Castor Bean

ABC is dedicated to the development of oil seed bearing trees [OSBT] - non-food multiple vegetable oil plantation and technologies in order to reduce Dependence on fossil fuels, bring greater control and security of fuel supply and reduce dangerous climate changing emissions, including CO2. ABCs Jatropha and other non-food oil crop plantation program. With an effort to grow beyond oil, apart from Jatropha, ABC has identified, developed and cultivated as many as 15 oil seed bearing trees [OSBT] and non-food oil crops. With years of continuing research, experiments and trials has provided an adage to find and develop 2nd generation biodiesel feedstock with low cost input technology. In the search for more environmentally friendly fuels, the use of castor oil as Biodiesel has proven to have technical and ecological benefits, and stands as an opportunity for agricultural development in arid and impoverished areas throughout the tropics and sub tropics globally.

Castoroilplant

ABC has completed a series of Experiments and research on growing Castor Bean (ricinus communis) in conjunct with Jatropha in arid and semi arid regions and results an only viable solution for turning marginal lands into viable economic lands.

The oil extracted from the castor bean (ricinus communis) already has a growing international market, assured by more than 700 uses, ranging from medicines and cosmetics to substituting petroleum in the manufacturing of Biodiesel, plastics and lubricants. Each hectare of castor oil bean plants planted in arid and semi arid regions produces 350-900 kg of oil per hectare. Ricinus communis L. oil is critical to many industrial applications because of its unique ability to withstand high and low temperatures Compared with food crops, the castor-oil plant is an economic crop, Castor Bean has been widely accepted as an agricultural solution for all subtropical and tropical locations that addresses the need for commercial crops with low impute costs and at the same time provides traditional farming with a viable income from current non productive lands. Castor Bean does not compete with food crops, as Castor Bean can be grown on marginal lands, which are not competitive with food production lands. India is the most yield country of Castor-oil plant seed, the next is China Brazil and Thailand.

Given the widespread presence and ease of cultivation of the castor oil plant it could be cultivated in conjunction with subsistence agriculture programs as a potential oilseed feedstock for biodiesel ABC has honor to establish this untapped resource as alternative source for Bio- Diesel industry of future.

ABOUT THE PLANT

The castor oil plant, Ricinus communis, is a plant species of the Euphorbiaceae and the sole member of the genus Ricinus and of the subtribe Ricininae. Its seed is the castor bean which, despite its name, is not a true bean.Castor seed is the source of castor oil, which has a wide variety of uses. The seeds contain between 40% and 60% oil that is rich in triglycerides, mainly ricinolein

Distribution and Habitat

It is indigenous to many parts of India and Africa; now it has spread out over all tropical and sub-tropical countries. Castor an oil yielding crop is grown especially in semi arid and arid regions. India, China, Brazil, USSR, Argentina, Thailand, Philippines are the main countries known for castor production. In India the plants is found throughout the hotter parts of the country, cultivated in the fields and gardens, also frequently found wild near habitation, roadside and on wastelands.

BOTANY

The castor plant may grow 6 to 15 feet (2-5 meters) in one season with full sunlight, heat and adequate moisture. Its palmately lobed and large leaves may grow up to 20 inches (50 cm) across and resemble a tropical aralia. There are various cultivated varieties with different foliage colorations like black-purplish, dark red-metallic, bronze-green, maroon, bright green with white veins, and just plain green

Flowers occur most of the year in dense terminal clusters, with female flowers just above the male flowers. There are no petals and each female flower consists of a little spiny ovary (which develops into the fruit or seed capsule), and a bright red structure with feathers. Each male flower consists of a cluster of many stamens which literally smoke as they shed pollen in a gust of wind

The castor bean seed looks like an engorged dog tick in size and shape, which is composed of three sections or carpels which split apart at maturity. Each section (carpel) contains a single seed, and as the carpel dries and splits open, the seed is often ejected with considerable force.

