CASTOR OIL PLANT: CULTIVARS PARAGUAÇU AND NORDESTINA

This research aimed to evaluate the behavior of castor oil plant cultivars BRS-188 Paraguaçu and BRS-149 Nordestina, fertilized with N, P and K. For this, two experiments were developed using an experimental design entirely randomized, each consisting of one castor oil plant cultivar and eight treatments (factorial 2x2x2) of the combination N-P-K, with two doses of N (200 and 300 kg/ha), P (150 and 250 kg/ha) and K (150 and 250 kg/ha). At the end of the experiment (160 DAS), the plant material was harvested and analyzed. The production of the crop was evaluated by measuring the length and weight of the raceme, number of fruits and quantity of seeds per raceme, weight of 100 seeds and content of oil and crude protein. The highest doses of N, P and K combined were not sufficient for the plants to develop their full productive potential. N was the most efficient nutrient in the growth, development and production of the two cultivars of castor beans studied. Although the oil content of the seeds was below that considered adequate for castor beans, N increased the oil content of the plant and the doses of this element had a significant effect on the production of crude protein.