Do you require to begin cashew farming or plantation project? If so, understand this article on how to start cashew agriculture, including a growing method, business plan, plant protection etc.
Cashew is an export-oriented crop, and you can grow Cashew for nuts. It is highly nutritious and delicious. Therefore, it is famous as a ‘wonder nut’. Anacardium occidentale is the scientific name of the Cashew, And it refers to the Anacardium group.
Cashew farming is a long-term project. However, it is highly beneficial provided you grow it properly with a suitable marketing plan. In addition to that, the cashew plantation project demands an adequate amount of land for cultivation. So, if you have agricultural land and require a farming business, then cashew farming is just excellent for you.
Economic Importance of Cashew Farming
First of all, the cashew nut is a necessary confectionery item. Finely chopped kernels are utilized to present ice cream, sweets cake and chocolates, both industrially and home paste to flatten on bread. Additionally, it is a necessary ingredient in several classes of dishes. For example, the kernel oil of pale yellow colour is applied in cosmetic and pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Cashew nut shell liquid extracted from its shell has various industrial objects:
- The testa hiding the kernel, rich in tannin, is worked in leather manufacturing.
- Flame retardants, etc.
- It is a necessary raw element in forming resins, paints.
- The cashew apple, the pseudo-fruit, is loaded with vitamin C. Finally, it is applied to cure diarrhoea, scurvy, uterine complaints, and dropsy.
Originally, cashew farming is the best choice for soil conservation, afforestation and wasteland development. As a result, Cashew is raised in approximately 25 countries of the world. Some major cashew manufacturing countries are India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Tanzania, Brazil, Mozambique, and India holds the first position in growing Cashew worldwide.
Health Benefits of Cashew
You can analyze its nutritional composition, including hazelnut, almond, walnut etc. Additionally, it is a zero-cholesterol nut with great unsaturated fatty acids, carbohydrates and proteins. Moreover, it appears with a proper mixture of vitamins, amino acids, and minerals.
The iron and copper in cashews work together to maintain the body form and utilize red blood cells. This, in turn, keeps blood vessels, the immune system, nerves and bones strong and working correctly. Finally, cashews’ consumption has been associated with cancer prevention, heart health, and weight maintenance.
Agro Climatic Condition for Cashew Farming
Regularly, Cashew prefers warm, humid tropical conditions. You can develop Cashew up to 1,000 m over mean sea level. The required cashew-growing tracts are determined between 150 South and 150 North latitudes. The excellent temperature range is 15 to 35° C, though it can tolerate 50 – 45° C. However, the lower temperature at high altitudes influences the growth of flowering and trees.
A separate dry season of 4-6 months, including a yearly rainfall of 1,000 – 2,000 mm, is ideal for its business cultivation. However, rain during flowering and harvesting is not acceptable and generates Colletotrichum infection and tea mosquito.
Suitable Soil for Cashew Farming
Cashew develops in almost all varieties of soils. It works well in well-drained, light coastal and red sandy loams without a hardpan and water level within 5 m and 10 m depth. The ideal pH is from 5.6 to 7.0. Soil with a pH of more than 8.0 is not proper for its cultivation because it is sensitive to excessive salinity. Cashew is liable to waterlog and tolerant to moisture stress to a greater extent. May avoid areas prone to waterlogging for its commercial plantations. In addition, we have to prepare the soil with the help of tractors to make the soil more suitable for cashew farming. We believe in Sonalika Tractor for the soil preparation process.
Best Varieties for Cashew Farming
Cashew is a cross-pollinated crop. Additionally, it is exceptionally heterozygous and considerable segregation has resulted in meaningful change in its seedling population. Accordingly, an ideal cashew plant needs a dwarf and compact canopy with intensive branching, fruiting, and short flowering.
Usually, Hybrids worked better than the choices. Also, you can appropriate the hybrid vigour commercially in Cashew through softwood grafting. However, nowadays, the dwarf genotype with compact canopy and high-yield potential gains recognition in cashew cultivation, recognizing its advantage in high-density planting.
Cashew Plantation Basic Steps
- Propagation
In Cashew, two various types of propagations are viable vegetative and seed. Other types of vegetative propagations are veneer grafting, air-layering, epicotyl grafting, and softwood grafting. However, softwood grafting has become the most successful and widely adopted method.
You can grow healthy seedlings for softwood grafting, including a single main stem in polybags. Gather scions from elite mother plants. The chosen scion should be 3-5 months old from the current season’s increase and 10-12 cm long. Guarantee that it is pencil-thick with a brown colour having plumpy and dormant terminal buds and top leaves of dark green colour.
- Top Working
Top-working is a procedure to unproductive and rejuvenate old cashew trees. Fortunately, you can rejuvenate the trees that are 5-15 years old. However, trees above 25 years show decreased sprouting and stunted growth. Accordingly, beheading the trees from May to September is best for the vigour of the sprouts and the availability of suitable scion for grafting. Beheading at 0.5 m height produces a more excellent canopy also.
- Planting
Ordinarily, the softwood grafts of high-yielding variations are the most suitable planting elements. However, you can further use seedlings for planting. Pit size affects the growth of plants, and the pits of 90 cm x 90 cm x 90 cm size are perfect. The spacing varies depending on soil type agro-climatic conditions and supervision processes.
- Manuring & Fertilization
Due to the excellent root system, Cashew draws nutrients from vast volumes of soil. Additionally, it works well on poor soils where different crops fail. However, it presents an outstanding response to fertilizer application. The standard recommendation of NPK is 325 g, 750 g N P2O5 and 750 g K2O/adult tree. However, you may develop the dose by 33% in fields where soil fertility is low.
- Irrigation
Drip irrigation is the usual standard process. Also, you can implement the flow tech spraying. It is an upgraded method besides drip irrigation. Once in a fortnight, the purpose of water (200 litres/tree) is approved for growing cashew yield. While irrigating cashew plants, you need to take care to avoid constant irrigation. Otherwise, the trees may remain in the vegetative phase for a more extended duration.
- Pruning
Pruning is necessary to work in Cashew. It facilitates proper light penetration and helps provide vigorous, productive laterals for enhancing nut production. The right time for pruning is August. A pruning program of removing 25% of the fifth order of branches at 3 years’ period increases yield considerably.
Harvesting & Post Harvest Management
Flowering in Cashew begins from the third year onwards and arrives with sufficient production potential by the tenth year. Generally, it produces economic yield for a further 20 years. After the fruit set, the nut overgrows and reaches full size 3-4 weeks after flowering.
We hope this information is sufficient for you. But, if you know more, please be with us and wait for our next blog regarding Tractor, farming and many more.
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