Response of Jatropha on a Clay Soil to Different Concentrations of Micronutrients

A. A. Abd El-Kader, M. M. Hussein, A. K. Alva

Soils and Water Use Department, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt.
United States Department of Agriculture—Agricultural Research Service, Vegetable and Forage Research, Prosser, USA.
Water Relations and Field Irrigation Department, National Research Center, Cairo, Egypt.

DOI: 10.4236/ajps.2012.310166                

Abstract

In recent years Jatropha curcas L. has emerged as a biofuel crop with potential for its production in marginal land with application of treated sewage water. Since this is a new crop for its profitable cultivation, additional research is needed to develop optimal management programs, including macro and micronutrients applications. A pot experiment was conducted in a Greenhouse at the National Research Center, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt, during 2010 summer to evaluate effects of varying concentrations of iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) in irrigation water (0, 50, 100, 150, 200 and 250 ppm) on the growth, biomass production, photosynthetic pigments, and mineral nutrients status in the plants. Increasing concentrations of Fe, Mn, and Zn in irrigation water up to 150 ppm increased the biomass weight, photosynthetic pigments, and nutrient uptake by Jatropha plants. Further increase in concentrations of micronutrients showed negative effects on the above response parameters. Therefore, this study demonstrates that Jatropha can be grown under irrigation using waste water containing reasonable concentrations of micronutrients and heavy metals. This property of Jatropha provides some support for potential use of this crop for phytoremediation of metal contaminated soils. However, long term field research is needed to further verify both the above beneficial effects.

Keywords

Irrigation; Growth; Jatropha curcas L.; Mineral nutrition; Photosynthetic Pigments; Heavy Metals; Sewage Sludge

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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