Castor bean fruit (ricinus communis) is the spiny, globose seed capsule (left) that dries and splits into 3 sections called carpels. Each carpel (right) splits open and forcibly ejects a large seed. Like the faces and fingerprints of people, the beautiful designs on castor seeds exhibit infinite genetic variation.

Ecological Requirements

Climate

Castor is essentially a warm season crop, cultivated in tropical, subtropical and temperate regions. Its cultivation is largely confined to countries lying between 400N and 400S latitudes, but in Russia, a few varieties are grown even up to 520 North latitude In India it is being cultivated up to an attitude of 2500m, but in regions where frosts are common during the crop season; its cultivation is restricted up to 500 m. A frost free growing period of 140-190 days depending on variety is highly essential for obtaining satisfactory yields. It grows in tropical and subtropical regions as a perennial plant and in temperate climate as an annual plant. A moderate temperature of 20-26°C is highly favorable during crop period for obtaining higher yields. A low temperature (less than 15°C) in the seed bed prolongs the emergence of seedlings, and makes the seed more liable to attack by fungal diseases and insects. Castor, being a deep rooted crop, is fairly resistant to drought. A well distributed rainfall of 500-600 mm, during growing period will yield reasonably good yields. Castor can with stand long dry spells as well as heavy rains but is highly susceptible to water logged conditions

Soil

Castor crop can be grown on a wide range of soils, provided they are fairly deep and well drained. Heavy clays, with poor drainage, and marhsy soils are unsuitable. 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 favor excessive vegetative growth at the expense of seed yield. Castor does well in the soil which is not fit for valuable commercial and food crops. Though castor can tolerate a pH of 8.0 but at this pH, the soil structure and soil physical properties will become the important limiting factors for castor cultivation.

The Castor Plant is native to Africa and India but has naturalized across tropical and subtropical regions. The plant has incredible industrial value, low demand for water and prolific growth. As the seeds do not form a staple food source, the food for the people or food for fuel issue is argued to be not relevant. Also, the plant is able to grow in marginal lands. The productive plantation of Castor Plant needs to be scientifically managed for better growth and production. The growth and yield of the plant could be improved through effective management practices. The enhanced cultivation technology and improved inputs developed by ABC may provide about 5-7 k liters of biodiesel in conjunction with couple crop agriculture without displacing food crop and without utilizing prime food land in terms of sustainable farming techniques

Climate
Quality of the soil
Seed Rate
Spacing Plant Population
Transplanting
Irrigation
Weeding
Use of fertilizer
High-quality stock from superior Genotype
Use of pesticide
Inter-cropping
Harvesting

ABC carefully manages Castor Plant cultivation, with advanced crop practices suitable to local soil, weather, pest, and disease conditions to ensure the high amount of oil as we have developed enhanced technology with regards to:-

Planting materials & other inputs
Crop Management
Irrigation Management
Fertilizer Management
Pest & Diseases management
Harvesting Management
Post harvest management
And finally grading for further process

Selection of high yielding varieties with suitable marketable quality,Sowing in a proper season, in compliance with the latest agro techniques. Pest control Management of companion crops Adoption of post harvest management

Enhanced And Improved Cultivar:
The years of continuous research, experiments and in cultivating and breeding of Castor Bean and other biofuel crops, ABC was able to develop a systematic breeding and cultivar development strategy. Newly bred cultivars are extensively tested in multi-location trials and true to type seeds are being produced with high quality standard
Through its CBMAX9™ improved seed product line, ABC provides growers the highest yielding, most uniform and profitable Castor in the world. Improved seeds result in greater yield, uniformity and vigor while significantly reducing Plantation costs for growers. CBMAX9™ improved varieties have been tested and developed for a range of climatic and soil conditions. Through its research and development program, ABC continues to expand the regions for which CBMAX9™ improved seeds are available farming in many countries

Castor Bean Crop Information Growing & Care Instruction Manual and Monitoring & management system

The planting, looking after and harvesting plants is an important factor and it requires a lot of knowledge, skill and techniques viz: the best planting season to make the plant early matured, then an amount of seeds to be planted, an irrigation & fertilization method, a control method of weeds , investigate quality, yield, and degree of occurrence of several troubles .

