The oil-rich and weedy plant jatropha has been hailed as the most promising source of biofuel on the planet, and one airline has already begun testing a jatropha-derived fuel in its jumbo jets. But a new analysis suggests that the plant may not be a miracle crop destined to solve all our energy problems: Current jatropha plantations are
not realising the oil yields that drove the “Jatropha euphoria” [EcoWorldly].
It was previously thought that the hardy jatropha plant would require less water than other biofuel crops like sugarcane and corn and could grow in marginal soil, so growers wouldn't have to take fertile land out of agricultural use. But the new study rebuts that assumption.
"The claim that jatropha doesn't compete for water and land with food crops is complete nonsense," says study coauthor Arjen Hoekstra. The researcher says it's true that the plant can grow with little water and ...
