GCH-4
A Gujarat hybrid from the cross VP-1 x 48-1, listed by ICAR-IIOR as released in 1988 for rainfed and irrigated areas. It is resistant to leafhopper and tolerant to wilt, and GCH 8 gives about 58% more seed rainfed in the same table.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Castor
- Type
- Hybrid
- Season
- Kharif
- Maturity period
- 200–220 days (staggered picking)
- Expected yield
- 1,200 kg a hectare rainfed and 2,200 kg irrigated (ICAR-IIOR table)
- Suitable soil
- Sandy / light soil
- Disease resistance
- Resistant to leafhopper (jassid) and tolerant, not resistant, to Fusarium wilt (ICAR-IIOR table)
- Release
- Listed as released in 1988 (ICAR-IIOR hybrid table)
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
About this variety
GCH-4 is a Gujarat castor hybrid made by crossing VP-1 with 48-1. ICAR-IIOR lists it as released in 1988 for rainfed and irrigated areas, with seed from the Gujarat State Seed Corporation. Its average yields in that table are 1,200 kg a hectare rainfed and 2,200 kg irrigated. The table calls it resistant to leafhopper and tolerant to Fusarium wilt. Tolerant is a weaker word than resistant, which is the word used for the newer hybrids GCH 8, GNCH-1 and DCH-519. It is an older hybrid, and the same table gives GCH 8 (released 2018) 1,895 kg rainfed and 3,588 kg irrigated.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose GCH-4 only if you already know it, can buy its seed easily, and your field has little wilt. The ICAR-IIOR table calls it tolerant to wilt, a weaker word than the resistant given to newer hybrids, and gives it 1,200 kg rainfed and 2,200 kg irrigated a hectare. GCH 8 gives 1,895 kg and 3,588 kg in the same table. If you are choosing a hybrid for the first time, start with GCH 8 and keep GCH-4 as the older option.
Sowing & cultivation
- FertilizerHybrid doses per ha: 60:30:30 kg NPK on rainfed land and 90:45:45 under irrigation. ICAR-IIOR recommends this hybrid for both irrigated and rainfed conditions, so pick the dose that matches your water. These are TNAU's blanket doses, so use your soil test where you have one. Put all the phosphorus and half the nitrogen and potash in at sowing. Under irrigation, give the rest of the nitrogen and potash in two equal splits at 30 and 60 days after sowing
Pest & disease considerations
Major diseases
- Resistant to leafhopper (jassid), per the ICAR-IIOR hybrid table
- Tolerant to Fusarium wilt, per the same table; newer hybrids are listed as resistant
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- Listed for both rainfed and irrigated areas, with 1,200 kg and 2,200 kg a hectare.
- Resistant to leafhopper (jassid).
- Seed is available through the Gujarat State Seed Corporation.
Things to consider
- Only tolerant to wilt, while GCH 8, GNCH-1 and DCH-519 are listed as resistant.
- GCH 8 gives about 58% more seed rainfed and about 63% more irrigated in the same table (1,895 and 3,588 kg against 1,200 and 2,200 kg).
- We found no AICRP trial that tests GCH-4 against the new hybrids, so it has no recent trial record to rely on.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Gujarat
Tolerant or resistant? How to read GCH-4's wilt label
Castor wilt is the disease that most often ruins a field, so the words on a seed packet matter. The ICAR-IIOR hybrid table uses two different words. GCH-4 is 'tolerant to Fusarium wilt'. GCH 8, GNCH-1 and DCH-519 are 'resistant to Fusarium wilt'.
The difference is real. A resistant hybrid keeps wilt low even where the fungus is present, as DCH-519 did (17.0% and 17.7% in AICRP trials) and GCH 8 did (18.4% irrigated, 29.1% rainfed). A tolerant hybrid usually still gets infected but loses less yield than a susceptible one. GCH-4's own parents point the same way. In a poly-house screening, VP-1 was susceptible and 48-1 was resistant, so GCH-4 gets half its genes from a wilt-prone parent.
What to do: use GCH-4 on land that has had no wilt, rotate the field away from castor for a few years if wilt has appeared, and move to GCH 8 or DCH-519 where it has. I could not find a trial that measured GCH-4's wilt percentage, so the label is the only guide.
