VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Simmondsia chinensis | Jojoba 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Jojoba foliage is important forage for livestock and wildlife
[9,15,18,32,46,54] and may provide the best browse available within its
range [23].  Jojoba foliage is eaten by mule deer [4,25,31,54,55],
desert bighorn sheep [33,49], jackrabbits [19], domestic sheep [4],
goats [4], and cattle [4,15,32].  Cattle may browse jojoba severely
enough to prevent any fruit development [15], and often consume it
faster than it grows [4].  At the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge in
Arizona, there were fewer crissal thrashers and brown towhees on grazed
versus ungrazed areas due to the fact that heavy browsing had reduced
the abundance and vigor of jojoba [48].

Jojoba is one of the four most important forage species for desert
bighorn sheep in the Kofa Mountains [33], but is less abundant in areas
used by desert bighorn sheep in the Harquahala Mountains, Arizona [24].

Jojoba's evergreen leaves provide important forage for mule deer,
especially in the fall and winter [31,32,46].  Average volume and
percent occurrence of jojoba in 11 mule deer stomachs during different
seasons at the Three Bar Wildlife Area, Tonto National Forest, Arizona
follow [31]:

Season                Average volume (%)           Occurrence (%)
__________________________________________________________________
Midsummer   (fruits)         1                          36
            (foliage)        5                          73
Early fall  (foliage)        9                          90
Late fall   (foliage)*      36                          87
            (foliage)**     20                          94
            (foliage)***    24                          90
Midwinter   (foliage)       20                          90
Late winter (foliage)       23                          80
Late spring (fruits)         7                          27
            (foliage)       12                          91

*--following a dry summer
**--following a wet summer
***--following a wet summer with early frosts

Throughout its range, jojoba nuts are eaten by ground squirrels, desert
chipmunks, packrats, pocket gophers, mice, rabbits, birds, desert mule
deer, and other mammals [4,7,9,15].  Collared peccary in southern
Arizona spent 4 percent of their total July, August, and September
feeding time consuming jojoba seeds [10].
 


PALATABILITY : 
Jojoba browse is highly palatable to livestock and big game animals [38].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Jojoba provides highly nutritious forage for livestock and wildlife
[4,32,38,46].  Near Roosevelt Lake in southern Arizona, jojoba foliage
is highest in crude protein and phosphorous in the spring.  New growth
tends to be higher in nutritional quality than old plant material,
except from December to March [46].

Nutritional compostion (%) of jojoba as desert mule deer forage in the
Picacho Mountains of Arizona follows [25]:

                                         Fiber*
Month      Dry matter     Protein     ADF     NDF     Lignin     Cellulose
___________________________________________________________________________
Jan-Feb     45.73           6.99     28.01   50.86     6.12        22.68
Mar-April   51.00          10.07     27.59   48.30     7.43        19.92
May-June    42.59           7.52     29.65   54.73     9.06        19.68
Jul-Aug     57.32           6.25     39.22   58.28    10.80        27.81
Sep-Oct     44.77          10.98     30.61   55.45     7.75        23.27
Nov-Dec     44.71           9.36     27.55   55.15     8.80        19.68

*ADF--acid detergent fiber; NDF--nondetergent fiber

The following measurements (in percent) were obtained for jojoba as mule
deer forage at the Three Bar Wildlife Area on the Tonto National Forest,
Arizona [56]:

                         Crude                          Dry                
Month     Plant part    Protein    ADF*   Ca     P     Matter**  IVD***
_______________________________________________________________________
May-June   Leaf           10       26    .57    .20      39       47
           Stem           10       41    .31    .25      --       47
           Fruit          11       40    .79    .20      31       46
           Flower         11       24    .40    .46      14       75
July-Sept  Leaf           20       24    .85    .16      40       43
           Stem            9       38    .72    .21      --       35
           Fruit          12       49    .22    .23      42       44
October    Leaf           13       34    .93    .17      41       40
           Stem            8       49    .87    .15      --       30
Nov-Dec    Leaf           13       31   1.35    .12      47       36
           Stem            8       41    .66    .11      --       31
Jan        Leaf           11       25    .93    .10      44       44
           Stem            8       41    .42    .11      --       35
Feb-April  Leaf           11       29   1.53    .28      44       45
           Stem            8       40    .73    .32      --       28

