Casuarina Plantation
Total area – 129.866 Ha
Total mining area – 110.356 Ha
Yield for 1 hectare – 1.5 tones
Total yield damage for 110 hectares – 165 tones
110 X25 = 2750 Trees damaged
165 x 6500 = 1072500 Damaged value in Rupees (Casuarina wood value – 6500 per Ton)
110 X50 = 2750 Trees to be plant
Total cost of plantation of 2750 plants in 110 Ha = 30250 Rupees (Each plant 216 Rs)
(Cost for plantation 110 Ha)
S.No
Particulars
1
2
3
Site Preparation
Initial Ploughing
Digging of pits &
refilling of pits
Cost of Plants
including
transport
Planting &
staking
Cost of FYM @
3Kg/pit
Cost of Fertilizer
@ 100 gm/plant
Cost of
Insecticides /
Pesticides
Weeding cum
Soil Working
Pruning /
Tending
Irrigation
TOTAL
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
Cost per Year (Rs.)
3
4
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
20000
30000
50000
2
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
Total
20000
30000
50000
150000
0
0
0
0
150000
100000
0
0
0
0
100000
5000
5000
5000
5000
5000
25000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
10000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
10000
20000
20000
20000
20000
20000
50000
20000
20000
20000
20000
20000
50000
40000
439000
40000
89000
40000
89000
40000
89000
40000
89000
100000
595000
Species: Casuraina equisetifolia
Family: Casuarinaceae
Local Name: Telugu – Saragudu
Trade Name: Beef wood
Origin
Casuarina is an exotic to mainland India. It was introduced in Karwar District in1668. It occurs
naturally in the Andaman’s, Bangladesh and Burma coast. Natural regeneration of the species is
rarely seen and it has to be raised by planting only
Description
Casuarina is a large fast growing evergreen tree with graceful appearance, resembles a feathery
conifer. Bole is long and cylindrical. In rare cases and in the interiors, there are instances of
developing thick branches. In it is natural state it is gregarious, forming pure crops with little or
no under growth except grass and sporadic shrubs.
The tree attains height up to 40 m with diameter of 60 cm (180 cm girth) often, buttressed at the
base. It is short lived; its natural span of life seldom exceeds 50 years. In less favorable localities,
it turns misshapen and hollow beyond 25 years of age. The tree flowers generally twice a year
during February – April and September – October. Fruits (Cones) appear in June and December.
Variations in flowering and fruiting may occur with localities.
Environmental Requirements
Temperature: Along the coastal regions, where Casuarina thrives, the temperature is extreme
sometimes extending to 470 C. Under inland conditions it tolerated extreme temperatures, but its
growth is poor.
Rainfall: It grows well in both Southwest and North East monsoons. In peninsular India, the
rainfall is in between 900 to 3800 mm. Growth is poor in low rainfall areas.
Soil: Casuarina grows best in loose, fine coastal sands. It can grow well under inland conditions
of well drained sandy soils. It tolerates lateritic and red soils and also saline, alkaline and acidic
conditions. The trees have nitrogen fixing root nodules and hence dependability on nitrogen
supplement is less.
Silvicultural Requirement
Casuarina is a fast growing, light demanding species. It is very sensitive to excess soil moisture,
fire and frost. It does not tolerate water logging for long. It does not tolerate drought up to
sapling stage, later with deep rooting, it can withstand drought. It tolerates low temperature and
shade. As a general rule it does not coppice but can with stand pollarding. Rare instances of
natural regeneration and root suckers are noticed. It improves soil fertility by virtue of its
vigorous root nodulation with nitrifying bacteria
Flowering and fruiting
The species has two flowering seasons. Male flowers by second year and females a little later.
Pollination occurs through wind. Fruits are globose, woody cones and ripe cones are grey or
brownish red in colour, containing a number of winged achenes, each enclosing a solitary seed.
The achene is light brown with membranous wing, seeds are minute. Fruits ripen by June and
December. The light brown winged seeds are 70 to 90 per cone.
