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Improved Cashew variety A100

• Orange and angular apple.
• High yields (60 kg per tree at full maturity-10 years).
• High nut and kernel weight (5g); Medium plant height (5.4 m at 5 years old).
• High quality kernels and short maturity duration.

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Improved Cashew variety A81

• Red and angular apple.
• High yields (50 kg per tree per year).
•  High nut and kernel weight (4g).
• Medium plant height (6.2 m at 5 years old).
• Upright and open canopy (8.9 m at 5 years old).
• High quality kernels and short maturity duration.

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Improved Cashew variety A82

Source : www.tridge.com

• Yellow and angular apple
• High yields (50 kg per tree).
• Very high nut and kernel weight (9.0g).
•  Medium plant height (5.7 m at 5 years old).
•  Upright and compact canopy (10.3m at 5 years old).

High quality kernels and short maturity duration.

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Improved Cashew variety A90

Source : www.tridge.com

• Yellow and rounded apple.
• High yields (33 kg per tree).
•  High nut and kernel weight (7.5 g).
•  Low plant height (4.6 m at 5 years); \Low canopy width (6.6 m at 5 years).
• High quality kernels and short maturity duration.

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Improved Cashew variety A41

Source : www.tridge.com

• Red and obliquely flattened apple.
• High yields (36 kg per tree).
•  Medium nut and kernel weight (2.5 g).
•  Low plant height (4.5 m at 5 years).
•  Medium canopy width (7.9 m at 5 years).
•  High quality kernels and short maturity duration.

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Improved Cashew variety JK 90

• Red and pyriform apple shape.
• High yields (35 kg per tree).
•  High nut and kernel weight (5g).
• Low plant height (5 m at 5 years).
• Medium canopy width (8.3 m at 5 years).
• High quality kernels and short maturity duration.

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Improved Cashew variety JK460

• light yellow and angular apple.
• High yields (34 kg per tree).
•  Medium nut and kernel weight (2.5g).
• Medium plant height (5.3 m at five years old).
• Medium canopy width (8.4 m at five years old).
• High quality kernels and short maturity duration.

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Improved Cashew variety JK228

Source : www.tridge.com

• Light yellow and angular apple.
• High yields (34 kg per tree).
• Medium nut and kernel weight (2.5g).
• Medium plant height (5.3 m at five years old).
•  Medium canopy width (8.4 m at five years old).
• High quality kernels and short maturity duration.

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Improved Cashew variety JK292

Source : www.tridge.com

• Yellow and angular apple
• High yields (37 kg per tree).
• High nut and kernel weight (2.5g).
• Low plant height (4.9 m at five years old).
• Low canopy width (6.7 m at five years old).
• High quality kernels and short maturity duration.

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Improved Cashew variety T83

• Orange and rounded apple.
• Moderate yields (30 kg per tree).
• High nut and kernel weight (5g).
•  Low plant height (5.2 m at five years old).
•  Medium canopy width (8.2 m at five years old).
• High quality kernels and short maturity duration.

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Improved Cashew variety A47

• Red and conical apple.
• High yields (34 kg per tree).
• High nut and kernel weight (6.5 g).
• Low plant height (5.1 m at five years old).
• Medium canopy width (8.6 m at five years old).
• High quality kernels and short maturity duration.

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Improved Cashew variety MT10

• Yellow and angular apple.
• High yields (36 kg per tree).
• High nut and kernel weight (4 g).
• Medium plant height (6.4 m at five years old).
• Medium canopy width (9 m at five years old) and
• High quality kernels and short maturity duration.

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Cashew Variety JK411

• Yellow and angular apple.
• High yields (36 kg per tree).
• High nut and kernel weight (5g).
•  Low plant height (4.8 m at five years old).
• Low canopy width (8.5 m at five years old)

Planting

• Carefully remove potting bag without disturbing the roots and plant at the center of the hole.
• Avoid burying the graft union. 
• Prepare a shallow basin and cover with mulch and water after planting.

Crop Managements

• Formative pruning is the training done on the grafted plants to make the tree grow upright to a height of 1.0-1.5 m up to 5 years from planting.
• Remove Suckers from the rootstock.
• Routinely check the cashew nut seedlings for pests and diseases and take preventive measures.
• During the dry period, shade or mulch and irrigation should be provided to the seedlings.

Cashew coppicing: Reviving aging cashew trees through cutting the stump (part of the tree that remain in the ground) at 1.5m above the ground. The old wood can be used for timber wood, fuel other purposes

Cashew tree coppicing

Cashew Pruning: Remove the interlocking, low lying and unproductive branches of a mature cashew tree

Prunning materials

•  Cut the apical bud of the young tree at 1metre to allow the tree to spread and removal of all branches below 0.6m above the ground for the young trees.

Water Management

• Water the grafted plant every 3-4 days until it has properly taken the scion.
• Intercrop with short duration crops e.g. papaya or food crops e.g. maize, cassava, cowpeas - Vegetables e.g. tomatoes, melons, pumpkins, chilies, egg plants (brinjals)

Legume intercropping

• Ensure that the farm is always free from all kinds of weeds.
• Do mulching. 
• Small scale farmers can use drip irrigation systems. 
• Use water conservation techniques such as Contour bunds, Zai Pits, bench terracing, fanya juu terraces, stone lines, water retention diches, grass strips, tied ridges /Ridging /Earthling, Rain water harvesting systems.

Zai pit

Zai pit

• Zai Pits are small planting pits typically measuring 15-30 cm in width, 10-20 cm deep and spaced 60-80 cm. Zai Pits harvests and stores water for prolonged crop use.

Contour bunds 

• Contour bunds are stone or earthen walls built across a slope to prevent runoff. 

