CASTOR

Castor is annual plant mainly grown for its seeds. Oil extracted from its seed is non-edible but is of great Industrial use. It is used in soap making, printing inks, as a lubricant, also used for medicinal and lighting purpose. After oil extraction, remaining oil cake is used as organic manure. India is major producer of castor and in India, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan are major castor growing states. 

Land unfit for commercial farming or having less fertility is used for castor cultivation. But it gives best result when grown on deep, well drained, fertile, slightly acidic sandy loam soils. Ideal pH of soil should be in range of 5 to 8.5.

GCH 7: Hybrid gives average yield of 13-14.4 qtl/acre under irrigated conditions. Resistant to nematodes.

D.C.S 9 (Jyoti) : Under Irrigated conditions gives average yield of 10-11 qtl/acre. Seeds contain about 45% of Oil.

R.H.C 1: Hybrid suitable for cultivation under irrigated and non irrigated conditions. Under irrigated conditions gives average yield of 13-14qtl/acre. Seeds contain about 49% of oil.

G.C.H 5: Hybrid suitable for cultivation under irrigated conditions. Seeds contain about 49% of oil. Gives average yield of 12-14 qtl/acre.   

G.C.H 4: Hybrid ready to harvest in 210-240 days. Resistant to root rot disease. Gives average yield of 8-9qtl/acre under irrigated conditions.

Other state varieties:

Gujarat Castor -2:  Variety
DCH -32 (Deepti): Hybrid
GCH-177 (Deepak): Hybrid
DSP 222: Hybrid
DCH-519: Hybrid suitable for cultivation under irrigated and rainfed conditions. It gives resistant to Fusarium wilt.

Plough the land deeply for three-four times in summer. It will destroyed weeds and help to conserved soil moisture. Ploughing is followed by harrowing to break clods. Then carry out levelling operations so that water stagnation will not occurred in field.

Time of sowing
Castor can be sown round the year where irrigation facility is available. Optimum time for castor cultivation is from July second week to First week of August. 

Spacing
It depends on variety, time of sowing etc. Under irrigated conditions use spacing of 90cmx60cm or 120cmx60cm. Whereas for rainfed conditions, use spacing of 60cmx45cm.
 
Sowing Depth
Avoid deep sowing of seeds. Sow seeds at depth of 5cm.

Method of sowing
For sowing dibbling method is used.

Seed Rate
It depends upon method of sowing. When seeds are place behind plough higher seed rate is required i.e 4.5 to 6 kg/acre. Whereas in dibbling method, seed rate of 2.5 to 3.3 kg/acre is required.

Seed treatment
To protect crop from soil borne disease, before sowing treat seeds with Carbendazim@2 gm/kg of seeds.

Fertilizer Requirement (kg/acre)

Nutrient Requirement (kg/acre)

For rainfed areas: Crop required, Nitrogen@16 kg/acre and Phosphorus@8 kg/acre. Apply Nitrogen in form of Urea@35 kg/acre and Phosphorus in form of SSP@50 kg/acre. Apply half of nitrogen and full dose of Phosphorus at time of sowing. Apply remaining half of Urea, 30 days after sowing.

For Irrigated areas: Crop required, Nitrogen@32kg/acre and Phosphorus@16kg/acre. Apply Nitrogen in form of Urea@70kg/acre and Phosphorus in form of SSP@100kg/acre. Apply half of Nitrogen and full dose of Phosphorus before seed sowing. Apply remaining quantity of nitrogen, in two equal splits and apply on 35th and 90days after sowing.

To increased oil content, apply Sulphur@16kg/acre before seed sowing.

Overall castor crop required 17-20 irrigations. In rainy season it does not required irrigation. Apply irrigation depending upon rainfall intensity and frequency. Apply first irrigation 60-75 days after sowing. Avoid water stress from seedling to flowering stage. Stop irrigation during maturity stage.

Weed infestation at early stage is important. Do hand weeding for two times 20th and 50th day after sowing.  Apply  Pendimethalin@1 ltr/acre/250Ltr water, second or third day after sowing. It will help to control grass as well as broad leaf weeds.

• Pest and their control:
  

Semi looper: Damage crop by feeding on leaves and causes defoliation.
When infestation is low, take spray of Neem Seed Kernal Extract (NSKE)@40gm/Ltr of water. Take spray of Quinalphos@2ml or Chlorpyriphos@4ml per Ltr of water. 

Thrips and White fly : As a preventive measure, do seed treatment with Imidacloprid@5ml/kg of seeds. If infestation is observed, take spray of Malathion or Chlorpyrifos@5ml/10ltr of water.
 

Castor Shoot borer: Caterpillar bore into shoot and capsule and causes damage to crop.
Collect infested shoot and capsule and destroyed them away from field. If infestation is observed, take spray of Quinalphos@50ml/10Ltr of water.
 

• Disease and their control:
  

Seedling Blight: Infection first appears on leaves and later on spread on stem causes black discoloration and defoliation of leaves.
Treat seeds with Thiram or Captan@4gm per kg of seeds.


 

Rust: If infestation is observed in field, take spray of Mancozeb@400 gm/acre or Propiconazole@400 ml/acre.
 

Leaf Blight: Treat seeds with Thiram or Captan@4gm per kg of seeds. If infestation is observed in field, take spray of Mancozeb@400 gm/acre.

Stem Rot: As a preventive measure, use stem rot resistant varieties. Before sowing, treat seeds with Thiram or Carbendazim@2gm/Kg of seeds. After chemical treatment, treat seeds with Trichoderma Viride@4gm/kg of seeds. If infestation is observed, do drenching of Carbendazim@2gm/Ltr of water for two-three times at interval of 15 days.

Wilt: This disease causes considerable loss in yield. It can affect at the seedling stage as well as in an advanced stage of plant growth.
Grow resistant varieties. In primary stage of wilt, to control mix 1 kg of Trichoderma in 200 kg well decomposed cow dung and keep it for 3 days, then apply it in wilt affected area.
 

Powdery Mildew: White powdery growth appears on leaf surface.
Three month after sowing, take spray of Wettable Sulphur@2 gm/Ltr for two times with interval of 15 days.

Depending upon variety, crop is ready to harvest in 145-180 days. When one or two capsules show drying or turn yellowing start harvesting of castor bunch. All bunch didn’t get mature at same time so two-three pickings are required. After harvesting dried bunches in sun for four to five days. After proper drying, carry out threshing operation. Avoid early harvesting of capsule as it will lower down oil percentage.

From well dried capsules, seeds are separated. After then from seeds castor oil is extracted. After oil extraction, oil cake contain about 8-10% castor oil. Oil cake is used as organic manure in field.