Oil seed trials in Jamaica show Chinese castor oil could be a winner

In Jamaica, research by the Petroleum Corporation of Jamaica shows that a variety of castor been that comes from China, Zibo 8, could be the most productive for local production. Following two years of variety trials under the Scale Biodiesel Pilot Project, Zibo 8 had the highest oil yield. A Brazilian variety had slightly higher oil content but the overall yield per acre was higher for the Chinese variety. A total of 16 acres were planted under the trials where five varieties of castor bean and one variety of jatropha were grown.