With the objective of studying the behavior of two cultivars BRS Paraguaçu and BRS Energy of castor bean (Ricinus communis L.), irrigated with four levels of electrical conductivity of irrigation water (ECw: 0.7; 2.7; 4.7 and 6.7 dS m-1, at 25 °C), an experiment was conducted in a randomized design with 3 replications, in a factorial scheme of 4 x 2. The variables measured were: plant height, stem diameter, leaf area, number of leaves and water consumption by plant at 80 and 100 days after sowing (DAS), number of days for emission of first inflorence and height of first cluster at 100 DAS, days to harvest, number of fruits in the 1st cluster, weight of fruits, and 10 seeds at 150 DAS. The salinity of the irrigation water significantly affected the plant height, stem diameter, number of leaves, leaf area and water consumption starting from ECw 4.7 dS m-1 at 80 and 100 DAS of both cultivars. The cultivar BRS Energy showed early emission of the first inflorence and a greater height of cluster, while, the cultivar BRS Paraguaçu showed lesser fruits and seeds and had a higher weight of 10 seed.
Ricinus communis; salts; tolerance; greenhouse
