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Máira Milani and Márcia Barreto de Medeiros Nóbrega

Additional information is available at the end of the chapter

http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/56216

## **1. Introduction**

Produced from the seeds of *Ricinus communis*, castor oil is an important feedstock for the chemical industry because it is the only commercial source of ricinoleic acid, a hydroxy fatty acid, which comprises about 90% of the oil. In addition to the traditional uses of ricinoleic acid, there is also a demand for vegetable oil to be used as biofuel and for nem products derived from the castor oil. Due to the increasing demand in the global market, there is a short supply of castor oil and this trend seems to get worst every year. Castor is an ideal candidate for production of high value, industrial oil feedstocks because of the very high oil content (48-60%) of the seed, and the extremely high levels of potential oil production [1] Due to the ricinoleic acid, castor oil and its derivatives are of great versatility being used in synthesis routes for a large number of products and are increasing rapidly [2,3]. In some places of the world it is used like an ornamental due to their vibrant leaf and floral coloration [4].

All over the world, cultivation is done by small farmers in countries such as India, China, and Brasil, and FAO statistics report seed yield averages of 1,104.8; 911.8; and 701.1kg/ha respec‐ tively for these countries (Figure 1). In Brazil and in India, the production is made in arid or semiarid regions. In these environments, the rainfall, is generally erratic and low, and the availability of water is the major factor affecting yield.

In Brazil, the production of castor oil is concentrated in the semi-arid northeast, mainly in the state of Bahia, which accounts for more than 80% of the production and acreage [6, 7]. The culture system used by small producers in Brazil usually involves intercropping with food crops mainly maize and beans, and low adoption of technologies. The whole system of production, from planting to processing is manual [8]. Mostly the use of local varieties with long cycle and uneven seed maturation, little or no soil tillage and fertilization. Using such technology farmers have low-income, and the national seed yield of castor is low as 600 kg/ha

[7]. These values are too low to make the production profitable. The cultivars developed by Embrapa Cotton for the traditional areas of cultivation of castor, produce an average of 1500 kg/ha of castor in farmers fields [9].

**Figure 1.** Yield of castor seed in the three main producers countries in twenty years. Data Source: [5]

The populations synthesized by the breeding program of Embrapa Cotton have been evaluated along with public and private partners since 1987. The Research Group mainly evaluates selected genotypes based on the behavior per se of individuals or populations. The main objective is to obtain cultivar that are more productive and adapted to the environment of each growing region, to the production system, and the technological level applied.

The program aims to develop cultivars that are indehiscent, short, and easy to harvest. Earliness of seed maturation is also desired.
