Studies on comparative assessment of tree borne oil species in Southern zone of Tamilnadu, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31357/fesympo.v0i0.1780Abstract
Energy demand fulfillment from biological origin gets great attention in the recent times. Due to thelarge scale of energy demand, the bio fuel especially Tree Borne oil species (TBO's) got higherdemand by its yield and sustainability. Among the tree born oil species, Jatropha curcas, Simaroubaglauca, Pongamia pinnata, Madhuca indica and Azadirachta indica preferred first for theirpotential and wide range of adaptability. In order to assess their feasibility and comparative efficacyan investigation was carried with a questionnaire in the Southern Zone of Tamil Nadu which includesTirunelvel i, Tuticorin and Sivagangai, Madurai Districts. The important components of assessmentduring survey include the popularization of the species among farmers, interest on that crop, willingnessto cultivate in their field and their general commands on that species. The assessment was done inseven selected villages under each district. An economic feasibility and productivity status assessmentwas also done for all the species by comparing the yield and cost of production statements.
The survey conveyed the message that the exotic tree born oil species (Jatropha and Simarouba)got great attention and scope for cultivation due to its high yielding capacity, awareness and thesupport and subsidy given by the State and Central Governments to grow in their field. They are alsoready to cultivate the indigenous oil tree species (Madhuca, Pungam and Azadirachta) in theirwaste / marginal lands but not at the cost of their productive systems. The economic comparativeanalysis also supports the thoughts of farmers, which recommends growing of Jatropha curcas with3 X 2 M and Simarouba glauca with 6 X 6 M spacing. Since, TBO's are more nitrogen consumingspecies, growing of tree born oil trees species in combination with N, fixing annuals as intercrop isrecommended. It also helps to meet the intermediate economic needofthe farmers before getting thebenefit from TBO's.
