Index | Search | Home | Table of Contents
Bhardwaj, H.L., A.I. Mohamed, C.L. Webber, III, and G.R. Lovell. 1996. Evaluation of castor germplasm for agronomic and oil characteristics. p. 342-346. In: J. Janick (ed.), Progress in new crops. ASHS Press, Alexandria, VA.

Evaluation of Castor Germplasm for Agronomic and Oil Characteristics*

Harbans L. Bhardwaj, Ali I. Mohamed, Charles L. Webber, III, and Gilbert R. Lovell

  1. METHODOLOGY
  2. RESULTS
  3. REFERENCES
  4. Table 1
  5. Table 2
The castor (Ricinus communis L., Euphorbiaceae) oil is used by American industries to manufacture many products such as nylon-11, hydrogenated oil, dehydrated oil and its fatty acids, sulfated and sulfonated oil, sebacic acid, ethoxylated oil, polyurethanes, and oxidized and polymerized oil. Castor oil is also used in a wide range of cosmetics, toiletries, and transparent soaps. Food-grade castor oil is a standard lubricant in food processing plants where its uses ranges from an anti-stick agent in candy molds to lubricant for trolleys and conveyors that carry food (CasChem 1982). Castor oil and its derivatives are also used in lubricating formulations (Roetheli et al. 1991a).

Commercial production of castor existed in the central United States as early as 1850. By 1959, Texas was the leading producer of castor with over 30,000 ha of castor being grown in the late 1960s. During this period, over 23 crushing mills reportedly were operating in Texas (Brigham, 1989). U.S. castor production ceased in the early 1970s due to: (1) contract negotiation problems between oil buyers and the farm cooperative involved in crushing castor, (2) low world prices for castor oil, (3) competition between castor and other crops for which high prices were being paid, and (4) discontinuation of government price supports in 1972.

The seed, leaves, and stem of castor are poisonous to humans and livestock if consumed (Zimmerman et al. 1958). Ingestion of even one seed can be fatal to humans (Naughton 1979). Ricin, a very lethal protein, is the major toxic component. Ricinine, a poisonous alkaloid, exists at very low levels and presents little problem (Horton and Williams 1989). In addition, castor contains an allergin (known as CB-1A) which can cause an allergic reaction in humans (Roetheli et al. 1991a).

The United States is totally dependent upon imports to meet the industry and defense needs for castor oil. A total dependence on imported castor oil places the United States in a vulnerable position should the supply be interrupted because of world events. A domestic crop would provide a stable source of supply. To replace imports, the United States would need about 45,000 ha of castor to supply domestic users (Roetheli et al. 1991b). Considerable importance must also be given to potential exports of U.S.-produced castor oil to France, nations of former USSR, Germany, and UK.

Since seeds of Lesquerella fendleri (L.) contain oil that is similar to castor oil, it is a potential replacement for castor (Roetheli et al. 1991a). Under the new crops program of Virginia State University, research was conducted during 1992, 1993, and 1994 to evaluate the potential of Lesquerella fendleri (L.) under Virginia conditions and to develop it as a domestic source of hydroxy fatty acids and as a replacement for castor. Field and greenhouse experiments to evaluate lesquerella germplasm, planting times, and fertilizer rates, indicated that lesquerella production under Virginia conditions may not be feasible, largely due to lack of adequate germination/stand establishment and biomass production.

Based on these negative observations, it was decided, in 1994, to initiate research with castor. The objective of this research was to determine feasibility of castor production under Virginia conditions and to evaluate castor germplasm for agronomic and oil characteristics and to lay the foundation for a castor breeding program.

METHODOLOGY

During 1994, a collection of 72 castor accessions was received from Southern Region Plant Introduction Station, Griffin, Georgia. This collection included 5 accessions from Argentina, 18 from India, 7 from Iran, 2 from Morocco, 4 from Pakistan, 3 from Russia, 20 from South Africa, 6 from Turkey, and one each from Afghanistan, Egypt, Indonesia, Israel, Kenya, Peru, and Zaire. The seed of two U.S. cultivars ('Hale' and 'Lynn') was provided by Dr. R.D. Brigham (Texas A&M Univ., Lubbock, Texas).

Five hills (3 to 5 seeds/hill) of each accession were planted on May 13, 1994 in rows spaced 1.5 m apart. Upon germination, each hill was thinned to one plant/hill. The distance between plants was 60 cm. The seedheads (racemes) were hand-harvested from each plant twice (Sept. 28 and Dec. 6, 1994). No yield data were available for accessions PI250026 and PI250881 due to extremely sever shattering. The capsules were shelled by hand.

