Castor Bean Case Study

Rehabilitation of vegetation is single and most important process among physical, chemical and biological mode for the restoration of degraded soils (Zhou et al., 2003). Castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) is not only important oilseed crop but also has tolerance to many abiotic stresses like heavy metal, salinity and drought (Babita et al., 2010; Bauddh and Singh, 2012b). These properties of castor bean make them a capable candidate for amelioration of such soils with some value added benefits like biofuel productions (Barnes et al., 2009). Wu et al. (2012) conducted a study and found that after planting castor bean for two continuous growing seasons, soil salinity
(salt content) was 0.92% lower than that under the control scenario (2.86%) and
5). Alguacil et al.
(2012) have reported that the soil microbial activity and diversity increased in the castor planted plots than that of the control with other nutritional components. Bacterial population like halophilic, phosphate-solubilizing, potassium-solubilizing, cellulose decomposing, ammonifying
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and nitrogen-fixing bacteria increased in population significantly in the planted plots. Some other studies have also shown that castor bean (R. communis) has high salt tolerance and may grow up to 6–15 feet (2–5 m) in one season with full sunlight, heat and adequate moisture on saline land
(Li et al., 2010).
Soil erosion is one of the serious reasons for the degradation of agricultural lands throughout the world. There are various soil management practices applied, such as the use of diverse crops, strip cropping, increasing crop cover, multiple cropping, agro-forestry, mulching, conservation tillage, ridging, and furrowing help to decrease the soil erosion. Growing of shrubs, which are deep rooted, may help to protect soil erosion which may also provide some value added products. Many crop plants including shrubs are not able to grow in the waste land
Both the cake and husks of castor contain good amount of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium and magnesium.
7. Other potential uses of Ricinus communis
R. communis has a numbers of potential uses like biofuel production, medicinal and industrial applications. The plants are cultivated at a major scale throughout the world due to its multipurpose nature (Scarpa and Guerci, 1982). The oil of R. communis and its derivatives have many applications in the manufacturing of jet engine, aircraft and space rocke,ts lubricants, soaps, hydraulic and brake fluids, paints varnish industry, dyes, cold resistant plastics, coatings, inks, waxes and polishes, pharmaceuticals and perfumes. It is also used in the manufacturing of a wide range of products like artificial leather, nylon fibers, fiber optics, bullet proof glass and bone prostheses and as an antifreeze for fuels (Ogunniyi, 2006; Torres et al., 2013). The extracts of castor have acaricidal and insecticidal properties which work against Haemaphysalis bispinosa and hematophagous fly Hippobosca maculata (Zahir et al., 2010). Oil of Ricinus communis is of economic interest having multiple applications like cosmetic, medical