Seed Morphology and collection
It is pronouncedly dioecious, that is male and female populations occur at 56% and 42%
approximately and 2 to 3% bisexual plants. Well grown trees of 5 to 6 years age are selected for
collection of ripe cones, before they dehisce, in June or December, by lopping the branches or
beating the trees and collecting the cones from ground, swept clean before hand. Cones are
spread out on clean floor, in the Sun to dry for 3 to 4 days when the winged seeds are shed,
which are then separated. The cleaned seeds are dried for another 2 to 3 days.
To protect the seeds from ants and other insects, it is mixed with ash and stored in earthen pots,
mouth sealed with cloth. It can be stored for a few months. It should preferably be sown
immediately after collection. About 15Kg of cones will yield 1/2 Kg of clean seed. A kilogram
of seed has 7.5 to 10 lakhs in number. Purity 80 to 90%, moisture 7.3% and germination of 50 to
60% in 7 to 10 days.
Nursery Technique
Location: The nursery should be located as close to the planting site as possible. The area should
be plain, with sandy or sandy clay soils, with reliable water source.
Land preparation: The area should be cleared off all the debris and miscellaneous growth if
any. A light ploughing should be carried out before alignment
Alignment of beds: The beds should be aligned in North South direction. Beds of 10 x 1 m with
about 50 cm. Space between them, should be left out and for every 50 beds a path of about 2 m
should be provided. For primary and secondary beds, the same system be followed.
Soil preparation: The aligned beds are dug up to depth of 30cm. The cavity so formed is filled
with sand, soil and organic matter in order to enrich the soil.
Bed formation: In deep sandy soils, the dug up earth is mixed with Farm Yard Manure at 1:1
ratio and the cavity is filled and made compact, the beds are formed either to ground level or
sunken to 5 cm depth. In sandy clay soils, the beds are formed with the dug up soil mixed with
sand, FYM in equal proportions filling the cavity. The bed is formed above the ground level
raised to a height of 20 to 25 cm. Parathion dust at ¼ kg. per bed or any ant repellent is well
mixed in the soil while forming the beds. This is to prevent ants carrying away the seed.
Sowing of seed: Each bed of ten square meters is sown with 400 to 500 g of clean seed. The
seed should be mixed with fine sand and broadcasted on the beds. They should be covered
lightly with hay and watered twice a day. Watering should not lead to water logging; otherwise
damping off will result. In case damping off is noticed, a light spray of blitox dissolved in water
should be done.
In about ten days, the germination is almost complete. Light watering twice a day be continued
there after for a month or till the seedlings are of 10cm. Height, when they are ready for planting
in bags or on the secondary beds. In case of casualties due to termite attack, parathion dust or
Chlorpyriphos should be applied.
Planting stock
Three to four months old nursery raised seedlings have to be planted. The Planting stocks are of
the following types:
1. Containerized plant:
The seedlings from the primary beds are pricked out and planted in polythene bags of
10x20 cm filled with soil mixture and watered regularly. These seedlings have good
success and establish quickly and grow well, even when there is a break in rain but the
operations involved are costly. The shade is provided for the period of one week to ten
days, to avoid casualties. The shade is removed when the seedlings are established.
Shifting of bags is done when roots start protruding. Seedlings of 45 to 50 cm height are
ready for planting.
2. Treated naked seedlings:
Seedlings raised in secondary beds are taken out and the thin roots are cut cleanly. The
roots are then treated by immersion in a sticky mud puddle. These are very cheaper in
cost and gives better establishment if planted during rainy season. This method is a very
common practice in coastal sandy soils
Planting
Normally farmers adopt 0.8 to 1 m spacing which results in thin boles. Hence a spacing of 4 x 4
to 6 x 6 feet is ideal which allows intercropping in the first year and also it gives good growing
space for the trees to put on excellent girth at an early state. For planting of bag plants in sandy
soils, the soil is scooped to the depth and width of the bag, planted preferably with onset of rains.