Plant height (cm) was determined at final harvest. Seed yield per plant was converted to tonnes/ha. Oil content in the open-pollinated seeds and percentage of ricinoleic acid in the oil were determined by standard chemical techniques. The ricin was extracted from castor seeds using the method of Lis and Sharon (1972). The agglutinating ability of ricin, determined by using the quantitative method described by Turner and Liener (1975), was used to calculate the ricin content in mg/g of meal.

RESULTS

All accessions were vigorous (Table 1) and produced abundant seed. Plant height varied from 64 to 242 cm, and 100-seed weight varied from 10 to 44 g. The oil content (dry weight basis) varied from 22% to 41% whereas the content of ricinoleic fatty acid in the oil varied from 58% to 92%. Significant variation existed among 51 accessions for the poisonous compound, ricin. The ricin content varied from 2.9 to 5.5 mg/g of meal except for PI250226 which contained 10.8 mg/g of meal.

The mean seed yield (calculated by using single plant yield) of 70 accessions was 1 t/ha with a range from 0.1 to 2.6 t/ha. 'Hale' yielded 1.4 and 'Lynn' yielded 1 t/ha. The highest yielding accession, PI257457, from South Africa, had a seed yield of 2.6 t/ha.

Significant positive correlation existed between yield and 100-seed weight and yield and oil content (Table 2). The content of ricinoleic acid had a negative correlation with yield. A significant negative correlation (-0.30) existed between seed weight and ricin content. The existence of variation for ricin and the lack of a significant relationship with yield, oil content and ricinoleic acid indicated that a breeding program could be successfully undertaken to reduce the ricin content, thus, reducing or eliminating the problems associated with this toxic compound.

Our results indicate that commercial castor production in Virginia is feasible. Furthermore, the results suggest that a high potential of success if breeding efforts are undertaken to develop improved cultivars of castor combing high yields of seed with high oil content and quality.

REFERENCES

*This research was supported by funds allocated to Virginia State University by USDA/CSREES/Evans-Allen program.
Table 1. Performance of 72 accessions and two castor cultivars at Petersburg, Virginia during 1994.

