First Seed Selection in South Africa for Project Solaris
October 19, 2016http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/first-local-seed-selection-to-take-place-at-project-solaris-2016-10-14/rep_id:4136
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In South Africa, seed selection for the development of Sunchem's solaris, a nicotine-free tobacco that produces high amounts of sustainable oil for biofuel production, has started since the launch of project. Since 2014, all of the seed selection has been done only in Italy.
Seed selection is done to pinpoint varieties that would produce the best yield. The company brought the seed selection to South Africa, as it will help the crop thrive in the South African climate. Tobacco is semi-drought resistant, adapted for planting in marginal soils and in areas where rainfall is low.
Solaris is the first crop in the region to achieve certification by the Roundtable on Sustainable Biomaterials (RSB), the organization that sets criteria for sustainable biomass production and conversion. The long-term goal of Project Solaris is to set up a local biojet fuel refinery in South Africa to enable the full value chain to take place locally.
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