If watering is done along with the planting, establishment will be faster. In hard clayey soils, a
small pit of 30 cm is dug out and bags planted is done after removing the ploythene cover
carefully, without disturbing the soil in the bag. Planting of naked seedlings or treated naked
seedlings can be done in holes made with a crowbar, to depths of the root length. The seedling is
placed with roots straight in the hole before planting the thin part of the root should be cut
cleanly with a knife.
After care of plantation
Irrigation
Casuarina is an irrigated crop and the irrigation is required for once in every 10-15 days. It is
also advisable to adopt drip irrigation in order to effectively manage the available water and to
increase the yield.
Fertilization
The trees have nitrogen fixing root nodules (an actinomycetes called Frankia) and hence,
dependability on nitrogen supplement is less. However, 40 - 50 kg per ha of nitrogen can be
applied in four equal splits. The Super Phosphate @ 150 kg per ha and Muriate of Potash @ 100
kg per ha can be applied in four to five equal splits.
Pruning
Branches are pruned flush to the stem of up to 1/3rd of the stem height to augment height
increment and to obtain clean bole during early stage (6-12 months).
Major Pest
A bark feeding caterpillar is a major problem which results in heavy damage of trees due to the
cylindrical tunnels created within the wood. Control of the pest is difficult, however application
of one or two ml of kerosene in to the tunnel is found effective. Monocrotophos @ 5 ml per tree
as bark padding method would be also be an effective chemical control.
S.No Common pest
1
Bag worm
2
Bark feeding caterpillar
Control Measure
Topical application endosulfan or chlorlpyriphos 2ml per
litre.
Remove the feeding galleries and apply insecticide soaked
3
Stem borer
4
Mealy bug
5
Termite
cotton (15ml of dichlorvos) in the bore holes.
Inserting wire to remove feeding larvae and applying
insecticide soaked cotton (15ml of dichlorvos)
Topical application of methyl dematon or dimethoate (2ml
per litre)
Application for chlorlpyriphos 2 ml per litre
Termites also cause serious damage in young plantation by destroying the root system leading to
the death of young trees. This can be arrested by soil drenching with chlorpyriphos at 0.2 per
cent.
Major disease
The casuarina plantation are found vulnerable to various diseases viz., stem canker and die back,
pink disease, root infection and die back and wilt. The stem canker and die back can be
controlled by the application of Bavistan at 0.01 per cent active ingredients.
Wilt disease caused by Trichosporium is a serious disease and could be managed with proper soil
and water management. Severely damaged trees have to be uprooted immediately to avoid
further spreading.
S.No Common pest
1
Damping off
2
3
Stem canker
Die back
4
Pink disease
5
Wilt disease
Control Measure
Providing proper drainage Seed treatment with captan or thiram @
4g/kg. Soil drenching with carbendazim (Bavistin) @ 0.1 %
Spray with mancozeb @ 0.25 %
Removal of infected plant parts and spray with mancozeb @ 0.25 %
or copper oxy chloride @ 0.25 %.
Removal of severely affected plant parts or scrap the infected portions
and apply with Bordeaux Paste.
Remove the infected trees immediately. Digging the trenches around
the infected tree. Scrap the infected portion and spray with copper oxy
chloride @ 0.25 %.
Yield
Every part of the tree is useful, including needles as fuel. The best yield of about 125 to 150 tons
per hectare is possible within three years at an espacement of 4 X 4 feet or 5 X 5 feet. It is also
possible to increase the yield through quality planting material coupled with irrigation and
fertilization.
Utility
Pulp wood: Casuarina is a good pulpwood species. Farmers are cultivating mostly this species
for pulpwood. Yield and strength properties of Casuarina pulp are reported satisfactory for
wrapping paper and duplex paper. It makes good pulp by use of neutral sulfite semi chemical
process. The material with bark is used for pulping.
Fuel wood: Casuarina is considered to be the best firewood in the world, burns even when green.
