Research and Development Focus

Research and Development Focus

  • Increase plant yields under challenging cultivation conditions
  • Development of edible jatropha into a viable oil and protein crop
  • Seeds with high oil and protein contents
  • Resistance to diseases
  • Seed processing techniques to deliver the products – mainly oil and defatted kernel powder

Highlights:

Developed high yielding seeds of edible and non-edible jatropha varieties

  • F1 Hybrid and synthetic seeds of the non-edible variety
  • High performance elite cultivar and synthetic seed of the edible variety under the brand name XutaTM
  • Pioneering the introduction of Xuta as a viable protein and oil crop for challenged areas
  • Scalable F1 hybrid production systems using pistillate mother plants
  • Identification of a genetic marker for distinguishing the edible jatropha from non-edible in collaboration with university and private partners
  • Identification of accession specific genetic markers for the elite cultivars in collaboration with partners

Developed high yielding seeds of Moringa oleifera of leaf, pod and mixed varieties

  • Detailed elite cultivar profiling and yield trials completed
  • Production facilities for seed production established