Cashew nut (15). production methods, ppt

Production technologies for cashew nut

CASHEW NUT
Botanical name : Anacardium occidentale
Family : Anacardiaceae
Origin : Tropical South America (South-East
Brazil)
Commercial part : Kernel
Introduction:
Cashew nut is earns foreign exchange to our country
Cashew nut was introduced in to Malabar Coast of
South India during 16th century by Portuguese.
 India stands first both in area and production of
cashew nut (6.37 lakh ha with a production of 4.17
lakh tons)
Major cashew nut growing states in India are …
Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh,
Orissa, Maharashtra and Goa.

 In India, Kerala stands first both in area and
production (1.18 lakh ha and 1.40 lakh tons).
The highest productivity is observed in Kerala and
Maharashtra with over one tonne per ha.
Cashew nut is also cultivated in Brazil, Tanzania,
Mozambique, Kenya and Nigeria.
India produces 40% of world raw nuts and exports
90% of the world produce.
Two lakh people are engaged in cashew nut industries
 Cashew nut constitutes 2% of the total export earnings
from all Agricultural commodities.
Soil and Climate:
Cashew nut can be grown from coastal sandy to sandy

 Sandy loams having 3 meter depth are ideal
It requires a pH of 6.0 to 7.5.
In India, there is scope to extend area under cashew nut
in wastelands
Cashew nut cannot withstand water logging but can
stand drought situations
It is a hardy tropical plant grows between 280
North and
280
South of the equator.
It grows from mean sea level to 1000 m above MSL. It is
profitable up to 600 m.
It requires a well distributed annual rainfall of around
500 mm. Rainfall should be spread over 5-7 months with
3-4 months of dry period before flowering.
It comes up well between 15 to 400
C temperature
but, the mean annual temperature should not be

Varieties:
The varieties released by Cashew nut Research
Station, Ullal (Dakshina Kannada), Karnataka are…
1) Ullal-1:
Plant bears yellowish-red apples
Flowering starts from mid November and nuts are
ready for harvest from April-May
After 10-12 years of planting the trees will yield
about 20 kg of nuts/ tree/year
The nuts are medium in size with 145-150 nuts/kg.
The shelling percentage will be 30.70
2) Ullal -2:
This is an early variety, the nuts are ready for
harvest from February- March
 The apples are red in colour,

After 10-12 years of planting the trees will yield 18.50
kg nuts /tree/year
It is sensitive to cold
If the relative humidity is less than 10%, leaves are
scorched and fruits drop.
Excess humidity favours incidence of pests and
diseases.
The nuts are small in size with 165-170 nuts/kg.
The shelling percentage will be 30.50
3) Ullal -3:
This variety is earlier than Ullal-2, the nuts are
harvested from January to March
The apples are reddish in colour
 The trees will yield 14.5-15 .0 kg of nuts /tree/year
The nuts are medium size with 140-145 nuts/kg

The shelling percentage will be 30.0
4) Ullal -4:
The apples are yellow in colour
The trees will yield 9.50 kg of nuts/tree/year after 10-
12 years of planting
The nuts are bigger in size
5) UN-50:
The plant bears reddish-yellow apples
The trees will yield 10.5 kg of nuts after 10-12 years
of planting
 The nuts are bigger in size with shelling percentage
of 32.75
6) Chintamani-1
This is a late variety grown in Chintamani region of

Cashew nut varieties
Ullal-1 Ullal-2

 The tree yields 7.5-10.0 kg of raw nuts per tree/tree
This is suited for maidan areas (Shelling 30.70%)
7) Chintamani-2:
This variety yields about 8-10 kg nuts/tree/year
Suits better to maidan areas (Shelling 30%)
8) Dhana:
It is a hybrid (ALGD-1 X K 30-1)
Released for maidan areas
Apples are yellow coloured
Each tree bears about 17.50 kg nuts/tree/year
Nuts are medium in size with 7.9 g
8) Bhaskara:
 Released by National Cashew nut Research Centre ,
Puttur for coastal regions of Karnataka
Each tree bears 10 kg nuts/tree/year

