castor farming is expanding at a rapid scale, as it can supply rawmaterial for biodiesel manufacture. it is a crop hence it can bemechanized like rape seed and soy, but can be grown in areas whererainfall is less, and in soils which are not suitable for other crops.since Castor Oil is not edible, it does not compete with food.logistics of collection of seeds is easy. according to the u.n.,harvesting castor oil requires 12 workers for every 10 acres of castor.
world scene : production of castor seed is confined mainly to india,china & brazil, but its consumption is higher in eu countries, usa& japan, who use it to produce & consume / export itsvalue-added derivatives. castor oil production & consumption in2004-2005 in mt is as follows :

castor seed		castor oil
country	production	production	consumption
india	850,000	336,000	82,000
china	250,000	105,700	167,000
brazil	177,000	10,400	55,000
eu		4,600	130,000
usa			40,000
japan			22,000
others	50,000	30,600	42,000
total	1,327,000	487,300	538,000

castor seed is the source of castor oil, which has a wide variety ofuses. the seeds contain between 40% and 60% oil that is rich intriglycerides, mainly ricinolein. they also contain ricin, a poison,which is also present in lower concentrations throughout the plant,which makes it unsuitable for cooking.
castor is the best crop for intercropping with jatropha. in india, itis grown on 713,000 hectors of rain fed land and it yields 850,000 tonsof Castor Seeds per year. exports of castor oil from india are to thetune of 200,000 to 225,000 tons. india is the largest producer andexporter of castor oil and its share is 60 to 70% of world trade.presently the uses of castor are limited. the oil is currently used formedicinal purposes and as lubricant or as raw material for colours,soap as well as manufacture of castor oil derivatives, but in future itwill be required in large quantities for production of biodiesel. ithas large export potential, as a raw material for manufacture ofbiodiesel to industrialized countries.
since the roots of castor penetrate deep into soil, and get water fromdeep soil, it is good for drought prone areas. the crop needs hot andhumid climate. it can grow in lands with small soil layer on rocks. inindia, it is cultivated in andhra pradesh, bihar, gujrath, tamilnadu,maharashtra and up. it is largely cultivated in drought prone areaswhere rain fall is 380 to 500 mm per year. this can be cultivated ascash crop in areas where rainfall is good and reliable. the cake isused as organic Fertilizer.
the land is fertilized with 60 kgs of n and 40 kgs of p per hector.half of this amount is spread very close to seeds just before the timeof plantation. rest half is spread just at the time of flowering, orafter 45 days of plantation.
plantation is done by putting seeds in the soil on the onset ofmonsoon. if monsoon is delayed, it is planted later. western 6 or otherhybrid verities are generally planted. it is planted in squareformation of 900 x 450 mm. 2 seeds are planted 30 to 50 mm deep. 10 to20 kgs of seeds is required per hector of plantation. for aruna castor,it is planted in square formation of 600 x 300 mm. 20 to 22 kgs ofseeds is required per hector of plantation. girija aruna verity canyield production in 160 days. in good soil, it can bear fruits a bitlater. hence you can get higher production. this verity can yield cropfor a number of years.
after 10 15 days, the saplings can be replanted in square formation of300 x 450 mm. one good sapling is retained at the point and otherweaker sapling is removed. the weeds in the field are removed every 15days.
castor requires 500 to 650 mm of rain water. the crop is sensitive tohigh rain fall. short height hybrid verities are good for low watersupply. if water supply is more, the flowering is delayed. to avoidthis water supply is stopped for some time. this leads to higher rateof flowering and higher yields. water should be available duringflowering period.
before collection of fruits and seeds, water supply should be cut offfor 3 to 4 weeks. once the fruits are formed, it does not require watersupply. it can anyway absorb water from the soil.
it is infected by some insects and camel worms, and it results in lossof production. if some insects or camel worms are found after 15 daysof plantation, pesticides such as sumithion or quinolphos are sprayedon it. sumithion 50 ec is mixed with 200 ml of water or quinolphos 25ec is mixed with 500 ml of water and sprayed on the crop. if camelworms spreads very widely, it has to be picked manually and destroyedin kerosene pot. it needs to be protected for first 1 to 2 months fromcamel worm. later it is not attacked by camel worm. some pests mightattack the fruits, which can be destroyed using same pesticides.
fruits dry on the plant. these are then plucked and dried for 4 to 5days. these can be dehulled by machine or manually. seeds are separatedand cleaned. 1,000 to 1,500 kgs of seeds can be cultivated from 1hector of rain fed good quality soil and 800 to 1,000 kgs from mediumquality soil. if it is irrigated, there can a number of crops, and itcan yield 2,000 to 2,500 kgs of seeds.
comparison with other crops : it can yield crop in 5 to 6 months. 7.5to 10 kgs of seeds are required for plantation in 1 hector. it can becultivated round the year. since roots penetrate deeper, less water issufficient. seeds can be stored for 2 years. less problems from pestscompared to other crops. it can sustain changes in weather very easily.