The Cashew, Anacardium occidentale L
Origin, history of cultivation. South America (arid,
northeastern Brazil). It is now distributed pantropically
in hot, tropical lowlands below 1000 m.
Plant: Bushy, low-branched tree to 12 m in height
and width; lower limbs often bend to touch the ground.
Propagation by seed, grafting, layering, cuttings; Fruit
production in 4-5 yr from seed, 2-3 yr from vegetative
Flowers: are tiny, pinkish, borne terminally
on panicles. Flowers can be male, female, or perfect
on the same inflorescence.
Fruit: is a 1 inch nut, shaped like a small boxing
glove, hanging below a fleshy, swollen peduncle (receptacle)
called the "cashew apple". Fruit borne singly
or in small clusters. Fruit matures in 60-90 days. Apple
is 2-4.5 inches in length, pear-shaped, yellow or red
skin covering the fibrous, juicy, astringent yellow
Nut shell contains toxic oil which must be roasted to
detoxify; can cause dermatitis. Sometimes, the apple
is utilized and nut thrown away (!). In commercial plantations,
apple and nut are allowed to drop together, and nut
is twisted off, leaving the apple on ground for grazing
livestock. Nuts can be roasted in fire like marshmallows,
where they catch flame and burn-off oils.
is adapted to warm humid tropical conditions. It can
be grown in almost all types of soils from sandy to
laterite and up to an elevation of 600-700 m including
wastelands of low fertility. It grows and yields best
in well-drained red sandy loams and light coastal sands.
Heavy clay soils, poor drainage conditions, very low
temperature and frost are unsuitable for the crop.
Soil pH should be acid 4.5-6.5.
Tolerant of poor soils and seasonally dry conditions.
/ hybrid / types
(H-1598) (BLA 139-1 x H3-13)
(H-1608) (ALGD 1-1 x K 30-1)
(H-3-17) (T 30 x Brazil 18)
(H-1591) (BLA-139-1 x K30-1)
(H-1597) (BLA-139-1 x H3-13)
(H8-1) (T 20 x K30-1)
(H7-6) (H4-7 x K30-1)
(H1600) (BLA 139-1 x H3-113)
(H1610) (ALGD 1-1 x K 30-1)
Cashew can be propagated by seedlings, air layers
and softwood grafts. Since it is a cross-pollinated
crop, vegetative propagation is recommended to obtain
true to type progeny. Field establishment of air layers
have been found to be poor. Hence softwood grafts,
which give a high rate of establishment and early
flowering, are recommended for planting.
Propagation by seedlings
of mother trees
Select mother trees having the following characteristics:
(1) Good health, vigorous growth and intensive branching
habit with panicles having high percentage of hermaphrodite
flowers. (2) Trees of 15-25 years of age. (3) Bearing
nuts of medium size and weight (5-8 g/nut) with an
average yield of 15 kg nuts per annum. (4) Bearing
7-8 nuts per panicle.
Select mother trees in February and collect seed nuts
in March-April. Select good, mature, medium sized
nuts, which sink in water as seeds after drying in
sun for two to three days.
Raise seedlings in polythene bags during May. Use
polythene bags of size 20 cm x 15 cm and fill the
bags with garden soil, leaving a gap of 1 to 1.5 cm
above. Soak seed nuts in water for 18 to 24 hours
to hasten germination. Sow the pre-soaked seed nuts
bags filled with garden soil at a depth of 2-3 cm
with the stalk end up. Seeds germinate in seven to
Propagation by air layering
Prepare air layers during February-March, so that
they will be ready for planting in June-July. Select
9-12 month old pencil-thick terminal shoots. Remove
carefully a strip or ring of bark, 0.6 to 1.2 cm thick
by using a sharp knife without injuring the underlying
wood. Wind a string around the cut area and cover
it with moist moss or wood shavings or sand and saw
dust mixture or ordinary potting mixture and wrap
round with 150-200 gauge polythene film of size 23
x 15 cm. Secure loose ends of film with jute fibre.
When roots emerge from the ringed portion in 40-60
days, give a 'V' cut at lower end of treated shoot.
After about 15 days, deepen the cut slightly. Cut
and separate rooted shoot about 7 days later. Pot
the layers immediately after separation from the tree
into containers of size 15 x 15 cm made from coconut
husk and keep them in shade. Avoid excessive watering.