The varieties released by Fruit Research Station, Vengurla
Maharashtra state are…
9) Vengurla - 1:
This variety gives an average yield of 15.0 kg nuts /
tree/ year at the age of 10th year.
Medium in size nuts with a shelling percentage of 31.0
10) Vengurla -2:
This variety gives an average yield of 20 kg nuts/ tree
/ year at the age of 10th year.
The nuts are small in size with a shelling percentage
of nearly 32.0
11) Vengurla -3
Early variety and bears flowers from December-
January
Yields about 8.75 kg nuts/tree/year

12) Vengurla -4:
This is a hybrid obtained by crossing Midnapore Red
X Vetore 56
This hybrid has >25% perfect flowers
After 12th year, yields about 20 kg nuts / tree/year
The nuts are medium to big (7 g) with a shelling
percentage 31. 0
13) Vengurla - 5:
This is a hybrid obtained by crossing Ansur Early
X Mysore Kotekar
This variety has >50% perfect flowers.
 Yields about 20 kg nuts / tree / year at the age of
12th year.
The nuts are medium with a shelling percentage of 30.0

14) Vengurla-6 :
It is a hybrid (Vetore -56 X Ansur-1)
The variety has average yield of 13.8 kg/tree /year with
nut weight of 8.0 g.
The kernel grade is WW 210.
15) Vengurla -7:
This is also a hybrid (Vengurla-3 X VRI-1)
 Has >40% perfect flowers
Yields about 18.5 kg nuts / tree / year
The nuts are big (10 g) with shelling percentage 30.50.
16) Vengurla - 8:
This is also a hybrid,
This variety has >25% perfect flowers.
Yields about 20 kg nuts /tree /year
Nuts are medium in size with a shelling percentage 30.0

17) Madakkathara:
The apples are reddish -yellow in colour
Each tree bears 21.4 kg nuts/tree/year
Nuts are medium in size with 145-150 nuts /kg
Shelling percentage: 30.40%
18) Priyanka:
The apples are reddish -yellow in colour
Each tree bears 18.40 kg nuts
Nuts are big with 100 nuts/kg
The varieties released by
Tamil Nadu are Vridhachalam- 1 and Vridhachalam- 2
Kerala : Anakkayam

19) Kanaka:
It is a hybrid (BLA 139-1 X H 3-13 ) and early in
nature
Average yield of nuts is 19 kg/tree with a mean nut
weight of 6.8 g. Kernel weight is 2.1g and produces
WW 210 export grade kernels.
Shelling percentage is 31.0,

Cashew varieties
Vengurla-1 Vengurla-3
Vengurla-2

Kernels of Promising Varieties

Propagation :
Until recently, cashew nut was propagated by seeds/nuts
 Since the seedling trees exhibit lot of variation in nut
and apple characters and also take about 5-6 years
for first bearing
Hence, vegetative propagation techniques have been
developed, among them air layering, patch budding,
veneer grafting, side grafting, epicotyl grafting and
soft wood grafting were found to be successful.
However, softwood and epicotyl grafting have become
more suitable and commercial method of propagation in
cashew nut.
Characteristics of elite mother trees :
1. Compact canopy.

3. Short flowering phase (2-3 weeks).
4. Should have more than 20% bisexual flowers.
5. 5-8 fruits per panicle.
6. Medium size nuts with average nut of 5-6 g
(120 to 130 nuts per kg)
7. Regular bearing habit.
Soft wood grafting:
The steps involved in soft wood grafting of cashew
are…
a) Raising of rootstock:
Collect uniform sized seed nuts from high yielding
elite cashew trees during February to April
Select the nuts with higher specific gravity (1.025 to
1.050) to get quicker germination and to obtain
vigorous seedlings.

