Performance of castor (Ricinus communis L.) cultivars in Italy

Abstract Field studies were conducted in 1993 and 1994 to evaluate five castor ( Ricinus communis L.) cultivars for yield, yield components and morphological and phenological characteristics in two Italian locations. Differences in yield among cultivars were found only in the irrigated location where OR101 gave the highest yield with 2.08 t ha −1 of dry seed. All cultivars were found to be suitable for cropping for phenological traits whereas for morphological traits, dwarf cultivars seem to be better especially for irrigated environments.