Its calorific value is 4950 Cal/Kg and hence, it can be a source of bioenergy.
Timber: The sapwood is pale brown, heartwood dark reddish brown. Timber is strong and heavy
(average 850 kg/m3 ). It is liable to crack and split, not easy to saw and season. It is used as
poles, scaffolding, transmission lines and rafters.
Medicinal: Bark of Casuarina is a tonic and astringent useful in dysentery and diarrhea.
Decoction of leaves and twigs is used in colic and powdered seed in made into a paste and
applied as balm for headaches. Bark contains 6-18% tannin, which is also used for dyeing wool
and silk fabrics and for toughening fishermen nets. It also yields a resin. Needles of Casuarina
have been used for preparing activated carbon by the zinc chloride method.
Avenue: Casuarina forms a good avenue tree and most suitable for landscaping sea beaches. It
forms a good hedge plant and can be shaped to desired form.
Windbreak: Casuarina with deep taproot can withstand cyclonic storms than any other species
and is very useful as a windbreak and for sand dune stabilization.
Soil Improvement: Casuarina develops nitrogen fixing nodules of Frankia species on the roots.
They fix considerable quantities of nitrogen in the soil and help to improve the soil nutrient
status.
Cashew Plantation
Species: Anacardium occidentale
Family: Anacardiaceae
Local Name: Telugu – Jeedi pappu
Trade Name: Cashew
Yield 14 kg/tree
110 X25 = 2750 Trees damaged
38500 tones yield for 2750 Trees
Total yield damage for 2750 trees (Nuts) = 2502500 Rs (Sale price of Cashewnut (Rs./kg) 65.00)
110 X25 = 2750 Trees to be plant
Total cost of plantation of 2750 plants in 110 Ha = 82500 Rupees (Each plant 276 Rs)
(Cost for plantation 110 Ha)
Items
Land preparation
Digging and filling up of pits
Plant material
Planting and staking
Cost of FYM
Cost of fertilizers
Irrigation
Plant protection measures
TOTAL
1
100000
70000
100000
75000
18750
10000
37500
38500
449750
Year
2
3
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
18750
18750
10000
10000
37500
37500
38500
38500
104750
104750
Total
4
0
0
0
0
18750
10000
37500
38500
104750
100000
70000
100000
75000
70000
40000
150000
154000
759000
Technical Requirements of Cashew Cultivation
Soil
The general notion is that "cashew is very modest in its soil requirements and can adapt itself to
varying soil conditions without impairing productivity". While Cashew can be grown in poor
soils, its performance would be much better on good soils. The best soils for cashew are deep
and well-drained sandy loams without a hard pan. Cashew also thrives on pure sandy soils,
although mineral deficiencies are more likely to occur. Water stagnation and flooding are not
congenial for cashew. Heavy clay soils with poor drainage and soils with pH more than 8.0 are
not suitable for cashew cultivation. Excessive alkaline and saline soils also do not support its
growth. Red sandy loam, lateritic soils and coastal sands with slightly acidic pH are best for
cashew.
Climate
Cashew is a tropical plant and can thrive even at high temperatures. Young plants are sensitive to
frost. The distribution of cashew is restricted to altitudes upto 700 m above mean sea level where
the temperature does not fall below 20°C for prolonged period. Areas where the temperatures
range from 20 to 30°C with an annual precipitation of 1000 - 2000 mm are ideal for cashew
growing. However, temperatures above 36°C between the flowering and fruiting period could
adversely affect the fruit setting and retention. Heavy rainfall, evenly distributed throughout the
year is not favourable though the trees may grow and sometimes set fruit. Cashew needs a
climate with a well-defined dry season of at least four months to produce the best yields.
Coincidence of excessive rainfall and high relative humidity with flowering may result in
flower/fruit drop and heavy incidence of fungal diseases.