As all biological organisms require care and attention, the need to draw Growing Instructions was being felt by all concerned

Therefore keeping in view Various concerns and problems of a new Grower; ABC being The Centre of Excellence has designed Castor Growing & Care Instructions Manual with Monitoring & Management System Diary on the basis of our own tried, tested, developed and experienced Cultivation Technologies and Practices to help you grow a Failsafe Castor Fuel Farm

The Castor Bean Growing & Care Instructions manual provides basic guidance for the project developers to help ensure successful Castor Bean planting projects.

Proper planning, planting and maintenance are the key for growing flourishing plants. Simply putting a plant in the ground is not enough. Careful thought must be given to the purpose of the planting, location of the planting and how the Castor Bean will be cared for once they are in the ground.

A properly planted and maintained plant will grow faster and live longer than one that is incorrectly planted. This booklet is organized as a step-by-step checklist of fundamentals to help you with your Castor Bean planting project

We have sincerely tried to put all steps in nutshell and hope it will be a useful tool in growing your Biodiesel Plantation

Both the Castor Bean publications are available can be ordered just for US$ 99.30.

An Economic Evaluation of Castor Farming
Ricinus communis: A Potential Viable Biodiesel Feedstock.
The Ricinus communis biodiesel meets all the three criteria any environmentally sustainable fuel must meet. These are social, technical and commercial

The seeds from the Ricinus communis Plant contain in excess of 45% oil. Castor seed oil is being used widely for various purposes. It is used as a lubricant in high-speed engines and aero planes, in the manufacture of soaps, transparent paper, printing-inks, varnishes, linoleum and plasticizers. It is also used for medicinal and lighting purposes. The cake is used as manure and plant stalks as fuel or as thatching material or for preparing paper-pulp. In the silk-producing areas, leaves are fed to the silkworms. Now the main use of the oil will be as bio fuel and for the production of biodiesel. This oil has an ash content of about 0.02% the percentage for sulfur is less than 0.04% .The higher the cetane number (CN), the better the fuel will be when used as a diesel. The CN of the majority of biodiesel fuels is actually higher than petrol or diesel, and the cetane number of castor oil biodiesel is in a good range for diesel engines. The castor biodiesel has very interesting properties (very low cloud and pour points) that show that this fuel is very suitable for using in extreme winter temperatures... The Plants will act as sinks for carbon dioxide as Castor bean plants capture around 10 tons of carbon dioxide for every hectare (2.471 acres) planted and, hence, the Ricinus communis plantation will reduce the amount of this greenhouse gas (GHG) in the atmosphere. The project has many other positive economic, social and environmental impacts: There are income generation opportunities that result from the project like the provision of goods and services to the plantation and its workers
THE POTENTIAL RETURNS
As the biodiesel industry grows, honing a cost-effective and diverse feedstock supply stands out as a top challenge. There is a need to diversify the sources and methods used to generate biofuel products to achieve food security, energy security and sustainable development and carbon savings. Biodiesel producers are looking for alternative feedstocks which are non- agricultural and non-food crops. And Ricinus communis has the ability to substitute the requirement of low cost feedstock with the potential for high oil seed production and the added benefit of an ability to grow on marginal land. These properties support the suitability of this plant for large scale vegetable oil production needed for a sustainable biodiesel industry.

Yield is a function of light, water, nutrients and the age of the Plant. Good planning, quality planting material, standardized agronomy practices and good crop management may handsomely increase the yields. Ricinus communis will yield at Maturity as high as +1000 kl oil with proper nutrition, and irrigation. This is truly an exceptional amount of oil from an agricultural crop

A feasibility study and a business plan are essential steps in developing a successful biodiesel business. However it is not easy to prepare an excellent business plan.