Contour Bunds

• They consist of a series of beds, which are more or less level running across a slope at vertical intervals, supported by steep banks or risers (walls or bunds). 

Stone lines

Grass strips

 

Soil Fertility

• Soil test results will give the recommended fertilizers rates.
• Animal manure and compost are the best types of fertilizers for cashew nut. 
• However, if manure is not available chemical fertilizer DAP (Diammonium Phosphate, CAN (calcium ammonium nitrate and potassium sulphate can be applied.
•  The fertilizer and manure rates recommendation are as given in the table below.

 

Fertilizer and manure rates for cashew nut 

• Irrigation is important during establishment of young trees because it doubles the growth.

Weed Management

Some of the major weeds in cashew production include:

Wondering jew     

Double thorn

Gallant Soldier       

Black ack

• Remove weeds manually.
• Use mechanical weeder.

Anthracnose

 

(Colletotrichum gloespoides)

Source: TNAU Agric portal.

Damage Symptoms:

• Reddish brown, water-soaked marks on leaves.
• The marks enlarge and kill the shoots.
• The tender leaves are crinkled and fruits shriveled.
• The infected inflorescences turn black.
• Repeated Infection of the terminal shoots leads to the death of the tree in course of time.

Management:

• Destroy all affected branches.
• Spray the plants with recommended fungicide (PCPB list 2020).

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Pests

Helopeltis (Helopeltis schoutedeni) bugs

Source: TNAU Agric portal

Damage symptoms

• The plant appears as a discolored, necrotic (blackened) area or marks around the affected plant tissue.

Management

• Cultural – Check the crop regularly
• Biological control- Conserve natural enemies the weaver ants.

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Coconut Bug (Pseudotheraptus wayi)

Source :  https://infonet-biovision.org

Damage symptoms

• Flowers abortion and early nut fall.
• Necrotic sunken lesion (scars) on the nuts.

Management options

• Biological Control of coconut bug (use of the predatory red weaver ant is an efficient natural enemy of the coconut bug).
• Cultural control: Intercrop cashew nuts with plants favored by weaver ants such as citrus, soursop, guava and mango.
• In areas where the big headed ant is dominant keep ground vegetation.
• Where the ground has no vegetation introduce them.
• Connect the canopy of neighboring palms/trees with sticks, wire, or ropes.
•  Weaver ants can easily walk among trees searching for food and set up new nests avoiding other ants active on the ground.
• Transfer weevil ants into the field by collecting nests from bushes around and introducing them in cashew fields.
• Chemical control: use recommended insecticides (PCPB).

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Predatory Weaver ant (Oecophylla longinoda)

Source: weaver wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weaver_ant

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Cashew weevil (Mecocorynus loripes)

Source:  infonet Biovision.Org

Damage symptoms

Presence of cashew nut weevil:

• The stems of cashew nuts having bored holes.
• Tunneling on the bark of plant.
• Brown black gummy frass on trunk and main branches.

Management Options

• Cut away bark from damaged areas of lightly infested trees and kill the larvae and pupae underneath.
• Repeat every month for a further six months if required.
• Collect and destroy all adult weevils, then fell cut the tree and remove the bark to expose all larval.

• Use of recommended insecticides (List PCPB 2020).

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Red banded thrips (Selenothrips rubrocinctus)

https://infonet-biovision.org/PlantHealth/

Damage Symptoms

• Leaf silvering or browning.
• The leaf margins crinkle and the leaves become distorted and covered with dark fecal pellets.
•  In heavy infestations the leaves drop off the tree.

Management

• Biological control: ladybird and natural enemies of thrips
• Use recommended chemicals (List PCPB 2020).

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Mealybugs (Pseudococcus longispinus)

Source:  https://infonet-biovision.org/plant_pests

Damage Symptoms

•  Affected parts appear completely white.
•  Trees infested during the flowering stage fail to produce fruits, whereas those infested at the nut-swelling stage produce discolored nuts.

Management

• Biological control: Conserve natural enemies.
• Mealybugs are usually controlled by a wide range of natural enemies
• Cultural control
• Pruning of cashew nut.
• Avoid over fertilization.

Chemical control:

• Recommended insecticides can be used with white oil to control mealybugs.

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Maturity

• Grafted seedlings begin bearing within 2 years of transplanting and continues production for 40 to 50 years.
• Commercial harvesting is for 35 years.

Harvesting

• Cashew nuts planted using seed begin bearing 3 to 4 years after transplanting the seedlings.
• The nuts should be harvested as soon as possible, especially under wet conditions.
• Clear the area beneath the tree.
• Collect fallen fruits.
• Detach the nut from the apple.
• Dry under the sun for about 2 hours.

Storage

• Cashew nut should be dried before storage in a cool dry place.

 

Cashew nut butter

• Cashew nut butter, this is a spread made from baked or roasted cashew nuts, rich in proteins vitamins and unsaturated fats.

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Cashew nut toffees

• Cashew nut toffee This is a confection made prepared from roasted and ground cashew nut to which sugar is added.

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Cashew apple juice, Juice prepared from ripe cashew apple.

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• Cashew apple jam, Jam prepared from ripe cashew apple.
• Cashew apples which have a sweet taste, fine flavor and texture can be processed into jam for both domestic use and sale.

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Cashew Wine
Source: Internet

• After extracting the nuts the apple
  should not be thrown away. Cashew apples which have a
  sweet taste, fine flavor and texture can be processed into
  wine for both domestic use and sale.

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• Dried cashew apple can be
  milled into flour, which can be used with other flours
  like wheat flour to make products like cakes, cookies, chapatti, pancake, bread among others.