The Farmer-Stockman
www.FarmProgress.com August 2011
13
Crops
Vegetable plastic firm to test
low-ricin castor bean in Texas
agency, the Texas AgriLife Extension
Service, will evaluate improved best management practices to ensure sustainable
agronomic yields and that production
can be compatible with other commodity
crops.
“We are pleased to be continuing
Castagra’s work with the Texas A&M
System,” says Castagra’s Canadian CEO
Peter Roosen.
“By using castor grown domestically
for our veggie-plastic products used in
the construction and coatings industries,
we are creating jobs and bringing jobs to
America that moved offshore several years
ago when the castor production was discontinued in Texas in the 1970s.
“AgriLife [Research] has done excellent
work recently in improving oil yields, while
greatly reducing the amount of ricin toxin
found in castor beans by as much as 90%,”
Roosen says.
New deal
Salt tolerance, drought resistance
Travis Miller, AgriLife Extension program leader and associate department
for soil and crop sciences at Texas A&M
University, College Station, says castor
previously had a bad reputation because
of its potential to contaminate grain crops.
“However, new low-ricin varieties and
improved agronomic practices prevent
volunteer stands and escapes, and isolated
production areas,” he says. “Vertically integrated, production–processing systems
can make castor an acceptable alternative crop for producers in certain areas
of Texas.”
David Baltensperger, professor and head
of the department of soil and crop sciences at Texas A&M, says new castor varieties have increased salt tolerance and
are more drought-resistant, “so lands in
the Pecos area may once again become
productive.
“Additionally, castor can now be fully
mechanized unlike in other castor-producing countries, such that we can now
effectively compete against countries like
India that export millions of tons of castor
oil each year to other countries, including
the U.S.,” Baltensperger says.
By BLAIR FANNIN
Key Points
C
■ Castagra and Texas A&M agree to work
with new castor bean.
■ Vegetable plastic is used for moldings,
concrete and tank protection.
■ Texas and the U.S. should be able to
compete with India in castor.
ASTAGRA, a Canadian bioproducts
company, has made an agreement
with Texas AgriLife Research, part of
the Texas A&M University System, to test
production of a new castor bean with less
ricin.
The West Texas project will investigate
production potential and sustainable production practices that do not conflict with
other commodities grown in the state, according to officials.
Castagra specializes in the use of vegetable plastic for construction, oil and
gas services industries, where its plastic
is used for moldings, concrete and tank
protection.
Castor beans not new to Texas
Castor oil and gypsum are the two main
ingredients in vegetable plastic, and castor
beans were farmed in Texas back in the
1970s. About 3 acres of low-ricin Brigham
castor will be seeded at the AgriLife
Research Station in Pecos.
The seed produced will be used for
crushing and processing trials to determine yield and quality, with the remainder
dedicated to potential 2012 castor production as planting seed.
AgriLife Research and its partner
WORK WITH CASTOR: Calvin Trostle,
Texas AgriLife Research scientist at
Lubbock, will be among the scientists
working to test a new castor bean
with less ricin. Trostle will be one of
the supervisors of the project for the
specialty crop that has many uses.
Calvin Trostle and Dick Auld, scientists based at the AgriLife Research and
Extension Center in Lubbock, will supervise the project.
Fannin is with Texas A&M Agriculture
Communications, College Station.
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