Advanced Biofuel Center (abc) has been working in the field of nonfood oil crops promotion for biodiesel production and become a pioneer of Biodiesel nut Plantation &Production. ABCs research findings and on-hand field experiences in respect of various technical, agronomical/silvicultural aspects of plantations of Jatropha and other nonfood biodiesel crops in various categories of land as well under different plantation models have resulted in significant improvements in knowledge and technical background related to Productivity, profitability and sustainability of commercial production of nonfood biodiesel Crops. Based on our proprietary knowledge and extensive experience gained we have developed Based on our proprietary knowledge and extensive experience gained we have developed and enhanced a wide range of Products for creating a FALESAFE FUEL FARM

With its extensive experiences in the field, enhanced technology, plant science & professional knowledge, effective consulting service and business intelligence ABC can clearly understand the business model, products and services, production, marketing and provides all aspects of feasibility analysis and business development including assessments of the following: crop production, crushing, co-product markets, feedstock acquisition and contracting, technology analysis, risk analysis specific to biodiesel technology, feedstock, markets, and general project risks, market and financial analysis.

We make the integration of our experience and professional knowledge with your information. We provide in depth analysis of crop cultivation and crop care part of plan for which we have team of agronomist and plant scientists, and then we have engineers and experts in biodiesel industries to finish the technology and production part of business plan. We have professionals in accounting to complete financial and economics part. ABC can offer the type of consulting that only numerous years of leadership in the biodiesel market can provide at an affordable price.

ABC can help clients identify the needs, opportunities and solutions of their local, regional and national markets. By identifying these needs and providing management direction, ABC can help in creating a perfect business plan in order to develop and manage an effective and successful biodiesel facility. The most critical component of any business plan is the pro forma, an educated view or projection of what the performance of a company is capable of, given a specific set of assumptions and conditions. ABC has been involved in identifying these needs for specific projects for a number of years and can help develop a realistic and obtainable:

These projections will be valuable in determining feasibility of the project, securing financing, attracting investment and guiding management so that the company can reach its full potential.

For a detailed quote for a complete and comprehensive Castor Biodiesel Business Plan from Farming to fuel, kindly mail to jatrophaplan@gmail.com or contact 0n +91 0929423333

Based on our proprietary knowledge and extensive experience gained we have developed and enhanced a wide range of Products just to ensure FAILSAFE FUEL FARM

ABC has developed a set of CEP services with access to our own supply chain intellectual property rights (IPR) and exclusive expertise with technological background and experiences in the field for creation of your ambitious Green Energy Farm

CEP SERVICE 1: (preliminary stage)
Land identification is a pre-requisite to development of a Project plan and to meet this requirement Pre-feasibility Study is required to be getting carried out from the competent experienced agency. We do carry out the Pre-feasibility study report for choosing the best location for your green energy Project

CEP SERVICE 2: (preparatory stage)
The formulation of business plan needs in- depth specialists from each field. CJP can offer nonfood renewable energy projects with many plans, resources and proven profitable models. Our specialty is business planning with the focus on high productivity and profitability. Getting the best business plan

CEP SERVICE 3: (pre-plantation stage)

Getting the best planting stock/material is the most important KEY Strategy to ensure a failsafe fuel farm. We have developed best variety called CBMAX9 with more seeds and more oil per ha with flowering and fruiting

CEP SERVICE 4: (Plantation stage)

Adopting Best Practices in Agronomy
In order to achieve commercial perfection, it is crucial to understand the crops requirements, predict its possible interactions with the environment & develop packages of practices for industrial cultivation

That's why ABC is providing low-cost Crop Cultivation Technology & Crop Care Technology which includes

Improved Agricultural Practices Varietal Improvements Enhanced cultural practices Pest & Disease Control Intercropping Going Green with the use of Microbial fertilizers Fine-tuning practices to soil type, environmental conditions & labor

For further details, kindly contact:

Director (Business Development), ABC
Tele: +91-9829423333
E-mail jatrophaplan@gmail.com