*ADF--acid detergent fiber
**Dry matter is given for leaves and stems combined
***IVD--in-vitro digestibility

Nutritional composition (%) of jojoba foliage as desert bighorn sheep
forage in the Harquahala Mountains of Arizona follows [49]:

                                         Fiber*
Month      Dry matter     Protein     ADF     NDF     Lignin     Cellulose
__________________________________________________________________________
Jan-Feb     23.98           9.00     23.51   32.51     6.77        16.43
Mar-April   49.97           8.38     25.37   48.16     7.75        15.34
May-June    45.25          10.34     27.58   35.57     7.40        20.23
Jul-Aug     53.69          10.30     26.13   35.14     6.94        18.82
Sep-Oct     50.23           9.60     27.76   36.85     8.93        18.27
Nov-Dec     45.24           9.81     28.52   32.68     8.27        18.86

*ADF--acid detergent fiber; NDF--nondetergent fiber 


COVER VALUE : 
Jojoba presumably provides good cover for many small mammals and birds.
Gambel's quail use jojoba for nesting sites in southern Arizona [16].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
Jojoba seed oil is chemically similar to that of sperm whale oil and can
be substituted in many processes [4,6,9,13,18].  Approximately 90
percent of the seed oil harvested is utilized by the cosmetics industry
[6].  The oil may also be used in many industrial processes and for the
production of pharmaceuticals and commercial products such as
lubricants, waxes, candles, and rubber compounds such as varnishes,
rubber adhesives, and linoleum [4,6,26,32,35,42].  The seed oil is also
a good source of straight-chain alcohols and acids used in detergents,
disinfectants, emulsifiers, and bases for creams and ointments [4].  The
seed meal by-product may have use as livestock feed if the
antinutritional compounds are removed [6,32].

Native Americans and early white settlers in the Southwest used jojoba
nuts to make a substitute for coffee.  Jojoba was also used by Native
Americans for widespread medicinal purposes [4,12,23].


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
The jojoba industry was started in 1971 when Native American communities
in California and Arizona, in collaboration with researchers from
federal agencies, collected and processed jojoba seed from wild jojoba
plants.  Many jojoba shrubs were planted after the sperm whale was
placed on the endangered species list, the importation of sperm whale
oil was banned, and scientific evidence suggested that jojoba oil could
replace sperm whale oil in many applications.  Jojoba has been
commercially harvested since 1982.  At one time, approximately 40,000
acres (16,000 ha) of jojoba were under cultivation.  The existing jojoba
industry has relied on continuing private-sector investments [6].  For
information regarding management and cultivation techniques of jojoba as
a crop species refer to [4,6,15,60,62,63] and other references.

A list of phytophagous, predaceous, parasitic, and other insects
associated with jojoba in natural stands is available in the literature
[42].
 
In San Diego County, California, widespread planting of jojoba has the
potential to destroy sensitive vegetation such as coastal mixed
chaparral and coastal sage scrub communities [39].

Jojoba was very tolerant of browsing near Roosevelt Lake in southern
Arizona.  It initiated new twigs from lateral buds to compensate for the
loss of apical buds and twigs from herbivory.  Heavily browsed plants
maintained a ratio of photosynthetic biomass to total biomass as high as
unbrowsed plants.  However, heavy browsing greatly reduced shrub size
and forage yield.  Moderate browsing pressure resulted in forage yields
similar to those of unbrowsed plants.  Although browsing reduced shrub
size, browsed plants maintained a water status similar to unbrowsed
plants, even under high water stress.  This indicated a comparable
ability to balance transpirational water loss with water uptake through
the roots.  Jojoba was tolerant of heavy browsing, but moderate browsing
was recommended to maintain greater shrub size and forage production
[45,46].

Related categories for Species: Simmondsia chinensis | Jojoba