 In order to identify the heavier seed nuts, immerse
the seed nuts in 10% saline solution, reject the
floating nuts and select the nuts which are settling
down at the bottom for sowing.
To hasten the process of germination, the seed nuts
can be soaked in water overnight before sowing
Polythene bags of 30 cm X 20 cm size (300 gauge
thickness) and are to be filled up with potting
mixture 2:1:1 (soil: sand: compost) up to the brim
leaving I" gap at the top.
Sow the seed nuts in the polythene bag with their
stalk end upwards at a depth of 2 to 2.5 cm in the
centre.
Water the bags immediately after sowing
Seed nuts usually germinate within 15-20 days after
sowing.

The seedlings will be ready for soft wood grafting in
about 30-40 days after germination.
Select healthy, vigorously growing seedlings having
tender flush for grafting with four developed
leaves
(b) Selection of Scion:
Scion should be selected from high yielding elite
mother tree.
The selected scion should be 8-10 cm long, straight,
pencil thickness and brown coloured having
dormant plumpy terminal bud.
The selected scion should be pre-cured by clipping
off leaves, leaving behind petiole stubs, about a

(c) Grafting procedure:
 Remove the leaves from the top portion of the
seedling
Keeping one or two matured leaves at the bottom.
give the transverse cut at the top of the seedling and
remove the terminal shoot and make a cleft of 3-4 cm
deep in the middle of the decapitated stem of the seedling
by giving a longitudinal vertical cut on the soft portion
of stem.
Mend the scion in to a wedge shape of 3-4 cm long by
chopping off the bark and little wood from two opposite
sides, taking care to retain some bark remaining on two
sides.
 Insert the wedge of the scion into the cleft of the stock
seedling, taking care that the cambium layers of the

stock and scion come in contact with each other.
Cambium is a thin layer of cells in between the bark
and the wood seen as a line on close observation.
Tie the graft joint firmly with 1.5 cm wide and 30 cm
long polythene strip of 100 gauge thickness.
June to September is ideal period for soft wood grafting
After-care of grafts:
Keep the newly grafted plants under shade in humid
conditions.
Sprouting of the terminal bud will be seen after about
15-20 days.
Water the grafts as and when required depending upon
the season and weather conditions.
Any sprouts appear on the rootstock portion below the
graft joint should be removed at frequent intervals.

 Remove the polythene strip from the graft joint about 3
months after grafting to avoid girdling.
Shift the grafts from one place to another place or
should not keep grafts at the same place for a longer
period of time to prevent them from striking of roots
into the soil
In order to avoid shifting work, grafts may be kept
on polythene sheet (1.0 m wide, convenient length, 1000
gauge).
Protect the grafts from pests and diseases as and when
they are noticed.
Preparation of land and planting:
Clear the land from bushes and other trees well before
the pre-monsoon showers.

Fill the pits completely with top soil and a basket of
compost or farm yard manure (15-20 Kg).
As soon as the pre-monsoon showers are received,
add 5-10 gm of Phorate to each pit before planting to
check the attack of white ants.
2-3 month old grafts are to be planted in the centre
of the pit and support it by using pegs/stakes
Planting should be completed before June end to
take full advantage of the prevailing monsoon rains.
Wherever irrigation facilities are available, it is
advisable to plant the grafts in March and irrigate
them so that by June the grafts are well established
in the field.

High density planting :
To get more income in the initial years , the cashew
grafts are to be planted at 4 X 4 m spacing (625
plants/ha).
After 6-8 years, when once the branches starts
interlocking with each other, every alternate row of
cashew has to be removed on either side by
retaining the plants at 8 X 8 m spacing apart
Manuring:
Application of manures and fertilizers is very
essential for getting high yields.
Chemical fertilizers are to be applied in two
splits during April-May and September-October

Age of the tree April-May
(g/plant)
Sept – Oct
(g/plant)
N P K N P K
1st
year 50 40 - 50 40 -
2nd
year 100 40 30 100 40 30
3rd
year 200 60 60 200 60 60
4th
year 250 60 60 250 60 60
(UAS, Dharwad)

