Abstract
The characterization and conservation of castor accessions in germplasm bank are essential in order to breeding programs achieve its goals. Despite Brazil having the 4th largest castor germplasm bank in the world, castor diversity in Brazil remains little explored. Thus, this study aimed at characterize castor accessions collected in different Brazilian regions by means of 31 morphoagronomic traits and gray mold reaction. Forty accessions of the Universidade do Estado de São Paulo (UNESP), Botucatu, SP, Brazil, germplasm bank were evaluated. Genetic parameters were estimated for the quantitative traits, and the accessions were grouped by Ward method using the standardized Euclidean distance and the simple coincidence index for quantitative and qualitative data, respectively. Qualitative and quantitative traits were important to understand and differentiate castor accessions. The accessions showed a high variation regarding the castor gray mold reaction. The accessions assessed in this study have been preserved and can be used as a source for genetic variability in the development of new castor varieties in breeding programs.
Highlights
Castor (Ricinus communis L.) is an important oleaginous from Eastern Africa and currently is cultivated in different tropical and subtropical regions around the world (Allan et al 2008, Severino et al 2012)
Brazilian breeding programs start to focus in the development of new dwarf, short cycle and highly productive castor varieties and hybrids with potential to be used in the Brazilian cerrado (Severino et al 2012)
Forty wild accessions of castor which has been maintained in the germplasm bank of the Universidade do Estado de São Paulo (UNESP), Botucatu, Brazil, were evaluated
Summary
Castor (Ricinus communis L.) is an important oleaginous from Eastern Africa and currently is cultivated in different tropical and subtropical regions around the world (Allan et al 2008, Severino et al 2012). As the national industry of castor has been significantly suffering from the decrease of raw material in the past decades, the Brazilian government launched a program of incentive in order to promote the castor production in other regions (Ribeiro & Raiher 2013). Due to this fact, Brazilian breeding programs start to focus in the development of new dwarf, short cycle and highly productive castor varieties and hybrids with potential to be used in the Brazilian cerrado (Severino et al 2012)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
