Development of Pistillate Castor

Abstract

The development of a stable pistillate castor 240 is reported. The breeding and developmental behaviour of 240 pistillate indicates it to be of the NES type. The expression of a few interspersed male flowers is not confined to any particular order of racemes but is temperature dependent. Temperatures of 31–32° C promote interspersed male flowers while lower order temperatures result in fully female racemes. By manipulating planting dates multiplication of the pistillate line and establishment of crossing blocks could be achieved at the same location. Pistillate 240 has desirable attributes such as low node number (12), normal plant type, medium tall, red stem, double bloom, non-spiny and non-shattering capsules and an oil content of 54-5%.