Castor  is grown across the world in tropical, sub-tropical and warm temperate regions. Vast castor germplasm collections are being conserved in more than 50 genebanks across the world. But consolidated reports on their status and value are not available to tap their potential. Utilization of vast global germplasm could only be enhanced when the information on germplasm is shared and seed are exchanged.

This review (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0926669011002081) provides information on current status of global castor collections and an overall view of potential of these collections besides highlighting the challenges and opportunities facing germplasm.