Varieties
The research programmes on crop improvement had resulted in identification of elite materials
with yield potential ranging between 20-25 kg of nuts per tree. Several varieties have been
released by the different co-ordinating centres of Indian Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR). All the Agricultural Universities and Research Centres have established bud wood bank
with the released varieties of respective centres for further multiplication and distribution. The
cashew varieties recommended for Andhra Pradesh BPP 4, BPP 6, BPP 8
Planting material
Cashew is a cross pollinated crop and exhibits wide variation in respect of nut, apple and yield of
seedling progenies. Therefore, vegetative propagation has been advocated to mitigate this
problem. Air layering has been quite successful but survival percentage is low and it has been
reported that the plantations raised from air layers are more susceptible to drought and the life of
such plantation is shorter as compared to that of grafted or seedling ones. The anchorage has also
been observed to be poor, especially in cyclone prone areas. Epicotyl grafting and softwood
grafting are found to be successful because it is easy to produce large number of grafts in a short
time. The percentage of field establishment is also reported to be high with these grafts.
Adequate thrust has been given to produce enough planting material through these standardised
techniques by the ICAR (through the Directorate of Cashew Research, its sub-stations,
Agricultural Universities and State Departments of Horticulture/Agriculture), to meet the
growing demand. Production of cashew planting material is one of the economic activities in
most of the states. The planting material is raised in these nurseries within a year. The farmers
can purchase planting material from these nurseries but care should be taken that the planting
material is purchased from authentic and certified nurseries. The supplier should have the details
like age of the plant, variety of the cashew, rootstock used etc. and the same should be mentioned
in the bill/ cash receipt.
Preparation of Land
The land should be ploughed thoroughly and levelled in case of agricultural lands. In case of
forestlands, the jungle should be cleared well in advance and the debris burnt. After clearing the
jungles, land is to be terraced or bunds constructed on sloppy land. In order to ensure better
moisture conservation, soil trenches are dug across the contours. The cost of land preparation
will vary depending upon the type and method of soil working. Nowadays, use of JCB for soil
working is most popular; hence a provision for use of soil working is made in the model. The
land preparation work should be completed prior to the onset of monsoon season i.e. during May
– June.
Layout
Cashew trees are generally planted with a spacing of 7 to 9 meters adopting square system. A
spacing of 7.5 m X 7.5 m (175 plants/ ha) or 8 m X 8 m (156 plants/ ha) is recommended. High
density planting of cashew at a closer spacing of 4 m X 4 m (625 plants/ ha) in the beginning and
thinning out in stages to maintain a final spacing of 8 m X 8 m in the tenth year is also
recommended. This enables higher returns during initial years. In case of sloppy lands, the
triangular system of planting is recommended to accommodate 15 per cent more plants without
affecting the growth and development of the trees. In undulating areas, the planting should
preferably be done along the contours, with cradle pits or trenches provided at requisite spacing
in a staggered manner to arrest soil erosion and help moisture conservation.
Digging and filling of pits
The work of digging of pits has to be completed much in advance (May – June). Cashew can be
planted in pits of 60cm x 60cm x 60cm size in soils with normal strata. In hard lateritic soils, pits
of 1m x 1m x 1m size are recommended. The top soil and sub-soil are kept separately and
allowed to wither under sun. It helps in migration of termites and ants. Burning of the debris and
forest wastes inside the pits before planting is advantageous. The pits are then filled with topsoil
mixed with farmyard manure or compost (5 kg) or poultry manure (2 kg) and rock phosphate
(200 g). In order to mitigate soil borne diseases, BHC @ 100g/ pit is also added to the soil
mixture.
Planting
The grafted plants obtained from the superior mother plant are usually planted at the onset of
monsoon. It is essential to provide stakes and temporary shade with the locally available
materials wherever necessary (especially in the South West aspects in case of forest plantation)
to reduce the mortality rate and achieve quicker establishment. If the monsoon rains are
inadequate, one or two pot irrigation can be done during the initial stages to ensure
establishment.
