Castor BUSINESS - Blogger™

As a Castor seeds farmer, you have to be mindful of this information. When you choose seeds for planting, it's important that you understand what type of seeds that is suitable for your farm or to be more accurate, you need to understand what you want.  Source for the type of seeds, or variety of seeds that is best suited to give you the results you need. There are basically three types of Castor seeds for planting and there are listed as follows: The Annual type: This type of Castor seeds are known to be the most popular hybrid seeds globally as it's numerous variety has continued to improve. It is grown annually and is usually harvested twice. Once every 115 or 120 days depending on the variety. It has a lifespan of 8 months maximum duration. It has a high yield capacity or features more than the local wild types and it's the most favorite seeds for commercial purposes. The Perennial type: This type may last for 7 years duration but it often has more lower yields than the...

1. Preparation of the field       Plough two-three times with country or mould board plough. 2. Application of Organic Manures       Spread 12.5 t/ha of FYM or compost evenly on the main field before last ploughing and incorporate in to soil by working a country plough. Apply 30 kg sulphur/ ha through gypsum at the time of last ploughing for higher castor yield. NOTE: Do not leave FYM or compost exposed to sunlight as nutrients will be lost. 3. SEED RATE       Adopt a seed rate of 10 kg/ha for varieties and 5 kg/ha for hybrid. 4. SPACING  Adopt the following spacing.   Rainfed situation Irrigated situation Varieties 90 cm x 60 cm 90 cm x 90 cm Hybrids 120 cm x 90 cm 150 cm x 120 cm In irrigated conditions, for clay soils wider spacing of 150 x 150 cm can also be adopted. For TMV 5 short duration variety 60 x 30 cm may be adopted. 5. APPLICATION OF FERTILIZERS Apply NPK fertilizers basally as per soil te...

  Read more about Glyphosate here Glyphosate is an herbicide. It is applied to the leaves of plants  to kill both broadleaf plants and grasses . The sodium salt form of glyphosate is used to regulate plant growth and ripen specific crops. Glyphosate was first registered for use in the U.S. in 1974. African farmers have been introduced to the use of glyphosate as a weed control herbicide since early 1980's and the chemical formula has been packaged and sold in different brand names in Africa. And until most recently the chemical was banned in UK. What weeds are killed by Glyphosate? Annual weeds, including grasses and most broad-leafed plants , are easily controlled using Glyphosate. This is because they have soft tissue and when growing actively they quickly absorb enough chemical to destroy the plant. However, weeds with bulbs and perennial weeds with woody stems are much harder to control. Do plants absorb glyphosate? Glyphosate is absorbed across the leaves and ...

The plastic bottles are not suitable nor used to preserve or pack Castor oil. Castor oil reacts or the quality is highly depreciated when packed in plastic. Remember, Sebacic acid is a derivative of Castor oil used for the production of plasticine. The raw castor oil depreciates due to chemical reactions caused by this interaction. The global recommended package for castor oil is hard stainless steel or bottles.

The cost for a 60ml Castor oil globally varies from between$3 to $18 depending on your location, environment and costs.  Usually a 60ml bottle costs between $0.25 $0.60 per bottle and this cost is usually considered as production cost. This is talking about best practices in Castor oil production. However, a farmer can sell in a bulk of 200 litres drums to off takers and cut off completely the cumbersome costs of production and marketing on his or her own.

I'm working on a documentary report on the plight of small holder Castor seed farmers of African descent titled "The Ignored Treasure of Africa". This report is aimed at capturing the resilience and creativity of the African Castor seeds farmers, the benefits of the Castor oil plant, and the challenges of attracting partnership and support  for the sustainable development of the value chain of Castor in Africa. It's showcases the unique difference between the African indigenous Castor seeds variety, our farming practices and oil processing methods and the huge market potentials within the continent, as well as exploring and comparing with other cultures on the emerging trends in the global industry. Join me on this journey, share your experience with the world. #AfricanCastor #IgnoredTreasure #CastorOilbusiness

Best soil for the cultivation of Castor seeds. The highly suitable soils for castor are deep, moderately fertile, with slightly acidic conditions (pH 5.0 to 6.5), well drained , sandy loams. Excessively fertile soils are not desirable, as they favour excessive vegetative growth at the expense of seed yield. #Castoroil #Castorcake #Castorfarming #Regenerativeagriculture #Sustainableagriculture

The castor cake is valuable manure for field crops but due to the presence of poison "Ricin", it is not feed to the cattle. It is useful as a trap crop because root contain "ricin" (poisonous alkaloids) which kills nematodes entered into roots. It is used as windbreak crop for  sugarcane, papaya and banana crops.

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RICIN What is ricin ? Ricin is a poison found naturally in castor beans. If castor beans are chewed and swallowed, the released ricin can cause injury.  Ricin can be made from the waste material left over from processing castor beans. It can be in the form of a powder, a mist, or a pellet, or it can be dissolved in water or weak acid. It is a stable substance under normal conditions, but can be inactivated by heat above 80 degrees centigrade (176 degrees Fahrenheit). Where ricin is found and how it is used Castor beans are processed throughout the world to make castor oil. Ricin is part of the waste “mash” produced when castor oil is made. Ricin has been used experimentally in medicine to kill cancer cells. How you could be exposed to ricin It would take a deliberate act to make ricin and use it to poison people.  Unintentional exposure to ricin is highly unlikely, except through the ingestion of castor beans. If made into a partially purified material or refined i...

HEALTH ISSUES : HEXANE  African Produced Castor oil are hexane-free and free of any solvents whatsoever, but you can't say the same of most export products which are mass produced for targeted profit What is hexane used for? Hexane is used to extract edible oils from seeds and vegetables, as a special-use solvent, and as a cleaning agent. Acute (short-term) inhalation exposure of humans to high levels of hexane causes mild central nervous system (CNS) effects, including dizziness, giddiness, slight nausea, and headache. Repeated contact can cause a skin rash, dryness and redness.  Inhaling n-Hexane can irritate the nose, throat and lungs.   Exposure can cause headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, lightheadedness and passing out. Health Hazards Associated with Hexane If swallowed, it may cause severe abdominal pain and impact the respiratory system, resulting in shortness of breath, coughing, burning of the mouth, throat or chest, and even chemical pneumo...