Vivipary Reported in Jatropha curcas L.

A paper by Ajay C. Deore and T. Sudhakar Johnson reports an occurrence of vivipary in Jatropha curcas, a popular biofuel crop in developing countries. Jatropha seeds are usually processed for oil extraction and the oil is reacted with an alcohol (methanol or alcohol) for biodiesel production. Vivipary is a condition where “the embryo (the young plant within the seed) grows first to break the seed coat, then out of the fruit wall while still attached to the parent plant (precocious germination). This is not a desirable condition in commercial Jatropha plantations when seeds are harvested. Vivipary is apparently a rare occurrence in Jatropha; to the knowledge of the authors, there has been no report of vivipary in Jatropha. The authors presume that a combination of “intrinsic and extrinsic factors” such as physiology, soil condition, temperature and dry spell followed by high humidity induced by heavy rainfall may be involved. The occurrence of vivipary in Jatropha, aside from being an interesting area of research, may have implications on commercial seed harvesting. The authors mention that “a commercial planter needs to take the precocious germination of J. curcas seeds into consideration, particularly in high humid regions while harvesting fruits. The physiologically matured yellow fruits should be "harvested without much delay”. The report appears in the August 10 issue of the journal, Current Science.

Related information on vivipary: http://mangrove.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/text/1044.htm