Springer Jatropha, Challenges for a New Energy Crop: Volume 2: Genetic Improvement and Biotechnology

Jatropha curcas or Physic Nut is a small tree (bush plant) that produces fruits under tropical climate. The fruits contained seed that are ~40% oil rich. This oil is excellent for biodiesel. The bush is a now new coming crop because it may cope with harsh environmental conditions such as semi-aridity and poor land. It is considered as one alternative for climate mitigation that does not compete with arable land normally dedicated to food crop and can be used to regain degraded land or fight desertification. This bush has been considered seriously by the international community only recently (~2006-2008), but worldwide scientists did an outstanding job to drawn Jatropha out of its semi-wild status and bring it on the industrial scene. Problems remains, but we have now a comprehensive picture of this crop and almost every technological challenged were addressed. From now, the job will have to concentrate on breeding in order to domesticate this species. Therefore, it is the right time to sum up worldwide contributions in a comprehensive book with a breeding looking to improve the chance of this plant to stabilize as a crop and to fulfil with the expectations that humans invested in it. A book with this perspective will help international community to give a step on. The book will be a broad and comprehensive look on Jatropha until the details since the book is being contributed by international experts worldwide that have already published works in the international press of Science. Illustrations, tables geographic maps, GPS location, etc are added by each contributors according to the feeling they have concerning what they think their contribution should be. From the Back Cover Jatropha, Challenges for a New Energy Crop –Volume 2 aims to report on the state of the art of scientific investigations that were made during the past ten years on the new crop Jatropha curcas. The progresses obtained on the knowledge of this abstemious, semi-wild species are already impressive and were mainly achieved in just a decade (2001-2011). This knowledge extends from basic Jatropha physiology and biological reproduction to the basic agronomic practices and systems for its productive management, but also the complete set of biotechnological tools, such as in vitro culture, genetic transformation, genome sequencing, genetic maps, and marker-assisted selection that are necessary for its selective breeding. These scientific and technological achievements pave the way for the future technological management and domestication of Jatropha as an industrial oilseed crop able to contribute to the feeding of the transport system. About the Author Bir Bahadur has graduated from Nizam College and Post-graduated from University college, Osmania University, Hyderabad  India. He obtained his PhD in Plant Genetics from Osmania university and was closely associated with Prof. J.B.S. Haldane, FRS, the renowned Geneticist of last century. He advised, guided and encouraged him  to study heterostyly and incompatibility in Indian plant species, a subject first studied by Charles Darwin in England about 160 years back. He made significant contributions in several areas of plant biology especially in incompatibility, mutagenesis, morphogenesis, tissue culture, and organism asymmetry.,application of SEM in plant sciences He published over 250 research papers, which are well received and quoted in national and international journals, including number of theses and several publications on Jatropha and Castor. He served Osmania and Kakatiya Universities as Lecturer, Reader and Professor, also served as Chairman, Head of Department, Dean of the Faculty of Science ,Kakatiya University,Warangal.  He has taught the genetics, biotechnology and reproduction of plants for over 40 years and accumulated research experience in these areas for about 50 years. He was a Post-Doctoral Fellow at the Institute of Genetics of Hungarian Ac