The Latest High-Yield Castor Bean Planting Techniques and Methods Tutorial
Castor bean, also known as damazi, laomale, caoma and other names, is an annual or perennial herbaceous plant of the genus Ricinus in the Euphorbiaceae family, often becoming a perennial shrub or small tree in tropical or southern regions. It originated in Egypt, Ethiopia and India, and later spread to Brazil, Thailand, Argentina, the United States and other countries. Castor bean in our country was introduced from India. Let us take a look at the high-yield castor bean planting techniques below!
Site Selection and Land Preparation
Castor bean has strong adaptability and can be planted in all kinds of soil. It can be planted sparsely in spare spaces along ditch edges and roadsides, in front of and behind houses, or planted in patches on barren hills and slopes. When planting in patches, plow the land 4 to 6 weeks before sowing to allow the soil to mature. For sparse planting, also plow the land in advance and dig holes 35 cm deep and 35 cm wide. Since castor bean is afraid of waterlogging, if planting in low-lying land, the land should first be converted into raised beds with drainage ditches dug between the beds. When planting castor bean on wasteland, convert the slopes into contour strip terraces to prevent soil and water loss and to facilitate management and harvesting. On steep slopes with a gradient above 25 degrees, it is suitable to dig holes for planting.
Seed Treatment
1. Seed selection: Before harvest, select castor bean plants that grow vigorously, have many branches, bear fruit early and have many capsules. Pick the capsules with the most fruits and the earliest maturity, dry them in the sun and thresh them. After drying, put them in baskets or bags and store them in a dry, ventilated place. However, it is best to purchase excellent hybrid seeds from scientific research or production units.
2. Seed soaking and germination: Before sowing, soak the seeds in warm water at 40 to 50 degrees C for 24 hours, then remove them and bury them in moist sand. The seeds generally need 5 to 7 days to germinate, and they can be sown immediately after germination. If sowing is to be delayed, soak the seeds in warm water for 48 hours to soften the hard shell and allow the kernels to absorb enough water, so as to speed up germination. After soaking, the seeds can be sown in time or germinated first, and they can be sown once part of the seeds show sprouts.
Fine Sowing
1. Sowing time: Castor bean is generally sown from “Jingzhe” to “Lixia”. Some provinces and regions in South China and Southwest China sow earlier, while some provinces and regions in East China and North China generally sow in April to May. Some provinces and regions in Southwest China can sow in spring, summer and autumn, and in the tropical regions of South China it can also be sown in winter.
2. Sowing method: There are two sowing methods for castor bean: direct sowing and transplanting. For direct sowing, put 2 to 3 seeds per hole, with a seed spacing of 3 to 5 cm, and cover with soil 2 to 3 cm thick. For transplanting, choose loam or sandy loam that is sheltered from the wind, faces the sun, has convenient water sources and is relatively fertile, then deep plow, apply fertilizer, level the land, and make a seedbed 1 m wide for sowing, watering and covering the seeds.
3. Timely transplanting: When the castor bean seedlings emerge and grow 3 to 4 true leaves, they can be transplanted with soil attached. After planting, water to settle the roots, then water once every 3 to 5 days until they survive. The density is generally 1.7 to 2 m square spacing, with about 160 plants per mu. For perennial castor bean, it can be slightly denser, with 200 to 250 plants per mu being suitable. Planting on steep slopes and gentle slopes can also be slightly denser.
Field Management
1. Rational fertilization: Castor bean has a strong ability to absorb nutrients. It needs more nitrogen fertilizer in the early stage, and after flowering it mainly needs phosphorus and potassium fertilizer. Therefore, more composted manure or farmyard manure mixed with plant ash should be used as base fertilizer. For large-scale planting, fertilization can be done by opening furrows, or two handfuls of compost can be applied in each hole, covered with soil, and then sown. For sparse planting, hole application can be used. After sowing, cover the holes with plant ash mixed with fine soil, and apply dilute human and livestock manure when thinning to a stand. If planting on reclaimed wasteland, soybeans or peanuts can be interplanted between the castor bean rows after emergence.
2. Thinning and earthing up: When castor bean seedlings are 10 cm tall, thin them, remove the thin and weak seedlings that are too densely grown, and combine this with one cultivation and weeding. When the seedlings are 17 to 20 cm tall, they can be thinned to a stand, keeping one healthy seedling per hole, and a second cultivation and weeding should be carried out. For planting on barren hills and slopes, thinning to a stand can be postponed a little. A third cultivation and weeding can be carried out before flowering. When the seedlings are 30 cm tall, earth up around the base along with cultivation to stabilize the roots, which helps resist drought, wind and lodging.
3. Topping and pinching: When castor bean grows 7 to 8 true leaves, carry out topping. Afterwards, according to the growth of the castor bean, the tips grown from each branch can be pruned once more to promote branching and increase yield. At the same time, it makes the plant shorter, making fruit picking easier. When the plant grows to 55 to 60 cm, carry out pruning, cutting off dead branches and diseased and pest-infested branches to promote more new shoots and prevent the spread of diseases and pests. After pruning, topdress in time, and in dry weather, water promptly to combat drought.
4. Overwintering management: After harvesting perennial castor bean, overwintering protection should be carried out well. In places with heavier frost and snow, wrap the castor bean stalks with rice straw before frost and remove it after the beginning of spring the following year. For branches or main stems that have been damaged by freezing, saw them off 35 cm above the ground and smear the saw cuts with cow dung. After the beginning of spring, the main stump can sprout and grow again. In areas with severe freezing damage, saw off the main stem before frost, leaving a stump 20 to 30 cm above the ground, smear the saw cuts with cow dung, and then cover and seal the castor bean stump with soil. In the following spring, or when there is no snowfall, uncover the soil and it can sprout and grow branches.
5. Disease and pest control: The main pest of castor bean is the black cutworm, which comes out at night to gnaw and bite off seedlings. Therefore, in the early morning, the surface soil around the roots of bitten seedlings can be scraped open to catch and kill them, or poisoned bait can be used to lure and kill them. The main diseases are sclerotinia and powdery mildew. Once they occur, remove diseased plants in time, burn or deeply bury the removed sources of infection, and spray with 25% triadimefon 1000-fold solution once every 7 to 10 days for 2 to 3 consecutive sprays, or use 1:120 Bordeaux mixture for spray control.