Labland Biotech stands out in Jatropha prodn

Mysore, Aug 26: Labland Biotech Private Limited, a Mysore based agri-biotech company has become the first company in the country to be recognised by the Union Government's Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) for processing the technological expertise in producing high yielding bio-diesel plant, Jatropha.

Talking to sources, Company Managing Director Sudheer Shetty said the in-house R and D unit had been recently recognised by the Department for its international standard plant tissue culture facility. '' Ours is the only company in the country with a commercially viable tissue culture protocol for Jatropha'', he added.

The recognition was in view of the achievements of the company's strong technical and scientific work being carried out here, especially in research on ornamentals, foliages, plantation crops, and most recently, the advanced research in the field of Jatropha plant science and bio-diesel production, Dr Shetty said.

The DSIR's recognition comes at a time when the government was promoting large scale cultivation of Jatropha, a plant whose seeds were used in the production of bio-diesel, in an effort to reduce the country's dependence on fossil fuels.

Representatives from a host of private companies, with technological expertise in producing bio diesel plants, such as Reliance and Tata, besides government run laboratories had participated in the event, on invitation from the the department of bio-technology under the Ministry of Science and Technology. ''But the distinction was bestowed on our company,'' Dr Shetty added.

With the recognition, Labland Biotech had now become eligible for the government's financial support to expand its tissue culture capacity from the existing 15 million saplings per year to 25 million per year.

The large scale production of high yielding Jatropha saplings was viewed by energy experts as key to increase the quantum of bio-diesel yield.

He said with awareness of Jatropha cultivation gradually increasing among farmers in the country, the demand for its saplings was expected to go up.

The company had entered into contract farming agreement with the farmers with a buyback arrangement for its oilseeds.

UNI