Germination of Jatropha Seeds (A Short note) :- AK Gupta, Ph.D

THREE METHODS ARE INVOLVED:
Propagation through seeds; (ii) Vegetative propagation ; and (iii) Nursery raising
PROPAGATION THROUGH SEEDS/DIRECT PLANTING
Direct seeding in polythene bags, germination beds or in containers ; (ii) Pretreatment- Overnight soaking of seeds in water ; (iii) Germination starts after 5-6 days ; (iv) Beds kept moist during germination ; (v) Raising seeds in poly-bags filled with 1:1:1 sand, soil and FYM ; (vi) Two seeds per poly-bags.
VEGETATIVE PROPAGATION
Propagation through cuttings ; (ii) Stem size- 2-3cm thick, 30-40 cm in length ; (iii) Position- lower & middle position of the shoot ; (iv) Season- Mid March ; (v) Large cutting- up to 2m ; (vi) Spacing- 30x30x30cm ; (vii) Beds kept moist.
SEED SOWING IN NURSERY
Season- May-June ; (ii) 5-6kg seeds for one hectare land ; (iii) Seeds spacing- 5-10cm line to line and 3-5cm plant to plant (iv) Seed sowing depth – 2cm ; (v) After seed sowing nursery beds should covered with decomposed cow dung manure ; (vi) Beds kept moist until germination.
NURSERY RAISING
It includes:
Availability of good quality seeds or cuttings ; (ii) Selection of nursery site ; (iii) Seed and soil treatment ; (iv) Raising of saplings.
AVAILABILITY OF GOOD QUALITY SEEDS OR CUTTINGS
Collected from superior and environmentally durable trees ; (ii) Should use fresh collection ; (iii) Collection of seeds- Oct-Dec.
SELECTION OF NURSERY SITES
Site should be cleaned from bushes, grasses ; (ii) Availability of adequate sunlight ; (iii) Free from diseases like root or stem rot ; (iv) Use of urea and other chemicals should be avoided.
PREPARATION OF NURSERY BEDS
(i) Size of nursery beds-1.5x3m ; (ii) Nursery operations should be carried out without entering the beds ; (iii) Proportion of soil & manure - Soil-50%, Sand-25% and Cowdung-25%.