After South America, India too is making progress in the cultivation of jatropha. The seeds of the jatropha extract bio-diesel, which is renewable, economical, non-toxic, biodegradable and non-polluting.

To study the bio-diesel potential in terms of commercial viability of “energy plantations” as well as to explore avenues of cooperation between the two countries, a Chinese delegation of five scientists headed by Dr Peng Daiping, Deputy Director-General, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, recently visited several areas of Punjab, including Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, and the Dhillon farm in Sanaura village, near Jalandhar, and Rajasthan. They were invited by the ICFA (Indo-China Friendship Association).

Dr R.K. Kohli of Panjab University, Chandigarh, and Prabhat Garg of Ozone Energy Solutions, which is taking up the plantation of jatropha, informed the delegation about its potential in degraded land and low-rainfall areas.

The delegation has decided to plant the jatropha and other similar plants on a large scale in the barren areas of China to boost alternative fuel.