Mulching
The cashew is generally planted on the wastelands and hence availability of soil moisture is
always low, hence, mulching is essential. Mulching with black polythene is beneficial to increase
the growth and yield of cashew. However, locally available materials like green or dry grass or
weeds can be utilized for mulching the basins. Small pebbles or stones can also be used for
mulching of the basin. The plastic or stone mulch does not improve soil health but ensures better
moisture retention in the soil and also prevents attack of soil borne insects and pests.
Manuring and fertilization
In our country, application of manures and fertilizers is very limited in the case of Cashew. In
order to get better yield, it is essential to maintain adequate N:P:K ratio in the soil. Application
of 10-15 kg of farmyard manure per plant is recommended to ensure adequate organic matter in
the soil. The fertilizers recommended for a mature cashew tree are 500 g N (1.1 kg urea), 125 g
P2O5 (750 g Single Super Phosphate and 125 g K2O (200 g muriate of potash). The nutritional
requirements and the quantity of fertilizer per plant are given in Table
Age
Urea (g)
SSP (g)
MOP (g)
1 st Year
375
275
75
2 nd year
750
525
150
3 rd year
1100
750
200
The ideal time for application of fertilizer is immediately after the cessation of heavy rains.
Fertilisers should be applied in a circular trench along the drip line. Before application of
fertilizer it should be ensured that there is adequate soil moisture. The fertilizers should be
applied in two split doses during pre-monsoon (May – June) and post monsoon (September –
October) season. However, in the case of single application, it should be done during post
monsoon season (September – October) when adequate soil moisture is available. In sandy and
laterite soils, soils of sloppy land and in heavy rainfall zones, the fertilizer application should be
done in a circular trench of 25 cm width and 15 cm depth at 1.5m from the tree trunk. In red
loamy soils and in low rainfall areas (east coast), the fertilizers should be applied in circular
bands at a distance of 0.5m, 0.7m, 1.0m and 1.5m away from the trunk during first, second, third
and fourth year onwards of planting, respectively.
Weeding
Weeding with a light digging should preferably be done before the end of rainy reason. Hoeing,
cutting the weeds off underground is more effective than slashing. Chemical weeding has not
been of any importance until now, however it may be considered as an alternative, where wages
are high or where there is shortage of labour. Initially, Agrodar-96 (2, 4 –D) @4ml/litre of water
and subsequently Gramaxone @5ml/litre of water is sprayed. Approximately, 400 litre/ha (160
litre/acre) of solution is required per spray. The spray is again repeated in the post monsoon
season.
Training and Pruning
During first year of planting, the sprouts coming from the rootstock should be removed
frequently to ensure better health of the plant. These sprouts eat up valuable plant nutrition and
also cause death of grafted scion allowing only rootstock to grow. Initial, training and pruning of
cashew plants during first 3-4 years is essential for providing proper shape to the trees. The trees
are shaped by removing lower branches and water shoots coming from the base during first 3-4
years. Thereafter, little or no pruning is necessary. The plant should be allowed to grow by
maintaining a single stem up to 0.75-1.0 m from the ground level. Weak and criss-cross branches
are also chopped off. In order to avoid lodging of the plant by wind, proper staking of plant is
essential. After 4-5 years, the main stem is detopped to a height of 4-5 m from the ground level.
Thereafter, regular removal of dried/ dead wood, criss-cross branches and water shoots once in
2-3 year is done to keep the plant healthy. The training and pruning of cashew plants is done
during August – September. The cut surfaces are smeared with Bordeaux paste. The flowers
appearing during first and second year of planting should be removed (de-blossoming) and plants
should be allowed to bear fruits only after third year.
Pests
It is observed that there are about 30 species of insects infesting cashew. Out of these tea
mosquito, flower thrips, stem and root borer and fruit and nut borer are the major pests, which
are reported to cause around 30% loss in yield.
