RHIZOBACTERIUM TREATMENT IN Jatropha curcas TO IMPROVE ITS FRUIT YIELD AND QUALITY FOR BIODIESEL PRODUCTION

Biodiesel is a fast-developing alternative to fossil fuel all over the world and Jatropha curcas has been used for biodiesel production for very long. Jatropha is used for biodiesel production, however, use of Jatropha curcas for biodiesel production has remained limited due to poor seed yield per hectare of cutivable land. Growth promoting rhizobacteria are the soil bacteria inhabiting on the root surface and are directly or indirectly involved in promoting plant growth and development. In the present study, an attempt has been made to improve Jatropha seed yield by treating the plants PGPR (Plant growth promoting Rhizobacterium Bacteria). PGPR treated plants showed significant increase in plant height (0.38 fold), chlorophyll (0.53 fold), total protein (1.5 fold), number of male flowers (2.8 fold), number of female flowers (2.4 fold) and number of fruits (3.1 fold). Physicochemical properties show acid value (7 mg/g), Iodine value (104 mg/g), saponification value (192 mg/g), viscosity (33.1 mm2/sec) and density (911.1 kg/m3). The evaluation of fatty acid composition using GC revealed that oleic acid (43.35%), linoleic acid (35.85%), Palmitic acid (15.85%) and stearic acid (4.95%). These results suggest that PGPR treatment promotes the fruit yield and thereby increasing the Biodiesel production.