The thorny cashew tree is a common crop in India. Reading this article on cashew farming would be very useful for those who do not have internet access, especially farmers and others interested in cashew cultivation.
One of the expanding agricultural commodities in India is cashew. Although it is grown throughout the country, more than 95% of its annual exports come from the southernmost states of the country.
Because particular climatic conditions exposed the cashew tree throughout its early years, the trees do best in tropical regions, especially along the southwestern coast.
A well-liked and valuable tree fruit is the cashew. It flourishes in tropical and subtropical parts of Central America, the Caribbean, Brazil, Africa, and Asia. The cashew apple, which belongs to the Anacardiaceae family, is technically categorized as an accessory fruit because it develops alongside a cashew nut inside a casing. It is quite sweet, similar to lychee and mango.
Varieties Of Cashew Plants:
In India, commercial cashew farming can choose from a wide variety. Here are some cashew types created by or suitable for various Indian states:
- Virudhachalam-1,-2,-3, VRI-4, VRI (CW)-H1 in Tamil Nadu
- Kerala- Priyanka (H-1591) Sulabha (K-10-2) Dharashree (H-3-17) Dhana (H-1608) K-22-1 Kanaka (H-1598) Amrutha (H-1597) Akshaya (H-7-6) Anagha (H-8-1) Madakkathara-2 (NDR-2-1) (BLA-39-4)
- Andhra Pradesh- BPP-1, BPP-2, BPP-3, BPP-4, BPP-5, BPP-6, and BPP-8 (H2/16)
- Maharashtra- Vengurla-1, Vengurla-2, Vengurla-3, Vengurla-4, Vengurla-5, Vengurla-6, and Vengurla-7 in Maharashtra
- Karnataka- Chintamani-1, NRCC-1, NRCC-2, Ullal-1, Ullal-2, Ullal-3, Ullal-4, UN-50
- West Bengal- Jhargram-1 Goa – Goa-1
Technical Requirements | How To Start Cashew Farming
Soil For Cashew Plantation:
The optimal soil for cashew farming is deep with sandy topsoil and is well drained. Additionally, poor soil is perfect for cashew farming. However, laterite, sandy red soil, and coastal sandy soil are excellent for cashew production. Farmers need to be aware of water stagnation in their fields since it might stunt plant growth. Additionally, check the soil’s PH level, which should not fall below 8.0. Cultivators might select mineral-enriched clean sand for cultivating cashews.
Climate:
The optimum places to grow cashew nuts are those with temperatures between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius and an average yearly rainfall of 1000 to 2000 mm. Therefore, it requires well-defined dry weather conditions for at least 4 months in order to produce the greatest results; high rainfall and an unbalanced environment are not beneficial for it. Temperatures above 36 degrees Celsius in excess, particularly during the flowering and fruiting seasons, may have a negative impact on maintaining fruit standards.
Land Preparation & Planting:
Thoroughly plow the ground before planting to promote aeration and aid in moisture conversion. Prior to the monsoon, it should be ready (April to June). plant cashews In pits with typical soil strata that measure 60 cm x 60 cm x 60 cm. hard laterite soil needs Pits with dimensions of 1 m x 1 m x 1 m. As a result, June through July are the best months for planting, and 45-day-old seedlings should be used for plantation.
Education And Pruning:
Remove lateral stalks that support the growth of plants from the upper section of the trunk up to a height of 2 to 25 meters from the ground. To prevent disease infestation on Kaju plants, consider cutting diseased and damaged branches periodically.
Top Working:
The top working technique has emerged as a breakthrough way to increase output levels in underperforming clones and plants that are younger than 10 to 20 years. Decapitation is at least done at a height of 0.5 m from the ground while working on the tree. Then, to help safeguard the cashew plants from probable infection by borer insects, apply a paste made of BHC@50% wettable powder and copper oxychloride of 50 grams each mixed with a little water.
Inter-Cultivation In Cashew Nut Plantation:
Farmers can think about inter-cultivation within the spacing of the land before the cashew plants start generating yield to acquire the chance to sustain income without gapping typically. Apart from pineapple and papaya, crops that can be grown over these four years include ground nuts, cucurbits, turmeric, ginger, and chili.
Pest & Diseases Protection In Cashew Nut Plantation:
Pests In Cashew Plantation:
- Stem borer: First, get rid of all affected branches.
- Wipe the exposed bark of shoots and roots with sprayed water after mixing Carbaryl @50 WP of 2 grams with light water.
- Paint all exposed trunks with a 1:2 combination of coal tar and kerosene twice a year, in April-May and October. Alternately, wipe them off three times a year in January–February, May–June, and September–October with neem oil at 5% concentration.
- Additionally, it’s suggested to get rid of grubs as soon as possible. As a result, there are fewer infestation concerns. Apply Chlorpyriphos 0.2% at 10 ml/lit or Neem oil 5% to the injured plant portions in addition.
Shoot Caterpillars:
Plants sprayed with Profenophos 50 EC@2ml mixture per liter water to efficiently suppress insects.
Root borer:
Root borer: If cashew plants discovered their root borers, apply monocrotophos 10 ml per plant. This needs to be put into the holes that the pesticide has already made.
Tea mosquito bug:
Plants should spray with phosalone 35/EC@ 2.0 ml during the flowering stage, carbaryl 50WP@ 2 g/liter water during the reproductive stage, and monocrotophos@ 2 ml/liter water during the nut-forming stage for successful management of tea mosquito pests.
