SG Biofuels Advances Efforts to Develop Cold-Tolerant Jatropha

Jatropha curcas is considered a subtropical plant thriving in warm, tropical climates. It is a source of oil, yielding 200 to 300 gallons per acre when properly grown, but its efficacy and yield in colder regions has been found to be considerably lower. Recently, SG Biofuels found a collection of strains that thrive at higher elevations with considerably lower temperatures. The strains were collected from various sites in Central America at elevations ranging from 1600 meters to over 1800 meters where the average daily low temperature between December and February are typically around 45 degrees Farenheit and a freezing night temperature. These strains are now a part of a collection of Jatropha curcas species of the Genetic Resources Center, the world's largest, most diverse collection of Jatropha genetic material. The company will utilize these materials in breeding for Jatropha which can thrive and produce oil efficiently in the colder climates of the United States.

See press release at:http://www.sgbiofuels.com/news.php?fn_mode=fullnews&fn_incl=1&fn_id=16