Plant the layers along with the container in the prepared
pits with the onset of southwest monsoon. Provide
shade and mulch with dry leaves to reduce sun-scorch
in tender plants. It is advisable to defoliate the
layers two weeks before separation from the mother
Propagation by grafting / budding
Different methods of grafting viz., epicotyl grafting,
softwood grafting, veneer grafting, side grafting,
patch budding etc. have been tried in cashew with
varying degrees of success. Among them, softwood grafting
was found to be the best for commercial multiplication
of seed nuts
Seed nuts may be collected during the peak period
of harvest (February-March) and sun-dried for 2-3
(2) Quality seed nuts may be selected by immersing
in water or 10% saline solution. Seeds, which sink
in water, may be selected. (3) Medium sized nuts (7-9
g) may be selected to get vigorously growing seedlings.
Fresh seed nuts are to be used for raising rootstock.
Seed nuts stored for more than one year may be avoided.
2. The seed nuts should be soaked in water overnight
3. Use polythene bags (size 25 cm x 15 cm, 300 gauge
thickness) for filling potting mixture.
4. Punch about 16-20 holes on the polythene bags to
ensure good drainage.
5. Prepare the potting mixture (1:1:1 ratio of red
soil, river sand and compost) mixed with rock phosphate
@ 5 g per 2 kg potting mixture.
6. Fill the polythene bags up to the brim of the bag.
7. Sow the pre-soaked nuts in the centre of the bag
with stalk end up, at a depth of 2.0-2.5 cm.8. Water
the bags immediately after sowing and daily thereafter.
Avoid excess irrigation.
9. Nuts usually germinate within 15-20 days after
sowing during monsoon months and within 8-10 days
during dry months.
10. Nuts should be sown at weekly intervals to get
continuous supply of rootstocks.
11. During summer, provide partial shade to the seedlings
till they change their bronze colour to green and
then keep them in the open.
12. The seedlings will be ready for grafting in 50-60
days after germination.
13. Prevent damage to germinating nuts from squirrels,
14. During the rainy season, damping off of young
seedlings is common. To control this disease, spraying/drenching
Bordeaux mixture (1%) is effective.
Select 50-60 day old healthy seedlings having single
main stem grown in the centre of the polythene bag,
Select a high yielding variety of cashew as a mother
plant to collect adequate number of scions.
(2) Select 3-5 month old non-flowering lateral shoots
of current season's growth.
(3) The selected scions should be 10-12 cm long, straight,
uniformly round and pencil thick with brown colour
having dormant plumpy terminal bud. The top 4-5 leaves
should be dark green in colour indicating proper maturity
of the scion.
Pre-cure the selected scions by clipping off three
fourth portion of leaf blades.
(2) Scions will be ready for grafting in 7-10 days
after leaf removal.
The pre-cured scions are to be cut early in the morning
to avoid desiccation.
(2) The scions should be collected before the terminal
(3) Wrap scions in moist cloth and put in polythene
covers as soon as they are cut from the mother tree
and bring them to the nursery for grafting. If necessary,
they can be stored for 3-4 days and used for grafting.
(1) Retain two pairs of bottom leaves and remove others
from the selected seedlings using a sharp knife.
(2) Give a transverse cut on the main stem, 15 cm
above ground level.
(3) A cleft of 4-5 cm deep is made in the middle of
the decapitated stem of the seedling by giving a longitudinal
(1) Select a matching scion stick (same thickness
as that of the rootstock).
(2) The cut end of the scion is shaped to a wedge
of 4-5 cm long by chopping the bark and wood from
two opposite sides.
The wedge of the scion is inserted into the cleft
of the rootstock, taking care to ensure that the cambium
layers of stock and scion are in perfect contact with
2. The graft joint is secured firmly by a polythene
tape (1.5 cm wide and 30 cm long).
3. The scion of the graft is to be covered with a
wet polythene cap (15 x 12.5 cm, 100 gauge thickness)
and tied at the bottom to maintain humidity inside
and to protect the apical bud from drying. The polythene
cap should not touch the terminal bud.
4. The grafted plants are to be kept under shade for
10-15 days to enable sprouting of the terminal buds.
