Response of different castor ecotypes to drought stress under Isfahan and Shahrekord climates

In respect to drought crisis in the center of Iran, it needs valuable crops which adapt to such environments, a field experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of drought stress on different castor ecotypes at two places (Isfahan and Shahrekord) in 2013. Experiment was carried out in split plot arrangement in randomized complete block design (RCBD) with three replications that four drought stress levels (non-stress equals 30, 45, 60 and 75 percent moisture depletion soil) as a main plot and six castor ecotypes (’Isfahan ‘, ’Ardesrtan ‘, ’Arak ‘, ’Naeen ‘, ’Yazd ‘ and ’Ahvaz‘) as a subplot in two mentioned places. The results from both experiments were analyzed by combined analysis. The measured traits were including plant height, leaf number per plant, LAI, capsule number per plant, seed number per plant, 100 seeds weight, grain yield, harvest index, oil percent and oil yield. The results showed that the highest seed yield and oil yield were related to ’Isfahan‘ ecotype in Isfahan region under control with 1388 and 673 kg/ha, respectively.