.....................
Powerguda, a village in Adilabad district Andhra Pradesh has pioneered a sale of 147 tonnes equivalent of saved carbon dioxide credits to the World Bank for $645 .
One of the VayuSap nurseryDr M. V. R. Prasad inspecting a VayuSap
Average Pongamia 60-70 year lifespan, 500+ saplings per hectare Ha
Can complement existing small farmer agriculture, government and private enterprise due to the following conditions below
Pongamia is tolerant of extremely poor soil types and does not require prime arable land otherwise used for food production; co-exist with agriculture or unused lands/wastelands/Commons/ Industry/Reforestation/Saline lands
Non-invasive species
Survive in Temperature of 0 deg C to 55 deg C
Pongamia grows into a large tree and has a 10 metre taproot, thus creating a substantial carbon sink and requires from 200mm+ or irrigation or rainfall or underground water
Pongamia is resistant to a wide range of adverse climatic conditions including drought, light frost, water logging, moisture stress and salinity
Fixes 5-6 tons of Carbon per year per acre
Fixes Nitrogen in the soil/qualifying the tree for plantation carbon credits
In water to oil ratio, Pongamia easily surpasses plantation oil yield of other oil crops such as oil palm and Jatropha with high oil content per seed (25-35%) and water consumed
Pongamia oil (straight vegetable oil) and Biodiesel can be used to create village level and industry based grid based energy, and for agriculture and mass transportation on today’s diesel engines
Indian Beech Tree or Pongamia Pinnata (vernacular names: Honge Tree, Pongam Tree, Panigrahi) is a deciduous tree, about 15–25 meters tall, belonging to the family Fabaceae. It has a big top with many small flowers in white, pink or violet. Its origin is India, but is widely grown in South-East Asia.
A hardy tropical tree, it is resistant to heat and sunlight. Thanks to the big root system, it is also tolerant against drought. Naturally, it grows on sandy or rocky soils, including limestone, but in cultivation, it can be successfully grown in nearly all kinds of soil as well as salty soils.
It is often grown in dry areas and is often used for landscaping purposes as windbreaker or for shade.
Its root nodules promote nitrogen fixation, a symbiotic process by which gaseous nitrogen (N2) from the air is converted into NH4+ (a form of nitrogen available to the plant). Thus, it can be used for fertilization of soil that is poor in nutrients. The seed oil is used as lamp oil, in soap making, as a lubricant, and the producing of bio-diesel.
The seeds are largely exploited for extraction of non-edible oil commercially known as ‘Karanja oil’, which is well known for its medicinal properties. The oil is known to have value in folk medicine for the treatment of rheumatism, as well as human and animal skin diseases.
Incorporation of leaves and the presscake used traditionally for improving soil fertility as leaves and cake are good sources of fixed N biologically. Dried leaves are used as an insect repellent in stored grains. The press cake, when applied to the soil, has pesticidal value, particularly against nematodes.
60-80 year lifespan Pongamia is tolerant of extremely poor soil types and does not require prime arable land otherwise used for food production, co-exist with agriculture or unused lands/wastelands/Commons/Industry/Reforestation/Saline lands Survive in Temperature of 0 deg C to 55 deg C Pongamia grows into a large tree and has a 10 metre taproot, thus creating a substantial carbon sink and requires from 200mm+ 500m of irrigation, rainfall or underground water Pongamia is resistant to a wide range of adverse climatic conditions including drought, light frost, water logging, moisture stress and salinity. Fixes 5-6 tons of Carbon per year per acre Fixes Nitrogen in the soil \qualify and enhances soil quality Pongamia easily surpasses plantation oil yield of other oil crops such as oil palm and Jatropha with high oil content per seed (25-35%). Pongamia oil and Biodiesel can be used to create village level and industry based grid based energy, agriculture and mass transportation on today’s diesel engines Non-invasive speciesFacts on Pongamia
Carbon Tons
Acres
1
2
3
4
5
10
25
50
100
500
1000
2500
5000
No of Trees
200
400
600
800
1,000
2,000
5,000
10,000
20,000
1,00,000
2,00,000
5,00,000
10,00,000
Age 0
yr
yr
0.25
0.49
0.74
0.98
1.23
2.45
15.66
12.26
24.52
122.58
245.16
612.90
1225.80
Age 3
yrs
yrs
0.63
1.25
1.88
2.51
3.13
6.27
6.13
31.33
62.65
313.26
626.52
1566.30
3132.60
Age 5-9
yrs
yrs
0.92
1.83
2.75
3.67
4.59
9.17
22.93
45.85
91.71
458.54
917.08
2292.70
4585.40
Age 10-19
yrs
yrs
1.75
3.50
5.26
7.01
8.76
17.52
43.81
87.62
175.24
876.22
1752.44
4381.10
8762.20
Age 20-29
yrs
yrs
3.72
7.45
11.17
14.89
18.61
37.23
93.07
186.14
372.28
1861.40
3722.80
9307.00
18614.00
Age 30-49
yrs
yrs
5.98
11.97
17.95
23.93
29.92
59.84
149.59
299.19
598.37
2991.86
5983.72
14959.30
29918.60
Age 50-69
yrs
yrs
11.14
22.28
33.42
44.56
55.71
111.41
278.53
557.06
1114.12
5570.58
11141.16
27852.90
55705.80
Age 70
yrs
yrs
11.14
22.28
33.42
44.56
55.71
111.41
278.53
557.06
1114.12
5570.58
11141.16
27852.90
55705.80
Acres
1
2
3
4
5
10
25
50
100
500
1000
2500
5000
No of Trees
200
400
600
800
1,000
2,000
5,000
10,000
20,000
1,00,000
2,00,000
5,00,000
10,00,000
Oil / 3
year/ Ltr-Tons
year/ Ltr-Tons
8
16
24
32
40
80
200
400
800
4,000
8,000
20,000
40,000
Fertiliser/ Tons
24
48
72
96
120
240
600
1,200
2,400
12,000
24,000
60,000
1,20,000
Green Manure/ Tons
50
100
150
200
250
500
1,250
2,500
5,000
25,000
50,000
1,25,000
1,25,000
* Lts of oil per tree per annum at maturity 40
Kgs of fertiliser grade oil cake per tree per annum 120
Kgs of green manure per tree per annum 250
* Estimates only