Castor Cultivation | CastorOil Blog

THE MINISTRY of Agriculture and Fisheries of Manchester has embarked on a drive to have a sustained production of castor oil beans in the island to meet the demand of local and overseas markets.

Castor oil beans are used to manufacture a wide variety of products, including lubricants, plastics, paints, and hair and skin care ointments. The early Egyptians used it to protect their bodies from the dry desert windstorms, while in Jamaica, it is best known as a laxative to keep the bowels clean and as a hair treatment. This will be the first time that the Manchester government will be moving to have the castor plant, that grows wildly in many parishes, commercially grown as part of the productive sector

Interested farmers

During a launch of the effort at the office of the Rural Agricultural Development Agency (RADA) in Mandeville, Manchester, more than 100 small farmers turned up to participate in the programme.

Minister of Agriculture Roger Clarke, who addressed the group, told them that the production of castor oil beans presents a new opportunity to increase their earnings. Member of Parliament for south Manchester, Michael Peart, said castor oil requires low maintenance and “has the potential to alleviate the economic stress” most small farmers are experiencing.

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Here is a brief blog post which helps the castor farmers to understand the do’s and do not’s while cultivating castor. Article excerpts from http://www.ikisan.com

For proper tilth and good seed bed preparation, plough the land immediately after pre-monsoon showers followed by 2-3 harrowings with blade harrow after rains.
Farmers are required to purchase the hybrid seed from authorised registered seed agent and ensure its viability
However, they need not renew seed stock of their improved varieties every year.
Using certified seed once obtained from authorised agencies/sources, interested farmers can easily meet their requirement of quality seeds and maintain the varieties for atleast 3-4 years without any appreciable deterioration.
Seed may be treated with Thiram or Bavistin 3g/kg seed to protect from seed borne diseases like Alternaria leaf blight, seedling blight and wilt.
A plant population of 55,500/ha has been found to be optimum for rainfed castor in all regions
For achieving required plant stands in dry lands, a seed rate of 10-15 kg/ha is adequate depending on seed size.
The optimum date of sowing for castor in Andhra Pradesh is first fortnight of June.
Plough with single seed drill help in placement of seed at appropriate moist zone and ensures better germination and growth.
As far as possible place the seed in a moist zone 10-12cm below the soil surface to ensure proper moist soil seed contact for sufficiently long period and thereby obtain good germination.

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Manchester Gov’t Launches Production of Castor Oil Beans

Do’s and Don’ts of Castor Cultivation