摘要：Jatropha curcas L. belonging to family Euphorbiaceae originated from South America. The oil extracted from seeds can be converted into biodiesel by transestrification. The present study involves 92 plants over 59 accessions to estimate variation and grading for seed characteristics. The variability in seed length was used as base to formulate seed grade (I to IX). The grading based on seed length and subclasses within unfilled and filled class of seeds in eight accessions revealed that grade I to IV with seed length of 1.3 to 1.6 cm constitute unfilled class of seeds called underdeveloped, where as grade V to IX with 1.7 to 2.1 cm length constitute filled class of seed called developed seeds. The seed traits of accessions under study have shown maximum seed range in the seed length, thickness and breadth (1.3 cm to 2.1 cm, 1.0 cm to 1.2 cm and 0.8 cm to 1.0 cm) is higher than reported11,12. The facts reveal that variation could be mainly due to genetic variation. The variation need to be screened to identify plants with higher length breadth and thickness and also to develop mechanical screening based on seed size to isolate desired grade for oil extraction.
关键词：Jatropha;seed breadth;fresh and stored seeds;plus tree and seed grading