5. The polythene caps are to be removed and the grafts
shifted to open place. The successful grafts show
signs of growth within 3-4 weeks after grafting.
6. The grafts will be ready for planting 5-6 months
7. The success in softwood grafting is more during
the period from March to September under Kerala conditions.
in the nursery
The grafts are to be watered regularly using a rose
can or micro-sprinkler.
2. Remove new sprouts emerging from rootstock at frequent
3. Panicles, if produced by the grafts, may be removed
as and when observed.
4. Shift the grafts frequently from one place to another
to prevent them from striking roots into the ground.
5. Frequent spraying of insecticide is required for
controlling the infestation of sucking insects.
production under polyhouse
grafts can be prepared almost throughout the year
with a mean graft success of about 60-70%. Higher
success is achieved during the monsoon season. For
this, low cost polyhouses (prepared from casuarina
/ bamboo poles / areca reapers / GI pipes / PVC pipes
and covered with high density polythene sheet of convenient
dimensions, preferably 20 m long and 6 m wide may
be utilized for graft production. The height of the
polyhouse should be 2.5 m in the middle and 1.0 m
on both sides. The plants may be watered using hose.
Misting units can also be fitted at appropriate points
and switched on for about 5-10 minutes at an interval
of two hours from 10 a.m to 6 p.m during summer season.
This reduces the temperature build up inside the polyhouse.
Raising of rootstock seedlings, grafting of rootstocks
and maintenance of grafts can be done inside the polyhouses.
These polyhouses give protection to the seedlings
and grafts during heavy rains and reduce the mortality.
Again during summer months the seedlings / grafts
can be maintained in these polyhouses by covering
with HDPE shade nets (35-50% shade).
and management of grafts
softwood grafts will be ready for planting in 5-6
months after grafting. The pits are filled with topsoil
and 5-10 kg of compost or dried cowdung / pit and
the grafts are planted after carefully removing the
polythene bags. Care should be taken while planting
to see that the graft union is 2.5 cm above the ground
level. The polythene tape is to be carefully cut and
removed subsequently. Staking should be done immediately
after planting to protect the grafts from damage.
and management of plantation
seedlings, air layers or softwood grafts in pits of
size 50 x 50 cm during June-July.
may be done at a spacing of 7.5 m for poor and 10
m for rich and deep soils and sandy coastal area.
On very sloppy lands, the rows may be spaced 10-15
m apart with a spacing of 6-8 m between trees in a
Initial training / shape pruning
sprouts coming from the rootstock portion of the graft
that is from the portion below the graft joint should
be removed frequently during the first year of planting.
Initial training and pruning of young cashew plants
during the first 3-4 years is essential for providing
proper shape. Thereafter, little or no pruning is
necessary. The plants should be allowed to grow by
maintaining a single stem up to 0.75-1.00 m from ground
level. This can be achieved by removing the side shoots
or side branches gradually as the plants start growing
from the second year of planting. Weak and criss-cross
branches can also be removed. Branches growing unwieldy
may also be cut off. Proper staking of the plants
is required to avoid lodging due to wind during the
initial years of planting. Initial training and pruning
of cashew plants facilitate easy cultural operations
such as terrace making, weeding, fertilizer application,
nut collection and plant protection. The flower panicles
emerging from the grafts during the first and second
year of planting should also be removed (deblossoming)
in order to allow the plant to put up good vegetative
growth. The plants are allowed to flower and fruit
only from the third year onwards.
older cashew plantations, removal of dried or dead
wood, criss-cross branches, water shoots etc. should
be attended to at least once in 2-3 years. This allows
proper growth of the canopy and receipt of adequate
sunlight on all the branches. Pruning of cashew plants
should be done during May / June.
is the most profitable intercrop in cashew plantation
in the early stages of growth. It can be planted between
two rows of cashew in trenches opened across the slope.
Paired row of pineapple suckers can be planted in
each trench at 60 cm between rows and 40 cm between
two suckers with in the row. These trenches can be
opened at 1 m between two rows of cashew. Ginger,
lemongrass and tapioca are also suitable as intercrops.
density planting is a recent technique recommended
for enhancing the productivity of cashew plantations.
