Jojoba, Goatnut
Scientific Name: Simmondsia chinensis (Link) C.K. Schneid.
Family: Buxaceae
 

http://www.desert-tropicals.com/Plants/Buxaceae/Simmondsia_chinensis.html

1/4 acre Jojoba (pronounced ho-HO-ba) produces $3,000 worth of oil.
Sweet sorghum Syrup constitutes a meaningful cash crop capable of netting over $2000/acre for most of its producers

Straw into Gold: Sorghum takes just five acres; soybeans, one acre. They grow mustard on a quarter acre: prepared mustard nets $1,200 a year. They grow garlic on 1/6th of an acre: garlic bulbs and garlic puree nets $800 a year. And they grow horseradish on just 1/10th an acre: prepared horseradish nets $1,000 a year. Bean into packets of tempeh for heath food stores net $1,500 a year.

Order your jojoba from Armchair World

Simmondsia chinensis --- Jojoba --- Simmondsiaceae
Male plant with male flowers.

What is jojoba? It's a plant that can grow in many semi-arid regions of the world, requires little water and maintenance and yields a crop of seeds that have many uses. The seed-oil has been used in lubricants, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and as a replacement for sperm oil in manufacturing of inks, varnishes, waxes, detergents, resins and plastics. In this era of dwindling natural resources and increased concern for the environment, maybe jojoba's time is now. (AW)

The "oil" from the seeds is unusual in that it is not an oil but a pure liquid ester! The difference between an oil and an ester is small and yet large in terms of properties. Vegetable oils have several alcohol groups on the molecule and some have forked molecules and will eventually oxidize and become rancid. Jojoba has only one alcohol group and is a straight chain molecule; therefore it is not subject to oxidizing and in fact is an anti-oxidant and will never become rancid. However, the liquid ester does have the ability to self polymerize in the presence of sunlight, so it is best to keep it in brown glass bottles, in the dark, or in closed metal cans. Research is presently underway at Jojoba Obispo to investigate the qualities and uses of polymerized jojoba oil.

The liquid ester is chemically almost identical to spermaceti oil which is also a pure ester found in the head of the Sperm whale. Jojoba is the ideal substitute for the oil of the Sperm whale which until restrictions was used for high temperature lubrication, cosmetics and as a lubricant for automatic transmissions. Perhaps jojoba really can save the whales.

Jojoba "oil" is a natural mimic of the oil secreted by human skin so it may be used to protect and lubricate skin and hair. It is soothing, stops multitudinous skin problems and protects against premature aging and wrinkling of the skin caused by exposure to ultra violet radiation.
 

Soil texture is important as jojoba grows best in sandy or decomposed granite or rocky soils. Even if the fertility of the soil is marginal, jojoba is still able to produce well without the use of fertilizers. However, jojoba plants kept in containers seem to do better with some fertilization.

Irrigation systems are a must when establishing jojoba plantations whether by planting seeds or seedlings. The plants seem to do well on their own after two years of intensive watering in early winter and spring when the jojoba plant maximally utilizes water for growth. This watering period is a plus for the jojoba farmer as jojoba's water requirements will not conflict with the watering requirements for traditional crops. Under ideal conditions of soil, water and sun, the tap root will grow an inch a day; within two years the roots should reach the level of the aquifer thus enabling sufficient growth for seed production without supplemental watering.

In the wild, plants will produce a crop solely utilizing ground water and are also able to do so when in plantations assuming an underlying aquifer is available to the roots. If it is possible (and economically viable) watering should be continued every winter and spring as this will keep layers of water moving downward, thereby causing the root systems to develop at greater and greater depths each year. In this case, if the aquifer should drop because of over drafting, the plants will still have water each year for good seed production.

Seedlings can be expected to flower after three years growth.

Jojoba is usually dioecious (male and female flowers are borne on separate plants). Female flowers are small, pale green and commonly solitary or in clusters at the nodes. Male flowers are yellow, larger, and occur in clusters. Pollination occurs via wind or insect.

The fruit is a green capsule which encloses up to three seeds. When ripe (3 to 6 months after fertilization) the capsule splits and reveals the seed, which is brown, wrinkled and about the size of a small olive (300 to 1,000 seeds/lb). Seed production is generally limited until the fourth year of growth.

The plants are wind pollinated as pollen travels hundreds of feet in a breeze. There are no known insect pollinators other then accidentals. The flowers form in the winter and after pollination grow until they are mature seed in July. The seed skin will dry, shrink and split, whence the slightest breeze will send hundreds of the seeds to the soil below. Seed oil content may vary from 45% to 65%. The properties of the oil are constant regardless of geographical origin of the seed.

sorghum.html

Seed Preparation and Germination:

Jojoba can be planted by direct seeding or by transplanting seedlings to the field. In the southwestern U.S. many growers prefer direct seeding because it is less expensive, faster and requires less hand labor. Seed can be germinated in vermiculite or sand at about 80°F. Emergence occurs in 15 to 20 days, and the seedlings are ready for transplanting when they are 6 to 12 in. tall (8 to 10 weeks). Emergence from direct-seeded fields occurs in 15 to 20 days. Propagation from clones or from tissue culture is a more rapid method of varietal improvement.