Age of the plant (g/plant/year)
N P K
1st
year 60 60 60
2nd
year 125 125 125
3rd
year 250 250 250
4th
year 500 125 125
5Th
year onwards 500 250 250
Manures (25 to 50 kg FYM) are applied in the basins
and fertilizers are to be applied in circular trenches (10-
15 cm deep) at 100–150 cm away from the base of the tree
/depending upon age of the cashew plant
Manuring and fertilization is done whenever there is
abundant moisture in the soil.
(UHS Bagalkot)

Irrigation and drainage
During the first year of planting, cashew grafts should
be irrigated once in 15 days during summer months.
 About 10-15 litre of water should be given at a time.
Mulching the basins with straw or dried leaves would
help in conserving moisture and also prevent weed
growth.
Cashew cannot withstand water stagnation or flooding.
Hence, in low lying areas adequate drainage should be
provided during monsoon.
Intercultivation:
 Cashew gardens should be kept free from weeds as
they compete for nutrients and moisture.
Weeding can be done either manually or by spraying
weedicides (Spray Gramoxone @ 50 ml for 10 litre of
water).

Growing of green manuring crops like Dhaincha,
Sunn hemp during June reduces the weed growth to a
greater extent.
The tree basins are mulched with dried leaves or
paddy husk during summer.
Inter spaces should be ploughed twice a year, once at
beginning and second at the end of rainy season.
Intercropping:
 In the initial years, leguminous crops like cowpea,
green gram, black gram, red gram and groundnut in
rotation with the vegetables like bhendi, chillies,
cucurbits etc… may be grown during the juvenile
period of plantation.
 Pineapple can also be grown successfully as an

Cinnamon is also grown as an intercrop in the form of a
small bush in between cashew trees.
Training and pruning:
The side shoots must be removed up to a height of 150
cm from the ground level to an get umbrella shaped tree.
Prune the dead wood, diseased and cris-cross branches
between harvesting and blooming (June to December).
Top working:
 First, mark the low yielding trees (less than 2 kg/tree)
and cut them at a height of 0.75 to 1.0 m from the ground
level with the help of a saw or axe during April-May.
While beheading the tree, the cut must be smooth and
bark does not split.

Soon after the beheading, seal the cut surface with
melted paraffin wax
Swab the stem of stump with BHC 0.1% solution.
Apply 250 gm of BHC 10% to the soil around the
stump up to a radius of 1.0 m. and repeat it at an
interval of 15 days till the onset of monsoon to check the
borer attack.
 Depending upon the vigour of the stump, 50-80 new
shoots emerge out from each stump within about 2
month from the date of beheading.
Select 4-6 vigorous shoots and graft them with the
scions collected from high yielding varieties by using
soft wood grafting technique during July-August.
Die-back of the shoots may occur during monsoon.
This can be checked by spraying either Bavistin @ 2

gm/liter of water or 1% Bordeaux mixture at
fortnightly interval.
 Also spray Rogar / Nuvacron (1.5 ml/litre) to the
sprouts to keep away insects damaging the new
leaves.
Allowing 4-6 grafts on each stump, the remaining non
grafted shoots can be clipped off.
The bark of the stump is not exposed to the heat of
the sun.
Care should be taken to provide shade to the stump to
prevent sun scorch, either by covering with straw or
by white washing with lime.
The trees beheaded in April-May and grafted in July-
August will start yielding from next year.

But the top worked trees attain a sizable canopy and
start yielding in one year because of the well established
root system of the stock.
Hence, rejuvenation of low yielding cashew trees by
top working is possibly the best technology for boosting
existing unthrifty young plantations.
Pests and Diseases:
Several insect pests are reported in cashew, the
important ones are the tea mosquito and the stem and
root borer.
1) Tea mosquito ( Helopeltis antonnii )
Tea mosquito is a serious pest of cashew causing losses
up to 30-40%.
The adult is a reddish myrid bug which usually

The nymphs and adults suck the sap from tender
shoots, leaves , inflorescence , immature nuts and
apples.
As a result, the shoots and inflorescence dry up
The tender fruits and immature nuts develop eruptive
spots and they finally shrivel up.
The pest can be easily controlled by sequential spray
of Carbaryl 0.4% or Phosalone 0.1% or
Monocrotophos 0.20%or Dimethoate 0.20%.
Spraying should be done thrice, first at the time of
flushing, second at early flowering and third given at
the time of fruit set.

