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Castor bean breeding. Incorporation of the non-shattering character in the IAC-38 cultivar

The castor bean crop in São Paulo has been expanding in recent years and reached about 30,000 tona of seed annually. The IAC-38 cultivar is the most planted It has a dwarf size, a cycle of 180 to 200 days, and yields about 2,000 tons of seed per hectare. Its seed oil content is 41%. It is an outstanding cultivar, but has the disadvantage of having dehiscent fruit. This requires a great number of harvests and consequently increases the labor costs. Hybrids between IAC-38 and the non-shattering cultivar Cimarron were made in 1957. After five generations of successive selfings and individual selection testings, a progeny was found that associates good vegetative characters with high yield and indehiscent capsules. Plants representative of this new selected cultivar have medium height, erect branches, and a cycle of 140 to 150 days. They show a partial defoliation at hervest time. The yield is comparable to that of the IAC-38 and its seed oil content is better (46%). The new cultivar that has been named Campinas will probably be released to farmers in the next two years.


Instituto Agronômico de Campinas Avenida Barão de Itapura, 1481, 13020-902, Tel.: +55 19 2137-0653, Fax: +55 19 2137-0666 - Campinas - SP - Brazil
E-mail: bragantia@iac.sp.gov.br