This technique involves planting more number of grafts
per unit area and thinning at later stages. Instead
of the normal planting density of 64 to 177 plants
per hectare (spacing ranging from 7.5 to 10 m in the
square system of planting) or 74 to 204 plants (spacing
ranging from 7.5 to 10 m in the triangular system
of planting), 312 to 625 grafts will be planted per
hectare, initially. During later years, as the canopy
develops, plant population is to be regulated by selective
felling to minimize competition.
adopting a high density planting technique, grafts
may be planted initially at a spacing of 4 x 4 or
8 x 4 m so that there will be 625 or 312 plants respectively.
This population can be retained for a period of seven
to nine or ten years depending upon the canopy expansion
rate. If the soil is very rich the canopy development
rate will be faster. High density planting would be
more useful in poor soils where the rate of canopy
expansion is slow. Considering the fertility status
of the soil, the level of management in terms of fertilization,
irrigation etc. the initial plant population is to
be decided carefully for every agro-climatic condition.
Later, after monitoring the canopy pressure between
adjacent plants, the alternate plants are to be removed.
Finally, when the plants attain full growth, the spacing
between the plants will be 8 x 8 m.
uniform management practices are adopted, during early
years of yield, the per tree nut yield will be more
or less the same with all the trees, in both the conventional
system of planting and in high density planting. But
the per hectare yield will be more from high-density
plantations (due to higher plant populations) compared
to the normal density plantations. During later years,
when the plant population is equalized to that of
normal density plantation, the productivity of both
the plantations would be more or less the same. The
bonus yield obtained during the early years of yield
would be substantial in high-density plantations.
addition to obtaining higher yields, substantial quantities
of firewood can be obtained during thinning, which
may fetch additional revenue to the farmer. The weed
growth in the interspace can be effectively checked
to a greater extent.
working is a technique evolved to rejuvenate unproductive
and senile cashew trees. Top working can successfully
rejuvenate poor yielders in the age group of 5-20
years. The unproductive trees are to be beheaded at
a height of 0.75 to 1.00 m from ground level. The
stem should be cut with a saw to avoid stump splitting.
The best season for beheading trees is May-September.
Soon after beheading, the stumps and cut portions
should be given a swabbing with copper oxychloride
and carbaryl 50 WP (50 g each per litre of water).
Sprouts emerge 30-45 days after beheading. Sprouting
will be profuse in young trees. New, 20-25 days old
shoots should be grafted with scions of high yielding
varieties using softwood grafting technique. To ensure
at least six or seven successful grafts, 10-15 grafting
are to be done on the new shoots of every tree. The
best season for grafting is July-November. Thinning
of the extra shoots arising from the stumps should
be done to obtain better growth of the grafts. Removal
of sprouts below the graft joint and removal of polythene
strip from the graft joint should be done. Top working
is simple and can be done by farmers after getting
top worked trees start yielding right from the second
year after top working. Thus precocity can be considered
as one of the best advantages of this technique. The
major disadvantage associated with top working is
the huge casualty of trees due to stem borer attack.
Intensive care and management to ward off stem borer
is essential. As such, adoption of top working on
a larger scale would be difficult.
fertilizer dose of 750 g N, 325 g P2O5 and 750 g K2O
per plant is recommended for cashew. Apply 1/5th dose
after the completion of first year, 2/5th dose during
second year and thus reaching full dose from 5th year
onwards. Broadcast the fertilizer within an area of
0.5 to 3.0 m (15 cm deep) around the tree and incorporate
by light raking.
upon the weed growth, weeding operation may be done during
August-September. Mulch the plant base with dry leaves
to reduce sun-scorch to tender plants.
can be used for controlling weeds. Application of paraquat
0.4 kg ai/ha thrice at monthly intervals starting from
July will effectively control all types of weeds. Otherwise,
apply glyphosate 0.8 kg/ha, once in June-July. Applying
dalapon 3.0 kg/ha in June-July and paraquat 0.4 kg/ha
after two weeks is also effective.
This is the most serious pest affecting cashew. The
pest usually appears with the emergence of new flushes
and panicle. Drying of inflorescence and dieback of
shoots are the symptoms. For control of tea mosquito
bug, spray 0.1% carbaryl or 0.05%
quinalphos or 0.03% phosphamidon. A rational rotation
of insecticides would be desirable to counteract the
tendency of the pest to develop field resistance. Spraying
may be done once, twice or thrice depending upon necessity.
spraying is to be given synchronizing with the emergence
of new vegetative flushes in October-November. The second
spraying may be given synchronizing with the commencement
of panicle emergence in December-January. The third
spraying may be given at completion of flowering / initiation
of fruit set in January-February.
