Variability Studies in Castor Germplasm Accessions (Ricinus communis L.)

A total of 45 castor germplasm were studied for the variability for nine biometrical traits and four physiological traits. The study was conducted during Kharif season of 2011-12 at Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai. The data were subjected to analysis of variance and it was found that the germplasm differed significantly for all the characters studied. The estimates of genotypic and phenotypic variances were worked out for all the characters. While considering the biometrical traits high GCV estimates were observed for number of capsules in primary spike, single plant yield, plant height, primary spike length. In the present investigation both biometrical and physiological characters showed high heritability indicating low environmental effect and high capacity of the characters for the transmission to subsequent generation.