Using a different strategy, it needs three spraying sessions: the first with Profenophos (0.05%) during the flushing stage, the second with Chlorpyrifos (0.05%) during the flowering stage, and the third and final spraying with Carbaryl (0.1%) during the fruiting stage.
Leaf Miner:
Discard the injured tree parts and then use a sprayer like NSKE5% in two rounds, first when the new flush emerges and then when the bloom begins to form from the nascent stage, to get rid of the plant-eating pest.
Diseases In Cashew Plantation:
Pink illness: The pink disease is a very harmful disease that inhibits the ability of Kaju plants to produce yield. Cultivators should therefore identify the afflicted shoots. Apply Bordeaux paste after pruning the plant and spraying
Anthracnose: After removing all branches and plant components, spray the affected regions with a solution of Bordeaux 1% and ferrous at the start of flushing.
Harvest & Yield In Cashew Plantation:
Remember that yield can desire right from 3rd year ahead. However, March and May are the best months for harvesting cashew plants. Nuts should be carefully split from cashew apples and should be kept in sun for 3 to 4 days for lessening their moisture content. Cultivators can desire a yield of 5 to 6 kg from the second year which may increase up to the level of 8 to 10 kg from 4th year around.
Processing Of Cashew Nuts:
Unlike other nuts, cashew requires more work to go from tree to plate. The cashew isn’t really a nut, which is the fundamental reason for this. Even though the cashew nut isn’t actually present in the cashew apple, it is nonetheless categorized as a fruit. Instead, it can be found in the drupe, a little hard shell with a kidney-shaped structure that develops beneath the cashew apple. Let’s examine the procedures involved in getting cashew from the tree to your lips as either raw or roasted cashews.
The Drape Is Taken From The Tree:
The mature drupe is first carefully removed from the tree by farmers. To ensure that the drupe is not damaged, they must use the utmost caution. This shell’s interior is full of a variety of acids and oils that can severely irritate the skin. When collecting cashews, employees should always wear gloves and long sleeve shirts to protect their skin in the event that a drupe does crack open.
The Drupe Is Dried Or Frozen:
The drupe is then left in the sun for a few days to dry off. The acids and oils inside the shell help it to dry out, making it less dangerous to crack open. The drupe can be also frozen in its position. Both methods lessen the danger of cracking open the shell.
Roasting The Drizzle:
The dried drupe is next roasted over a fire or steam-cooked in a boiler. After roasting the drupes for around 20 minutes, the hard outer shell will become more malleable. They can then be sliced open once they have cooled. Because the fumes can be harmful if ingested, roasting must complete outside.
Take The Shell Off:
Workers can carefully cut away the shell now that it can be easily removed. Even so, they must still put on protective gear because the shell may still contain certain oils and acids. The kernel, which has the actual cashew nut inside of another shell, shall be gently removed. To ensure that no traces of oils are left on the kernels, they are then thoroughly cleaned and washed.
Peel Away The Inner Shell:
After the cashews have been washed and stripped of their outer shells, they are cooked for 24 hours at 60 degrees in an oven. The inner shell of the kernel is then made more peelable by softening. Because intact cashews are worth more than broken parts, workers must take great care not to harm the cashew while it is taken. The inner shell contains no acids or other toxic oils, making the process less hazardous.
How Profitable Is Cashew Farming In India?
Although cashew growing is moderately successful, farmers might go a step further and, with some work, improve profit by over 200%. Cashews that are raw sell for less money. 70-90 rupees per kilogram. The farmer may only hope for 144000 Rs per acre in the tenth year with an average output of 1600 Kilo per acre.
Up until the tenth year, when the production stagnates, the yield per acre grows by 178 KG per year. A healthy variety tree can produce up to 20 KG in its tenth year, although a conservative estimate would account for a 50% reduction in production.
Most trees don’t produce 20 KG per year, and this yield is typically influenced by factors including location, weather, and soil quality.
Cashew nuts can nevertheless generate a respectable income in their raw form despite the low yield and basic pricing for the raw goods. But even with a processed product, the price may rise to 600 rs/kilo.
The cost per kilo, however, may go to 600 rs with a processed product.
But there are a few things to take into account:
- Consumable cashew nuts are made from 3.5 kg of raw cashew nuts. Once processed, the farmer is already positioned to lose on the quantity side. Most farmers are worried about this, but take into account the income from processing.
- The price of cashews is just based on their quality. A whole nut graded as W-180 costs about 900 Rs and may go a little higher. This denotes that one pound of cashew nuts contains 180 counts of cashew. Cashews, graded W-210 cost an average of 800 Rs per pound (210 cashews per pound). Generally speaking, the price rises with cashew size. The farmer might anticipate a large income if the cashews they are producing are of good grade and size.
- After splitting and breaking them, Cashew prices fall precipitously. Farmers should think about the best processing units during processing. Typically, processing 1 kg of cashews costs up to 20 KG. If the farmer is eager to take the extra effort, this pricing is really doable.
Evaluated the nuts and divided them based on quality after processing. To boost sales, there shouldn’t be many split or cracked cashews. The processing unit determines this.
Conclusion:
So, cashew farming is the main focus of this. Cashews are ranked top as one of the most significant nuts produced worldwide. The cashew nut holds a dominant position among other nuts like hazelnuts and almonds. And on all significant social occasions, particularly in western nations, it is an inevitable snack. Cashew cultivation is profitable if the plantations are properly managed. That is all there is to know about cashew farming practices, planting strategies, and harvesting procedures.
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