Harvest when one or more capsules on a spike show signs of drying. Cut the matured spikes (racemes) without damaging the secondary branches. Dry the capsules in the sun — do not heap them in the shade — and shell the dried capsules in a sheller. Castor is harvested in several pickings; the source gives first, second and third harvests about 30 days apart for its hybrids.
Pending expert review
Source
Crop Production Guide – Agriculture 2020 (Directorate of Agriculture, Tamil Nadu & Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU)), Castor – Harvesting the crop, pp. 209–210