Where the planting material comes from
This is a hybrid, so seed kept from your own harvest will not breed true. The next crop comes up uneven in height, maturity and yield. Buy fresh certified seed every season and keep the bag tag until harvest.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Castor variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Maturity | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCH-519 | Rainfed or irrigated fields where a proven, wilt-resistant hybrid with easy seed supply is wanted | 200–230 days (staggered picking) | 1,740 kg a hectare rainfed and 2,130 kg irrigated (ICAR-IIOR); 3,874 kg in Rajasthan farmer-field demonstrations | Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Rajasthan, Gujarat |
| GAUCH 1 | Farmers who already grow GAUCH 1 and have land with no wilt history | 150–180 days | About 1,520 kg a hectare irrigated (ICAR-IIOR); no rainfed figure published | Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu |
| GCH 8 | Farmers who can irrigate and want the highest-yielding, wilt-resistant castor hybrid | About 7 months with four pickings (sown in mid-August, last picking in the last week of March at Sardarkrushinagar) | 19 q/ha rainfed; 36 q/ha irrigated | Gujarat |
| GCH-4this page | Farmers who already grow GCH-4 and can get its seed, on land with little wilt | 200–220 days (staggered picking) | 1,200 kg a hectare rainfed and 2,200 kg irrigated (ICAR-IIOR table) | Gujarat |
| GCH-7 | Irrigated Gujarat fields with a wilt problem, where the farmer already knows this hybrid and its seed | 200–220 days (staggered picking) | About 3,000 kg a hectare irrigated (ICAR-IIOR); 4,324 kg in a 2016-17 trial at Sardarkrushinagar | Gujarat |
| GNCH-1 | Irrigated Gujarat fields, including late-kharif, rabi and after-paddy sowings, where wilt and leafhopper are the main risks | 200–220 days (staggered picking) | Around 2,545 kg/ha in trials, roughly 14% higher than GCH-7; 20–25 q/ha under good irrigated management | Gujarat |
| Kranti | Rainfed farmers who want seed they can save, and who accept a lower yield than a hybrid | Not published for Kranti. Castor in general needs 5 to 10 months for a paying seed yield (ICAR-IIOR). | No published figure for Kranti. ICAR-IIOR gives 1,100 kg a hectare rainfed for the comparable open-pollinated variety 48-1 (Jwala). | Rajasthan, Gujarat |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Castor is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Castor plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Germination CalculatorTest 100 seeds from the bag before sowing and see whether the lot is fit to sow.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Castor variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Castor into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop CalendarMonth-by-month sowing, weeding, irrigation and harvest dates for Castor in your state.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Castor rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Castor seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
When was GCH-4 castor released?
1988, per the ICAR-IIOR hybrid table.
Is GCH-4 suitable for rainfed or irrigated fields?
Both. ICAR-IIOR lists it for rainfed and irrigated areas, at 1,200 kg a hectare rainfed and 2,200 kg irrigated.
What is GCH-4 resistant to?
Leafhopper (jassid) and, to a lesser degree, Fusarium wilt. The ICAR-IIOR table calls it resistant to leafhopper and tolerant to wilt. Tolerant is a weaker word than resistant: GCH 8, GNCH-1 and DCH-519 are listed as resistant to wilt.
Who developed GCH-4?
The ICAR-IIOR table lists the cross VP-1 x 48-1 and the Gujarat State Seed Corporation, Gandhinagar, as the seed source. It does not name the breeding station, so we do not either.
What yield does GCH-4 give?
1,200 kg a hectare rainfed and 2,200 kg irrigated, per the ICAR-IIOR table.
What are GCH-4's parents, and what do they tell me about wilt?
GCH-4 comes from VP-1 x 48-1. In a poly-house screening reported in the Journal of Oilseeds Research, VP-1 was susceptible to wilt and 48-1 was resistant. In the AICRP trials reported with GCH 8, 48-1 had 0.0% wilt on irrigated land and 1.27% on rainfed land. The same abstract lists GCH-4 among the released wilt-resistant hybrids, while the ICAR-IIOR table says tolerant. The safe reading is that GCH-4 carries some wilt tolerance from 48-1, not full resistance.
How does GCH-4 compare with GCH-8 on yield?
In the ICAR-IIOR table, GCH-4 gives 1,200 kg a hectare rainfed and 2,200 kg irrigated. GCH 8 gives 1,895 kg and 3,588 kg. That is about 58% more rainfed and 63% more irrigated for GCH 8. The two figures come from different times and trials, so they are a guide, not a head-to-head test.
Where do I get GCH-4 seed?
The ICAR-IIOR table lists the Gujarat State Seed Corporation Ltd, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382043 as the seed source. Buy only sealed, labelled packets and keep the bill and the tag. Ask the dealer for the lot number, so you can trace the seed if the crop is not true to type.
Can I save seed from my GCH-4 crop and sow it again?
No, it is a hybrid. Castor carries male and female flowers on the same plant and cross-pollinates by up to 50% (Movaliya et al., 2018), so seed from a hybrid field is a mix and the plants come up uneven. The hybrid's yield advantage is lost. Buy fresh certified seed every season. If you want seed you can keep, grow an open-pollinated variety such as 48-1 (Jwala) instead.
Sourced from: Screening of castor hybrids and their parents against wilt disease — Journal of Oilseeds Research (ICAR ePubs), ICAR-IIOR hybrids and varieties table, Vikaspedia (high yielding hybrids and varieties of castor), Movaliya et al., Study of variability and correlation for seed yield in castor, Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry 7(2), 2018, ICAR-IIOR castor cultivar page: recommended states and ecology for each hybrid (DCH 519, GCH 4, GCH 7, GNCH 1), Nutrient management: castor — TNAU Agritech Portal (blanket NPK doses for varieties and hybrids, rainfed and irrigated). editorial policy.