Tea Mosquito
The nymphs and the adults of tea mosquito (Helopeltis spp.) suck sap on the tender leaves,
shoots and inflorescence and even young nuts and apples. The saliva of the insect is very toxic,
which causes blistering at the site of infestation. Severe attack on the young shoots cause
dieback. Attacked inflorescence usually can be recognised from a distance by their scorched
appearance. Tea mosquito population builds up during the beginning of the rainy season, when
the cashew tree is full of new flush. Tea mosquito can be controlled by spraying carbaryl 0.1.%
or phosalone 0.07% or dimethoate 0.05%. Spraying should be done thrice, first at the time of
flushing, second at early flowering and third at the time of fruit set.
Thrips
Both nymphs and adults suck and scrape at the underside of the leaves, mainly along main veins,
causing yellowish patches, latter turning grey, giving the leaves a silvery appearance. The thrips
are more active during the dry season. 0.05% monocrotophos or 0.1% carbaryl are very effective
for controlling thrips.
Stem and Root Borers
The young white grubs bore into the fresh tissues of the bark of the trunk and roots and feed on
the subsequent subepidermal tissues and make tunnels in irregular directions. Due to severe
damage to the vascular tissue the sap flow is arrested and the stem is weakened. The
characteristic symptoms of damage include the presence of small holes in the collar region,
gummosis, yellowing and shedding of the leaves and drying of the twigs. Once the plant is
infested complete control of this pest is very difficult. However, prophylactic measures for its
control can be adopted with 0.1% BHC swabbing twice a year, once in April-May and the
second application during November.
Fruit and Nut Borers
The young caterpillar bores through the apple and nut causing deformity and /or loss of kernel
weight. Spraying of monocrotophos - 0.05% concentration at flowering and fruit setting is
recommended.
Diseases
Fortunately cashew crop does not have any serious disease problem except the powdery mildew
caused by a fungus, which affects the young twigs and inflorescence and makes it wither. This
disease generally appears when the weather becomes cloudy. Control can be obtained by dusting
with 2% sulphur W.P
Yield
Cashew plants start bearing after three years of planting and reach full bearing during tenth year
and continue giving remunerative yields for another 20 years. The cashew nuts are harvested
during February – May. Normally, harvesting consists of picking of nuts that have dropped to the
ground after maturing. However, if the apples are also used for making jam, juice, syrup, Fenni,
etc., the fruit has to be harvested before it falls naturally. The cashew apples are removed and the
nuts are dried in sun for 2-3 days to bring the moisture level from 25 per cent to 9 per cent. The
maturity of the cashew nut is tested by floatation method. The mature nuts sink in water while
the immature/ unfilled ones float. The nuts are collected at weekly intervals from the farm during
the harvesting season. During that period the land should be clean in order to facilitate collection
of cashew. Plantations of unknown origin or seedling progenies with conventional methods of
cultivation yield less than one kg of raw nuts per tree. However, there is a chance to increase the
yield up to 4 to 5 kg per tree with the adoption of improved production techniques, over a period
of 4 to 5 years. In new plantations, with the use of elite planting material coupled with a package
of improved agronomic practices, a yield of 8-10 kg per tree could be achieved.
Recommended trees, shrubs and grass species for plantation
S.No Scientific Name
Trees
1
Prosopis juliflora
2
Casuarina equisetifolia
3
Acacia nilotica
4
Ziziphus jujuba
5
Borassus flabellifer
6
Cocos nucifera
7
Thespesia populnea
8
Anacardium occidentale
Shrubs
9
Ziziphus nummularia
10 Prosopis cineraria
11 Opuntia stricta
Grasses
12 Spinifex littoreus
Common Name
Telugu Name
Algaroba/Mesquite
she-oak
Gum Arabic Tree
Indian Jujube
Sarkar Tumma
Saragudu
Nalla Tumma
Regu
Tatichettu
Palmyra
Coconut
Portia Tree/Indian Tulip
Cashew
Kobbarikaya
Gangaravi
Jeedi pappu
Jhar Beri
Jhand
Erect Pricklypear
Chinna regu
Jammi Chettu
Jemudu
Ravan's Moustache
Gutti romala gaddi