2) Stem and root borer ( Placaederus ferrugineus L. )
This is a serious pest of cashew causing death of
cashew trees up to 5-10%
The female beetle lays eggs in the crevices of loose bark
in the trunk or the exposed portion of roots of
cashew trees.
The grubs that hatch out bore into the bark and feed
on the soft tissues.
 The attack could be identified by presence of bored
holes in collar region, gummosis, extrusion of chewed
up fibers and excreta and discoloration of bark.
If no control measures are taken up, the leaves start
yellowing followed by drying up of branches and
finally resulting in the death of the tree.

It is very difficult to control the pest in the advanced
stage. Therefore, control measures should be taken up at
early stage of infestation.
Swab the trunk of the tree with 0.1% BHC up to one
metre height from the ground level.
Swabbing is practiced twice a year, once during
April-May and the second during November.
Treat the soil with 500 g BHC 10 % up to a radius of
45 cm.
The trees which are heavily damaged due to the
infestation of stem and root borer should be removed
along with roots and burnt.
Heaping the organic waste around the trunks should
be avoided
3) Thrips
Both nymphs and adults of this insect suck the sap and

scrape the underside of the leaves, mainly along main
veins causing yellowish patches on leaves and later leaves
giving the silvery appearance.
These thrips are more active during the dry season.
0.02% Monocrotophos or 0.4% Carbaryl are very
effective for controlling thrips
4) Fruit and nut borer (Thylocoptila panrosama M.)
It is a pinkish dark caterpillar which bores into the
tender apples and nuts. The caterpillars attack the fruits
at all stages and cause the shrivelling and premature fall
of nuts. This pest can be effectively controlled by
spraying 0.04 % Carbaryl
The other minor pests of cashew are…..
5) Leaf minor (Acrocercops syngramma M ),
6) Leaf and blossom webber ( Lamida moncusalis
Walker )

7) Shoot tip caterpillar ( Bypatima haligramma M )
8) II. Diseases: Among few diseases attacking cashew,
die-back and damping off of seedlings
9) Die-back or pink disease:
 This is a fungal disease caused by Corticium
salmonicolor
 Which occurs in the rainy season.
 The affected branches show whitish or pinkish
growth on the bark.
 The fungus penetrates in to the deep tissues and
causes gradual death of the shoots.
 In advanced stages, the bark splits and peels off.
 The leaves turn yellow and fall off giving a barren
appearance to a tree.

Management:
For effective control of the disease, prune all the
affected branches below the spot of infection and
destroy them.
Protect the cut surface by applying Bordeaux paste.
The disease can be prevented by giving a prophylactic
spray of 1% Bordeaux mixture twice a year, first in
May-June before the onset of monsoon and second in
October
2) Damping off of seedlings:
It is a fungal disease caused by Fusarium sp., Pythium
sp., Phytopthora palmivora and Cylindrocladium
scoparium
The fungus attacks either the collar region or the root
zone of the tender seedlings causing severe loss in the

nursery stage.
The disease incidence is severe in nursery where
drainage condition is poor. Therefore, adequate
drainage facilities should be created during rainy
season.
The disease can be controlled by drenching the
bags/beds with 1% Bordeaux mixture.
Harvesting:
Harvesting of cashew is done from March to May.
Fully matured apples are allowed to drop down
naturally with the attached nut.
Then the nuts are separated from the apples.
Nuts are sundried for 1-2 days and stored before
selling in the market.

