Castor yield doubles to 4,000 kg per hectare under SEA's program

In a first, Solvent Extractors' Association of India (SEA) has seen castor seed yield doubling from 2,000 kg per hectare to a whopping 4,000 kg per hectare under its castor seed development program in two villages of Gujarat.

Buoyed by the success, SEA will be extending the program to Rajasthan. While the first program saw sowing over 300 hectares, under the extended program SEA aims at castor sowing on over 1,500 hectares of land.

"Having seen positive results in the castor yield development program, we are now planning to extend the drive to now Rajasthan which is the second largest castor producing state after Gujarat. Also, the program will continue in Gujarat with more farmers," said Haresh Vyas, president of castor seed and oil promotion council of SEA.

SEA had started this project to improve yield on a pilot basis in Banaskantha and Aravali districts of Gujarat on about 75 hectares farm land. About 60 farmers have joined this project and scientists of Dantiwada Agriculture University guided farmers from sowing till harvesting. Recently, the association had invited castor seed farmers of North Gujarat to showcase the result of the project.

B V Mehta, executive director of SEA said, "With Gujarat and Rajasthan combined we are aiming to cover about 1,500 hectares of farmland under the yield development program and want to associate 300 farmers in the project."

According to SEA, the area under castor seed crop may reduce in new sowing method but overall yield will improve which maintain the average production. In general practice farmers saw castor with just two or three feet gap between each plant while in the project method of farming has been changed and as per the university guidance farmers have kept seven feet gap. Moreover, drip irrigation has also been installed in farms under the pilot project.

Castor seed production for 2016-17 may decrease by 25-35% on the back of lower sowing. According to initial estimates by industry, castor seed supply for the year 2016-17 is expected to be around 0.9 to 1 million tonnes of production.

As per the SEA, castor seed production was about 1.40 million tonnes in 2015-16. Due to higher production in 2015-16, castor seed prices remained under pressure which led to farmers restricting the acreage under castor cultivation for the year 2016-17. 

According to Union Agriculture Department data, castor area has decreased by 24% to 835,000 hectares in 2016 Kharif sowing season as against 11 million hectares in 2015. Gujarat which is the largest producer of castor seed in the country had reported sowing of castor seed on 565,400 hectares as against 781,400 hectares.