Directorate of Oilseeds Research, Rajendtanagar, Hyderabad - 500–030, India.
A field experiment wa conducted during summer 2000 to identify tn its associated with drought tolerance in castor. Four varieties (Aruna, 48-1, DCS-9, PCS-4) and four hybrids (DCH-32, DCH-177, GCH-4, GCH-5) were studied. Treatments include control and moisture stress from 30DAS till 90DAS. After relieving stress, crop recovered by producing more number of secondary and tertiary branches which were at par with control TDM is also more dueto more stem weight and leaf weight. DCS-9 and DCH-I77 performed better under stress and were superior to other genotypes. Traits associated with drought tolerance include TDM, yield of secondaries and total seed yield. DCS-9 and DCH-I77 were the drought tolerant genotypes among the different geootypes tested.
