This is the notes of castor

2. CASTOR
S.N: (Ricinus communis),
Family: Euphorbiaceae
Origin: Eastern Africa and most probably
originated in Ethiopia
IMPORTANCE
It is an important oilseed crop especially used as
lubricant in industries
Because of its deep root system
drought hardiness and quick growth
it finds a place of prestige in the cropping systems of dry land agriculture in
semi arid zones of India.
It is the most important commercial non edible oilseed crop of the country.

3.  The oil acts as the best lubricant for high speed engines, aeroplanes,
 Manufacturing soaps, transparent papers, printing inks, varnishes, linoleum
and plasticizers, synthetic resins and fibres. etc.,
 Castor oil contains a very high percentage of hydroxyl fatty acid known as ricinoleic
acid.
 The dehydrated castor oil is in demand for paints and varnishes because of its non
yellowing quality.
 It is also used as an illuminant, giving a bright and steady flame and burning much
longer than any other vegetable oil.
 Hydrogenated castor oil is used in polishes, cosmetics, hair dressings, soaps
and
disinfectants.

4.  Castor oil is also used as purgative (act of cleaning)
 It is used in the preparation of Turkey Red in dyeing industries.
 Oil is used in many veterinary uses.
 It is used externally as an emollient (medicine that softens the texture of
animals)
 It is also used as soothing medium, when dropped in to the eyes
of animals after removal of foreign bodies.
 The castor oil cake is a valuable manure but because of the presence of
poison ricin it is unfit for cattle feed.
 It contains 5.5% N, 1.8-1.9% P and 1.1% K

5. Area production and productivity
World
 Area: 1.51 m. ha.
 Production: 1.48 m.t.
 Productivity:1,002 kg/ha
 India occupies number one position and accounts for nearly 57 %
of world’s area and 74 % of world’s castor production.

6. Distribution
In the world:
 Southern region of Canada, Central Russia and Korea in the Northern
hemisphere to Chile, South Africa and Australia in the
Southern hemisphere.
 China, Mozambique and Brazil are the other important countries
producing castor.
In India:
 Gujarat, Rajasthan and
AP, castor.
are the most important states producing
 It is also grown to some extent in KA, Odisha, TN, and MH.

7. Distribution
 Gujarat accounts for 73 % of India’s castor production with about
56% of castor area and has the highest productivity of 1,978 kg/ha
 Area: 8.85 lakh ha
 Production:1.3 m t
 Productivity: 1,512 kg/ha
 In KA: Koppal, Raichur, Bellary, Bijapur and Haveri

8. Classification
Popova (1926) divided the species in to 6 sub species
geographical groupings. Ricinus communis sub species
1. Persicus
2. Chinensis
3. Zanzibarinus
4. Sanguineus
5. Africanus
6. Maxicanus
based on eco-

9. Soil requirement
 Well drained loamy soils are best suited.
 Very heavy clays and marshy conditions are unfavorable for
proper growth.
 Highly susceptible to water logged conditions so confine the cultivation to
upland areas.
 Crop cannot tolerate alkalinity of soil but can withstand slight to moderate
acidity.

10. Climatic requirement
 Castor crop requires a moderately high temperature of 20-27oC with low
humidity throughout the growing season.
 It grows best in areas with clean warm sunny days.
 Prolonged cloudy weather with high temperature at flowering
results in poor seed set.
 High temperature > 41 oC at flowering for short period also
results in blasting of flowers and poor seed set.
 It is very resistant to drought and can be grown with 80-100 mm
evenly distributed rainfall.
 Heavy rains at flowering reduces the yield and very sensitive to frost

11. Varieties
Varieties Sowin
g
time
Duration (Days) Special characters
1. GCH-4
(Hybrid)
June – July
end
150-180 High yielding, spiny
capsules,
sky red coloured stem
2. 48-1 -do- 150-180 Drought resistant
3.Aruna (NPH-1) -do- 125-130
4. Jyothi -do- 140-150
5. Rosy -do- 180-240 For rainfed
6. Kranthi -do- 140-150
7. Bhagya -do- 120-150
8. Soubhagya -do- 180-240

12.  Sowing time:
 II FN of June to end of July. However early planting is advisible because late
planting gives lower yield.
 It is also grown in rabi season in Gujarat
 Seed rate: 8-10 kg/ha (Rainfed) and
 5-7.5 kg/ha (Irrigated)
 Spacing: 90 cm x 45 cm or 90 cm x 60 cm
 Land preparation:
 As castor is having well developed root system therefore it requires
deep ploughing.
 It helps to break up any compact layers in the soil so that roots can penetrate
deep in the soil to obtain moisture from deeper layer during drought period.
 Disk harrowing should be followed by ploughing to break the clods, to level
the seed bed and to destroy weeds.
 The seed bed should be moist to a depth of 15-20 cm

13. MANURES AND FERTILIZER APPLICATIONS
FYM: 5 t/ha
RDF:
 40:40:20 NPK kg/ha (Rainfed) and
 75:50:20 NPK kg/ha (Irrigated)
 Apply 50% of N and full dose of P and K as basal and 50% N at
40-45 DAS

14. Nipping of Auxillary buds
All the auxillary buds on the main shoot
are nipped soon after the emergence of
the primary spike and thus a single main
spike is allowed to develop.
ADVANTAGES OF NIPPING:
1. Duration of the crop is reduced
2. Yields are increased

15. Water management
 Castor is usually grown under rainfed conditions.
 However, it responds very well to irrigation
 3 or 4 heavy irrigations enough at 20 days interval
 Provide drainage in heavy rainfall areas
 Critical stage: Flowering

16. Weed management
 Because of wide spacing, weeds grow luxuriantly during early
stages of growth.
 Two hand weedings first at 30 DAS and second at 60 DAS.
 Intercultural operations at 30 and 60 DAS controls weeds and
Earthing up (Moisture conservation and safe removal of excess
water (Drainage)
 Fluchloralin 45 EC @ 1.3 g or
 Alachlor @ 1.7 g per litre of water.
 About 750 lit of spraying solution is required per ha.
 Moisture should be there at the time of spraying

17. Cropping systems
 Castor is grown either as a pure crop or in rotation with wheat, linseed
etc., or
 Mixed with cotton, Groundnut, Pigeonpea, Greengram, Sorghum, Bajra
and Cowpea

18. Harvesting
 Depending on the variety, the crop matures between
145-280 days after planting.
 Harvesting is done when the capsules turn yellow
 Avoid picking of un matured and green capsules
 All the spikes do not mature at the same time, the
main axis mature first and next spikes on the side
branches
 Harvest when 3-10 capsules matured.
 Usually 2-3 pickings may be needed for
harvesting the entire crop.
 The spikes should be dried in the sun for 4-5 days and
then threshed.
 It is essential to dry the seeds completely
before storage.

19. Yield
 GCH-4 (Hybrid): 20-25 q/ha (Rainfed) and
25-30 q/ha (Irrigated)
 48-1: 15-20 q/ha (Rainfed) and
15-20 q/ha (Irrigated)