Avoid spraying carbaryl and phosphamidon at the time
of flowering, as it is highly toxic to honey bees.
stem and root borer (ad hoc recommendation)
This is a serious pest, which is capable of destroying
the cashew tree. Main symptoms of attack are yellowing
of leaves, drying of twigs, presence of holes at the
base of stem with exuding sap and frass.
the trunk and exposed roots with carbaryl. To reduce
the spread of infestation, it is essential to remove
the dead trees and trees in advanced stage of infestation
at least once in 6 months. Prophylactic treatment by
swabbing the trunk region (up to 1 m height from the
ground level) and exposed roots, with a suspension of
mud slurry + carbaryl 0.2% or coal tar and kerosene
(1:2) or 5% neem oil twice a year during March-April
and November-December along with soil application of
Sevidol 4 G @ 75 g/tree.
utilization of cashew apple
apple can be used for preparation of various products
can be extracted from ripe cashew apples after washing
using screw press, basket press or by hand pressing
with the help of citrus juice extractor. About 50-60%
raw juice with 9-10% soluble solids can be obtained.
The tannins present in the raw juice can be removed
by different methods.
1. Mix gelatin @ 0.5 g/kg of raw juice and allow to
settle. Decant the clear juice and discard the sediment
(gelatin may be dissolved in water by heating).
2. Mix polyvinyl pyrolidone @ 1.4 g/kg of raw juice.
Allow to settle and decant the clear juice.
3. Mix about 125 ml of fresh rice gruel (kanjivellam)
and allow to settle. Decant the clear upper layer and
repeat the process using 125 ml of rice gruel.
order to prevent spoilage of the raw juice, potassium
metabisulphite @ 2 g/kg and citric acid @ 5 g/kg may
be added along with the clarifying agent. The clarified
juice can be stored for further use. Standard products
like syrup, squash, ready-to-serve beverages etc. can
be made using the clarified juice as per specifications.
15. FPO specifications for fruit products
fruit juice %
preservative (free SO2) ppm
to serve beverages
apple juice can also be used for making wine and vinegar.
Ripe cashew apple can be used for making candies and
jams. The astringent taste due to tannins can be reduced
by soaking the apples in 5% common salt solution for
a few days followed by thorough washing in fresh water.
ripe cashew apple 25 kg
Poly vinyl pyrolidine 10 g
Sodium benzoate 6 g
Sugar 10 kg
Citric acid 150 g
Wash cashew apple and extract the juice either by pressing
with hand or using a press. Twenty-five kg of apple
gives 8 litres of juice by hand pressing. Clarify the
juice by adding PVP and then filter the juice through
a muslin cloth. Add sodium benzoate, sugar and citric
acid under brisk stirring and then filter. This may
now be bottled. Alternatively, all the ingredients may
be added simultaneously under stirring. This is now
allowed to remain for 3-4 hours for settlement of sediments.
The clear syrup is then bottled. Dilute one part of
the syrup with five parts of water before use.
apple 25 kg
PVP 10 g
Sodium benzoate 6 g
Sugar 3 kg
Citric acid 100 g
Wash cashew apple and extract the juice (8 litres).
Clarify the juice by adding PVP and filter the juice
through muslin cloth. To the clear juice, add the other
items and stir well. Bottle the juice and store in cool
apple 25 kg
PVP 10 g
Sodium Benzoate 6 g
Sugar 500 g
Citric acid 8 g
Extract the juice by pressing. Clarify the juice by
adding PVP and filter it through a muslin cloth. To
the clarified juice, add all the items one by one under
1. Cashew apple juice can be blended with lime juice,
orange juice or pineapple juice on 75:25 basis and served.
2. The recovery of juice from apple can be improved
by using basket press, screw press or hydraulic press.
Methods have been standardized for the preparation of
canned cashew apple, cashew apple jam, cashew apple
candy, cashew apple pickle, cashew apple chutney, cashew
apple vinegar, cashew apple liquor and cashew apple
wine at the Kerala Agricultural University.