PROSPECTS OF CASTOR BEAN CULTIVATION IN RAINFED TRACT OF PAKISTAN

Abstract

Non-edible oilseeds carry special importance along with edible oilseeds in the world oilseeds economy as well as Pakistan. Castor bean is an important non-edible oilseed. The agro-ecological conditions of rain-fed Pothwar region of Pakistan provide good potential for increasing cultivation of castor bean. The experimental plots of castor bean planted at three locations of Pothwar selected on the basis of rainfall shows that castor bean is a moisture sensitive crop and productivity is directly associated with rainfall levels. Similarly, earlier planted fields out-yielded than late planted ones. Among varieties, DS-30 and PR-101 performed relatively better than PR-7/1 and local. The combined effect of variety and planting time revealed that higher yielding varieties planted earlier has resulted in higher yield ha-1 as compared with the yields by the same varieties planted late. The competitiveness analysis of returns from castor been production vis-à-vis returns from sorghum and millet production at three locations showed that castor bean cultivation gave much higher returns. It is concluded that castor bean cultivation was found much profitable for the farmers of Pothwar region of Pakistan. Secondly, selection of better variety and optimum plantation times are also important, but farmers in Chakwal region should struggle for early plantation besides selecting high yielding varieties (HYVs).