Morphometry of castor bean seeds from the Durango State’s arid zone, Mexico

Abstract

Ricinus communis yields oilseeds of great commercial importance to industry. The aim of this study was to generate morphometric information on seed size and shape of wild castor bean accessions collected in the Durango State’s arid zone, Mexico. Bivariate scatter plots were used to identify possible relationships between seed morphometric attributes. Principal component analysis allowed the identification of three seed groups that are highly dependent on shape attributes and volume. One group involves seeds with high volume, low eccentricity, high roundness and medium flatness. Another group includes seeds with medium volume, high eccentricity, medium roundness and high flatness. The last group involves seeds with small volume, eccentricity, roundness, and flatness with high dispersion. Relationships between seed area or volume with the axes of the seeds suggest that their shapes are complex. Knowledge of seed sizes and shapes can be helpful to design technical innovation for R. communis seed handling and storage in natural ecosystems and agricultural farms.