Seedbed Preparation:

Jojoba plantations are established by clearing and leveling a site prior to seeding or planting seedlings, rooted cuttings or plantlets produced from tissue culture.

Seeding Date:

Jojoba can be seeded or transplanted to the field when the soil temperature reaches 70°F. Low soil temperature may delay emergence by as much as 2 to 3 months.

Method and Rate of Seeding:

Seeds are planted 1 in. deep, and emergence usually occurs within 20 days. The soil should be kept moist but not wet through emergence.

Individual seeds or seedlings are planted 12 to 18 in. apart in rows. Spacing between rows depends on the harvester to be used. With hand harvesting and cultivation, rows can be as close as 10 ft.

To obtain the proper female:male ratio (6:1), it is advisable to over-plant (7 to 9 lb/acre of seeds) and rogue out excess males later. As male plants flower, they should be thinned out to 1 male every 40 ft on the row. As female plants flower, usually in the third year, any slow-growing or unproductive plants are thinned out, leaving 1 female plant every 2 to 3 ft on the row.

Yield Potential and Performance Results:

Jojoba generally does not produce an economically useful yield until the fourth or fifth year after planting. Seed yields in natural stands of jojoba range from a few seeds to as much as 30 lb of clean, dry seed per plant. Production of seed varies greatly from plant to plant in a stand and from year to year for a particular plant.

Currently, the average yield of commercial jojoba plantations is less than 300 lb/acre. Plantations that were established with selected higher yielding clones are capable of producing up to 800 lb/acre. Crop improvement programs at the University of California-Riverside and the University of Arizona-Tucson are actively researching consistent productivity.
Alternative Field Crops The extraction of jojoba oil is performed by screw pressing or is carried out using a standard oilseed press. Once crushed the oil is filtered and may be pasteurised and bleached before storing in sealed drums until required, or sold. The oil is crushed from peanut-sized seeds that are produced from plantations of hedge-row grown shrubs.

JOJOBA PRUNING MACHINE - Jojoba oil could fuel cars and trucks - CHIHUAHUAN DESERT

Most jojoba oil produced in the U.S. today is sold at a high price for use in cosmetics and hair care products. As many as 300 products containing jojoba have appeared in the U.S. in recent years. As the supply of oil increases and price decreases, more uses will become economically feasible. For example, the viscosity index of jojoba oil is much higher than that of petrolium oil; therefore, it may be used as a high temperature, high pressure lubricant. The stability of jojoba oil makes it attractive to the electronic and computer industries. And since jojoba oil contains no cholesterol or triglycerides and is not broken down by normal metabolic pathways, it may become an important low-calorie oil for human consumption. The oil can be used as an antifoam agent in antibiotics production and as a treatment for skin disorders. Other proposed uses include candles, plasticizers, detergents, fire retardents, transformer oil, and for the leather industry.

          Pepper field, Deming, NM. The most important vegetables raised are chili peppers and onions; others include potatoes, lettuce, and pinto beans. Corn, cotton, peanuts, grain sorghum, and wheat are the most important field crops—most grown on irrigated farms. Orchard crops are primarily pecans and apples.

Jojoba seed contains a light-gold colored liquid wax ester which is the primary storage lipid of the plant. This is unlike conventional oilseed crops, such as soybean, corn, olive, or peanut which produce oils as the primary storage lipid. Jojoba wax (called oil) makes up 50% of the seed's dry weight. The physical properties of jojoba oil are: high viscosity, high flash and fire point, high dielectric constant, high stability and low volatility. Its composition is little affected by temperatures up to 570°F (300°C). Jojoba oil contains straight- chained C₂₀ and C₂₂ fatty acids and alcohols and two unsaturated bonds, which make the oil susceptible to many different types of chemical manipulations. The extracted oil is relatively pure, non-toxic, biodegradable, and resistant to rancidity. The meal contains up to 30% protein, but toxic compounds (simmondsins) make it currently hazardous as an animal feed.

McSherry is president of McSherry Inc., a ranching and farming operation in Deming.
McSherry often says that he and Jody spent their lives “raising the three Cs – cotton, cattle and children.”
The McSherrys currently raise cattle and grow chile, cotton and corn on their ranch and farm in Luna County.

Jojoba Links

Jojoba: Alternative Field Crops Manual - University of Wisconsin and University of Minnesota

Jojoba Fact Sheet - Purdue University

Jojoba: A Unique Liquid Wax Producer from the American Desert in Advances in New Crops - Purdue University

Jojoba  - Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation, Australia

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