痲瘋樹 (Jatropha curcas. L.)大戟科痲瘋樹屬,落葉灌木或小喬木,原產熱帶美洲。痲瘋樹屬熱帶作物,生長快速,種子含油率30%~50% , 果實生產壽命可長達40~50年,不僅耐旱,不需施用肥料或農藥亦可生長良好,配合修剪技術一年可採收2-3次果實,植株與種子具毒性鳥獸不食。因此以痲瘋樹作為生質柴油料源,不但不會與糧食作物產生競爭,而影響糧食生產結構,亦可利用邊際土地,不須重新開發土地,破壞生態,所以是一極具潛力之能源作物。本研究收集了亞洲及台灣等七個不同地區之痲瘋樹種子,進行繁殖並觀察評估其生育情形,同時探討種子繁殖與營養繁殖之不同繁殖方法,作為日後栽培與種原保存利用之參考。在本實驗裡,印度和印尼的種原在早期的成長期間有最高的生物質。在開放空間,中國貴州和臺灣臺東有最高的生物量。相較於其他被評估的種原,臺灣臺東顯示了最高和最穩定的生產量。當種子經過刻傷處理後且浸泡在25℃的水中12個小時,可達到最高的種子發芽率。在使用扦插技術時,在底部和中段使用促根劑可增加較多的根的數量與長度,而在使用壓條技術時,在中段部分使用促根劑,可增加較多的根的數量與長度。
Jatropha curcas L. or Physic nut, which belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family, is a perennial tree or large shrub, can reach a height up to 5-7 m. It is native from Mexico and Central America, and is a tropical plant that is grown in low or high rainfall areas, used to reclaim land, improve the environment, reduce soil erosion, and is an alternative to the use of grains as biofuel feedstock. The plant produces many useful products; its seeds contain 30-40% of oil, which is raw material necessary to produce biofuel. The interest in using J. curcas L. as a feedstock for the production of bio-diesel is rapidly growing and environmental friendly. This study aims to find out the adaptability, evaluation and propagation methods of different J. curcas L. germplasms collected in some Asian countries and the southern region of Taiwan. In the early growth period of this experiment, India and Indonesia had the highest biomass. In open field, China-Kweichow and Taiwan-Taitung had the highest biomass. Taiwan-Taitung showed the highest and most stable production yield compared with the rest of germplasms evaluated. The highest seed germination percentage was obtained when the seeds were soaked in water for 12 hours at 25℃ with scarification. The application of rooting powder increased the root number and the root length on base and middle sections which were most suitable for stem cutting and for air layering, the root number and the root length increased mostly in the middle section.