Dendrometry and production of jatropha seeds in Southern Sudanian zone of Burkina Faso

In a context of desertification and climate change, a good number of development actors in Burkina Faso have been interested in Jatropha curcas L. as a source of sustainability of production. In order to evaluate the dendrometric parameters and Jatropha seed production, tests were carried out for 12 months in Torokoro and Tin sites in the Southern Sudanian zone with a rainfall of about 1200 mm. Jatropha plants. 6 years old, are planted at 5m intervals between rows and 2m between plants. On each site, two (02) producers were selected for the conduct of works.a total of four (04) producers and four (04) parcels of Jatropha curcas. In each plot, three (03) 400 m2 repetitions (20m x 20m) with 5 Jatropha hedges were delineated for data collection. The results indicate that the observed dendrometric values are higher in Torokoro plantations than in Tin. Yields of Jatropha curcas from plantations are highly variable depending on the site, and range from 295.6 to 796.3 kg / ha. The productivity and the filling rate of the seeds are low, and show a great variability between the sites.