#DJOUN

[oaresearchpaper]

Effects of Two Propagation Methods on Growth and Seed Yield of Jatropha curcas (L.) in Tandjilé Region, Chad

Abstract

Field trial was carried out in Chad to investigate the effects of two plants propagation methods on productivity of Jatropha curcas L. cultivated in four localities (Djoun, Insatal, Laï-Djoum and Tchoua) at Tandjilé region in Chad. Planting was done following a randomized block design with four replications and two treatments (plants propagation methods: cuttings of stem and seedling). Physico-chemical properties of growing soils were assessed. The growing parameters and seeds yield were evaluated. Results shown that growing parameters and seeds yield were significantly different (p˂0.05) between both plants propagation methods and four study localities. J. curcas adapted better in Tchoua locality than other three experimental sites. Cuttings of stem exhibited the highest (104±1.9 Kg/ha) seeds yield while the lowest (88±3.7 Kg/ha) is observed under seedling plants propagation method in each of four study sites. It comes out from this study that plants propagation method using cuttings of stem can be recommended to farmers of Tandjilé region (Chad) to be integrated into their agricultural systems for J. curcas growth.

Introduction

National communities, non-governmental organizations, national and international institutions have in recent years become aware the danger posed by the emission of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide whose fossil fuel constitutes the main emission source (Minengu et al., 2014). Faced with the industries development and exponential growth of world's population, it is urgent to find a source of alternative energy to avoid energy crisis (Fall, 2007; Sall, 2007). Research focuses on bioenergy, particularly on non-edible plants that can produce oils with biofuel potentiality (Dieye, 2007; Bellefontaine, 2001; Nwaga, 2009). Jatropha curcas L., a shrub belonging to the Euphorbiaceae family, is one of the vegetable species that can solve energy problems because the oil extracted from its seeds can be used as biofuels without competing with food crops. J. Curcas growth well in intercropping with food crop (Dauriat et al., 2001, FAO, 2010). This plant is not edible for humans or livestock. It is widely used in traditional medicine. Seeds oil from J. curcas is used in the manufacture of biofuel, handmade soap, ointment and then used as insecticides and nematocides for crops protection (Hammaoui, 2006).

The cake obtained after seeds oil extraction is an excellent organic fertilizer for crops (Penjit, 2012). This cake can be used as fodder for livestock after detoxification (Kasuya et al., 2013). The stem of J. curcas is used for hedgerows construction. J. curcas adapts to various soils, withstands long periods of drought and requires very little maintenance. But its optimal production requires a well-drained and fertile soil (Bellefontaine, 2001; Olivier, 2007). Many countries in the world, including America, Asia and recently some West African countries have embarked on its culture for biofuels production. The Sudanian zone of Chad offers a favorable climate for planting this shrub in order to solve the socio-economic needs of population stricken by poverty. The purpose of this work was to evaluate (1) the physico-chemical characteristics of soils from Sudanian savannah of Tandjilé (Chad), (2) plants propagation methods (seedling and cuttings of stem) as well as localities of Sudanian savannah of Tandjilé (Chad) on J. curcas growth and development. The importance and usefulness of this work follows from the fact that the plants propagation method and the Chad study area which will provide the highest seeds yield of J. curcas will be popularized.

Source : Effects of Two Propagation Methods on Growth and Seed Yield of Jatropha curcas (L.) in Tandjilé Region, Chad | InformativeBD

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LADY HESTER STANHOPE

LA REINA DEL DESIERTO Jardín de San Carlos en A Coruña. Tumba del General John Moore (muerto en la Batalla de Elviña). Lady Hester Stanhope nació en Inglaterra en 1776. Quizás no os suene mucho su nombre pero la vamos a relacionar con una ciudad gallega, A Coruña, donde se encuentra la tumba del General John Moore, su pareja en aquel momento y muerto en la batalla de Elviña el 16 de enero de…

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djoun

[yums-ville]

HILOBROW HEROES: HESTER LUCY STANHOPE

(On his or her birthday, HiLobrow irregularly pays tribute to one of our high-, low-, no-, or hilobrow heroes.)

By: Elina Shatkin, March 12, 2013

The impudent, indulged daughter of an Earl, HESTER STANHOPE (1776–1839) was born to drink champagne and dine on turtle but she ended her days holed up in a crumbling monastery in remote Lebanon, a ghostly eminence jabbering messianic prophecies like a Bene Gesserit witch. A flamboyant extrovert who loved to shock, she honed her rhetorical zeal at dinner parties hosted by her uncle, future Prime Minister William Pitt. Still unmarried at 33, she set off with a younger paramour for the Middle East. After surviving a shipwreck on Rhodes she began shaving her head. In Cairo she turned herself out like a Turkish man in billowing trousers, brocaded overcoat, and turban — the style she would wear for the rest of her life. Though she dismissed or despised Byron, Burckhardt, Bankes and other renowned European travelers, her shadow looms large over all subsequent female Arabists. Her letters are replete with an unshakeable belief in her singularity: “I am the sun, the star, the earl, the lion, the light from heaven, and the Queen.” Making the dangerous trek to the ruins of Palmyra, an ancient desert oasis, she communed with its long-dead ruler Queen Zenobia, who she considered her spiritual ancestor. Enticed by a medieval manuscript claiming a treasure was buried in Ashkelon, she took it upon herself to excavate the site. She would smash and toss into the sea the first great statue she uncovered to prove her virtuous motives. Another manuscript would lead her to the last act of her life when a Syrian doctor read her a prophecy that fed her wildest fantasies: the Mahdi (redeemer) would arrive seeking a woman “from a far country to partake in the mission.” It’s unclear whether this “Circe of the desert” believed she was to be the Mahdi’s handmaiden or the Mahdi herself. She ensconced herself in a hilltop monastery in Djoun where she took in refugees and became obsessed with alchemy and astrology. Alone in her decaying fortress, she was ultimately the archaeologist of her own delusion.

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The situation of Djoun is simply magnificent, overlooking, from its isolated mountain top, the whole country round, far and near with the luxuriant valley traversed by the Anwali, and all its groves and gardens, nestling at its foot. On every side except one it is surrounded by the towering crests of the Lebanon; but to the west wide opening, like a great portal, discloses the glorious expanse of the Mediterranean, and frames in its broad mirror of dazzling blue.

The life and letters of Lady Hester Stanhope, Cleveland, Catherine Lucy Wilhelmina Powlett, Duchess of