Entry Country Yield (t/ha) Height (cm) 100-seed wt(g) Oil (%) RAcidz (%) Ricin (mg/g)
PI257457 S. Africa 2.6 191 27.6 40.9 61.4 4.0
PI248950 India 2.2 240 22.4 26.0 88.1 -.-
PI257462 S. Africa 2.0 140 33.9 35.3 88.3 -.-
PI221049 Argentina 1.9 138 29.0 28.0 88.1 -.-
PI257461 S. Africa 1.9 181 38.5 35.0 88.4 3.3
PI250226 Pakistan 1.8 231 30.3 30.8 89.1 10.8
PI257455 S. Africa 1.8 161 33.2 39.2 74.5 3.6
PI257458 S. Africa 1.7 196 28.1 35.4 87.7 3.3
PI192949 Kenya 1.7 171 33.1 39.1 87.8 3.9
PI257459 S. Africa 1.6 142 31.9 35.4 86.3 3.5
PI274773 S. Africa 1.6 128 31.5 30.8 85.2 3.6
PI221471 Afghanistan 1.5 167 43.5 32.3 87.1 4.4
PI170682 Turkey 1.5 175 27.2 36.2 87.8 3.8
PI257653 Russia 1.5 149 34.3 24.2 86.2 3.9
PI167288 Turkey 1.4 224 31.9 41.3 77.8 4.1
PI257456 S. Africa 1.4 181 30.9 35.0 86.4 3.4
PI257451 S. Africa 1.4 173 30.4 27.6 87.1 3.8
PI252001 Turkey 1.4 157 36.8 33.8 88.3 3.5
PI167287 Turkey 1.4 178 26.8 35.4 88.2 4.2
PI221698 Indonesia 1.4 121 28.8 28.2 87.2 -.-
Haley USA 1.4 82 31.8 38.2 88.1 -.-
PI250623 Pakistan 1.4 199 29.5 34.8 87.6 3.8
PI257445 S. Africa 1.3 155 33.8 30.5 58.5 3.4
PI248945 India 1.3 223 29.0 26.8 90.0 -.-
PI221048 Argentina 1.2 117 29.0 33.0 88.1 3.8
PI257446 S. Africa 1.2 154 31.9 32.0 88.2 3.7
PI248947 India 1.2 220 23.8 27.7 87.5 -.-
PI179029 Turkey 1.2 153 37.8 31.0 87.7 4.2
PI257454 S. Africa 1.2 170 39.8 35.0 84.5 4.0
PI219771 Argentina 1.1 154 23.4 39.1 88.4 -.-
PI257453 S. Africa 1.1 180 38.8 30.5 77.3 4.1
Lynny USA 1.0 64 27.9 39.2 85.3 -.-
PI229786 Iran 1.0 177 29.1 31.6 86.6 3.9
PI170684 Turkey 1.0 186 22.1 34.1 89.1 4.3
PI215775 Peru 0.9 139 29.4 34.1 85.7 -.-
PI254406 India 0.9 165 38.8 26.5 92.3 2.9
PI257460 S. Africa 0.9 163 29.5 41.2 89.9 -.-
PI248501 S. Africa 0.9 199 29.4 28.7 88.6 -.-
PI257452 S. Africa 0.9 161 31.0 28.6 69.6 4.7
PI254405 India 0.9 136 40.6 30.0 88.6 3.8
PI248393 India 0.9 149 29.8 22.3 80.7 4.3
PI257447 S. Africa 0.9 175 28.1 31.1 88.6 -.-
PI253620 Morocco 0.9 192 30.0 31.5 87.9 -.-
PI250398 Pakistan 0.9 170 23.2 32.1 88.3 5.5
PI250574 Egypt 0.9 171 22.2 36.2 87.4 -.-
PI257449 S. Africa 0.8 171 32.0 30.9 85.3 3.7
PI248967 India 0.8 202 26.7 30.8 89.5 4.6
PI221046 Argentina 0.8 128 29.0 35.4 85.8 3.5
PI250397 Pakistan 0.8 190 24.2 26.4 88.8 -.-
PI182987 India 0.8 175 22.7 36.6 87.7 -.-
PI248424 Zaire 0.7 131 27.0 28.4 85.8 4.6
PI253422 Israel 0.7 109 23.0 34.4 88.4 4.8
PI257654 Russia 0.7 141 26.2 33.4 88.8 3.7
PI202668 India 0.7 174 18.7 30.6 87.1 4.1
PI248939 India 0.7 153 34.8 25.7 88.4 3.5
PI202667 India 0.7 183 23.5 40.1 88.0 5.7
PI257652 Russia 0.7 135 25.2 32.5 86.4 4.3
PI248970 India 0.6 204 23.2 23.9 82.5 5.5
PI257444 S. Africa 0.6 181 27.4 28.3 88.4 3.8
PI248391 India 0.6 162 43.8 25.1 70.7 3.5
PI248941 India 0.5 202 26.1 25.8 87.7 4.1
PI248946 India 0.6 230 33.9 26.8 89.0 3.6
PI248390 India 0.5 153 39.3 28.1 89.2 -.-
PI253621 Morocco 0.5 103 24.8 30.6 89.0 4.4
PI248943 India 0.5 242 28.9 31.1 85.1 3.8
PI219776 Argentina 0.3 108 30.4 35.7 87.5 -.-
PI250027 Iran 0.3 195 21.4 31.1 89.1 -.-
PI248392 India 0.2 230 37.4 22.9 88.7 3.4
PI247095 Iran 0.2 142 20.6 29.1 88.1 4.6
PI250942 Iran 0.1 162 16.5 35.4 89.4 4.6
PI248500 S. Africa 0.1 158 22.1 28.8 85.3 5.2
PI245105 Iran 0.1 130 16.8 25.7 88.6 -.-
PI250026 Iran -.- 176 9.6 24.4 88.6 -.-
PI250881 Iran -.- 167 26.7 34.4 72.0 -.-
Mean 1.0 167 29.1 31.5 85.7 4.2
LSD (.05) 1.0 57 12.2 9.0 13.9 2.2
zRAcid = Ricinoleic fatty acid
yU.S. cultivar

Table 2. Correlation among various characteristics of castor grown at Petersburg, Virginia during 1994.

Correlation coefficients (r)
Character 100-seed weight Plant height Oil content Ricinoleic acid content Ricin content
Yield 0.35** 0.09 0.33** -0.19 -0.02
100-seed weight -0.03 -0.02 -0.20 -0.30*
Plant height -0.10 0.00 0.22
Oil content -0.11 -0.01
Ricinoleic acid content 0.10
*, ** Significant at 5% (*) and 1% (**) levels.

Last update June 16, 1997 aw