatropha also exhibited 20%–30%

higher yields as compared to non-mycorrhizal
plantations.

The mycorrhized Jatropha will be widely tested

covering several agro-climatic regions in Brazil to
prove their adaptation in diverse soils.
 Environmental amelioration using mycorrhizal technology

Mycorrhized Jatropha has been working on the reclamation of

environmentally vulnerable and uncultivable lands using
mycorrhizal technology for more than a decade in India. The
technology has proven its worth and potential in many sites,
including fly ash overburdens, and land contaminated with
distillery effluents, tannery effluent affected sites and chlor
alkali sludge.

Mycorrhiza benefits both the plants and the environmentally

vulnerable sites. Plant benefits include augmentation of the
supply of phosphorus and trace elements and protection of plant
roots from root diseases, high soil temperatures, and high salt
concentrations. The hyphae of mycorrhiza can also bind soil
particles, improve their aggregating capabilities, stabilize soil
aggregates, and check leaching of important elements and heavy
metals.
 Incresing aggregated value of the residue J. curcas
The oil expell

The seed kernels are rich in crude protein, CP (31–34.5%) and lipid
(55–58%). The neutral detergent fibre contents of extracted J.
curcas meals were between 3.9% and 4.5 % of dry matter (DM).
The gross energy of kernels ranged from 31.1 to 31.6 MJ/kg DM.
The contents of starch and total soluble sugars were below 6 %.
The levels of essential amino acids, except lysine, were higher
than that of the FAO/WHO reference protein for a five year old
child in all the meal samples on a dry matter basis.

The common use of this residue is as soil organic fertilizer after

composting since it possesses a compound known as phorbol, that
is toxic to animals. Thus, the R&D aims at studying not only the
composting process of J. curcas residues but also to evaluate the
detoxification potential of micro-organisms for production of
mushroom and animal feed. So, the residue can be transformed in
other products with high added value.
Jatropha R&D project

gilbertociro@biovale.ind.br