CHAPTER 3 Jatropha cultivation
with deep roots that make it well suited to semiarid conditions. While jatropha can survive with as little as 250 to 300 mm of annual rainfall, at least 600 mm are needed to flower and set fruit. The optimum rainfall for seed production is considered between 1 000 and 1 500 mm (FACT, 2007), which corresponds to subhumid ecologies.