Planting density in two cultivars of castor in the south of Tocantins

In order to improve the system of production of castor oil, you need to determine the density of plants. It was conducted an experiment in the Cariri, Tocantins-TO, at the Fazenda Coqueiro, using seeds of BRS Nordestina and BRS Paraguaçú to verify the effect of five planting densities (2.5; 3.12; 4.16; 6.25 and 12.5 thousand plants ha-1) on yield and agronomic characteristics of castor. The experiment was installed in February 2006 with all plants receiving the same fertilization independent of density (NPK 5-25-15). The experimental design was randomized blocks with four replications and treatments arranged in a 5 x 2 x 3, for analysis of grain yields and in a 5 x 2 for the other traits evaluated. The treatments resulted in the combination of five densities (distance between plants growing 2.00; 1.60; 1.20; 0.80 and 0.40 m) for the 2.5; 3.12; 4.16; 6.25 and 12.5 thousand plants per hectare respectively, two cultivars (BRS Nordestina and BRS Paraguaçú) and three crops of fruit on the following dates: 06/07/2006; 03/08/2006 and 19/09/2006. Among the populations, the highest productivity was 12.5 thousand plants ha-1 for both cultivars. The average yield for Nordestina was 1,048 kg ha-1, and Paraguaçú was 1,013 kg ha-1, demonstrating the productive potential in the region of Cariri in Tocantins.