Juice should be extracted from the apples within 24
hours before the rotting sets in.
Juice is usually extracted by crushing the apple with
the help of feet or wooden logs.
 Now-a- days machines are also available for
extracting juice from the apples which is used for
preparation of ' Feni ' a popular drink of Goa.
Yield:
Yield depends mainly on variety, soil, rainfall, sex
ratio, fruit set and management practices.
Highest yields are obtained in Kerala.
At 15 years age 1600 kg per ha yield was reported at
some places in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra and
Kerala

Processing:
Kernel is the edible part in cashew nut
The process of extraction of kernel from hard shell is
known as processing.
Processing is done manually in India and mechanically
in other countries
There are 5000 cashew nut processing industries in
India.
Steps in Cashew nut processing:
1. Roasting:
 It is carried out for easy removal of kernel from the
shell. Different methods of roasting are
a) Open pan method:
 A perforated open pan is used for roasting the nuts.
 The nuts will catch fire within 3-5 minutes time.

 The water is sprinkled on nuts and fire is put off and
the nuts are put on to the ground and covered with soil.
 In this method CNSL is not recoverable.
b) Drum roasting method:
A perforated rotating metal drum is heated from
below and nuts are passed through this drum from
top
Nuts catch fire within 3 to 5 minutes.
A temperature of 100 to 1200
C is always maintained
inside the drum.
Burning nuts are released at the other end and fire is
put off by sprinkling water and ash.
Rate of shelling and out turn of whole kernels is very
high in this method.
In this method also CNSL is not recoverable.

c) Oil bath roasting method:
Nuts are held in wire trays.
 They are passed through a oil bath of heated CNSL
at 190 to 2000
Celsius.
Nuts take 1 to 3 minutes for passing through the
medium.
Cells of Cashew nut shell get ruptured, they release
50% CNSL.
Uniform roasting is ensured, it eliminates charring of
kernels.
2. Shelling:
Breaking the outer shell of roasted nuts to extract kernel
is called “shelling”.
The nuts are broken with a wooden mallet.
 After cracking the kernels are extracted with metal
wire

Roasting methods
Open pan roasting Electric drum roasting

/ needle.
 Whole and clean kernels are to be extracted carefully.
Shelling percentage vary from 10 – 20%
3. Drying:
The extracted kernels will have brown testa hence, they
are dried in hot chambers at 80 to 900
C for 6-7 hours to
loosen the testa.
4. Peeling:
Thin reddish brown skin of kernel is called as “testa”.
Removal of testa is known as peeling.
Peeling is done by hand with the help of a sharp knife.
5. Sweating:
The dried kernels are brittle and are liable for
breakage
Hence, kernels are conditioned in humid chambers with

80% humidity for 5-6 hours.
Humidity is maintained by air coolers. The kernels
absorb moisture.
6. Grading:
 The kernels are sorted out into different grades based
on their size and colour
Grading is based on the number of kernels per pound or kg
There are 25 grades.
White Wholes (WW) Scorched Wholes (SW) Pieces
WW-180 SW-180 Splits
WW-210 SW-210 Pieces
WW-240 SW-240 Baby pieces
WW-280 SW-280 Broken bits
WW-320 SW-320 Butts
WW-400 SW-400
WW-450 SW-450
WW-500 SW-500

WW – 180: Is the “King of Cashew” – They are larger
in size and very expensive.
WW – 210: Are popularly known as ‘Jumbo’ nuts.
WW – 240: It is an attractive grade which is reasonably
priced.
WW – 320:Are the most popular among cashew kernels
and highest in terms of availability, worldwide.
WW – 450: Are the smallest and cheapest white whole
kernels and hence the favorite among low priced whole
grades.
Scorched wholes : Are another grade of cashew kernels,
which have a “slight brown colour” due to longer
roasting. They have all the other characteristics of white
kernels and have the same nutritional qualities.

Butts, splits and pieces are priced lower and are ideal
for cooking, preparation of sweets and savoury snacks
7. Packing:
 After filling the kernels in to tins the air present
inside should be removed and filled up with CO2 and
sealed.
 Packed in 4 gallon tins (25 pounds).

Cashew nut (15). production methods, ppt

More Related Content

Similar to Cashew nut (15). production methods, ppt (20)

Recently uploaded (20)

Cashew nut (15). production methods, ppt