The objective of this paper was to determine the minimum lethal temperature for the oil seed plant Jatropha curcas L., aiming at supporting the expansion of this crop in southern Brazil as an alternative for biofuel production. The experiment was carried out at the Agronomic Institute of Paraná (IAPAR), in Londrina-PR (23º23' S, 50º11' W). In a cold chamber environment, young plants were submitted to treatments with minimum temperatures of +1 ºC, 0 ºC, -1 ºC, -2 ºC, -3 ºC, -4 ºC and -5 ºC, and compared to a control exposed to ambient temperature. Ten plants in each test (replications) were distributed within the chamber in a completely randomized design. The following parameters were evaluated: photosynthetic rate after 6 hours and 7 and 14 days; visual foliar damages one day and one month after the tests; plant mortality one month after the tests and plant recovering in the field. The minimum lethal temperature for Jatropha curcas is between -3 ºC and -4 ºC.
biofuel; thermal stress; frost; foliar damage; photosynthesis; cold chamber
