Cashew by E. V. V. Bhaskat-aRao & K. R. M. Swamy

5/28/2018 Cashew by E. V. V. Bhaskat-aRao & K. R. M. Swamy

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Chapter 3Cashew

E. V. V. Bhaskat-aRaoK. R. M. Sw amy

INTRODUCTIONCashew {Amicardium occidentale L.). widely cultivated throughou t thetrop ics for its nuts, is a native of Brazi l. It wa s one of the ftfst fruil trees fromthe New World to be widely distributed throughout the tropics by the eariyPortuguese and Spanish adventuters (Purseglove. 1988). The cashew has along history as a u.seful plant, but only in the present century has it becomean important tropical tree crop. Small-scale local exploitation of the cashewfor its ntits and cashew apples appears to have been the pattern for motethan 300 years in Asia and Africa. It was not until the early years of thetwetitieth century that international trade in cashew kernels began with thelust exp orts frotn India. Th is was a very slow b eginn ing, but tecent deca deshave seen the cashew become an important commercial tree crop (Johnson.1973). In India, use of cashew apples and nuts was adopted by local peo-ples, and accounts from Africa are similar: making cashew wine appears tohave been a com m on practice in both Asia and A frica (Johnso n, 1973). TheMaconde tribe in Mozatnbique call it the Devil's Nut. It was offered at wed-

ding banquets as a token of fertility, and research carried out at the Univer-sity of Bologna has in fact indicated the presence in cashew kernel ofnumerous vitamins inchiding vitamin E, considered by many to be an aph-rodisiac (Massari, 1994). At the time of the first Portuguese colonization,the name u.sed by local populations (Tupi natives of Brazil) for the cashewwas ucajii (nut), wh ich turned in to ((//(( in Po rtug ues e, and cashew ' inEng lish. Most of the nam es for cashew in Indian lan guage s are also derivedfrom the Portuguese namecajii (Johnson. 1973). Cashew is a versatile treenut. It is. in fact, a prec ious gift of nature to hum ankin d. The cashew kernelscontain a unique combination of fats, proteins, carbohydrates, minerals,and vitam ins. Cash ew s are 47 percent fat, but 82 percent of this fat is unsat-


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78 HANDBOOK OF INDUSTRIAL CROPSurated fatty acid s. Th e unsaturated fat content of cash ew not only elim inatethe possibility of the increase of cholesterol, but also balances or reducethe chole sterol level in the blood. Ca shew also contains 21 percent prote ins22 percent carbohyd rates, and the right combination of amino acids , minerals, and vitamins, and therefore, nutritionally, it stands on a par with milkeggs, and m eat. As cashew has a very low content of carbohyd rates, almosas low as I percent soluble sugar, tbe consumer of cashew is privileged tget a sweet taste without having to worry about excess caloHe.s. Cashewnuts do not lead to obesity and help to control diab etes. In short, it is a gooappetizer, an excellent nerve tonic, a stimulant, and a body builder. Cashewis indigeno us to B razil, but India is the country that nourishe d this crop anmade it a commodity of international trade and acclaim. Even today. Indiis the largest producer, processor, exporter, and second largest consumer ocashew kern els in the wo rld Na yar, 1998).

ORIGIN EVOLUTIONARY HISTORY AND DISTRIBUTIONAnocardium is distributed naturally from H ond uras south to Para n

Brazil, and eastern Paraguay. It is not indigenous to South America west othe Andes except in Venezuela. Colombia, and Ecuador where A e xcelsuoccurs. Anacatdium occidentale is cultivated or adven tive throug hout thNew and Old World tropics. The genus has two centers of diversitycentral Ama/.onia and the Planalto of Brazil. Tliis is illustrated by the occuretice of four species in the vicinity of M ana us and by three spec ies o ccup ying the same habitat in the Distrito Federal. Brazil. Tile following fivdi.stribution patterns are found in Anacardiion

Anacardium e xcelsum is isolated taxo nom ically and geog raphica lfrom its congeners by Ihe Andes. Tlie uplifl of the Andes was probably the driv ing force in the early differentiation of/4 . excelsum frothe rest of the genus. Anacardium giganieum and A spruceanum have Am a/.onian-Guanan distribulions, Anacardium occidentale which is the most widespread species in th

genus, has disjunct populations in the Planalto of Brazil, the restingaof eastern Brazil, the savannas of the Atnazon basin, and the llanos o


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Cashew 79 Three closely related species, A. humile, A. nanum, and A. corym-hosum. are restricted to the Planalto of central Brazil. Two species of Anacardiian are narrow endemics. Anacardium cor-

ytnhosum, which is restricted to south-eenlral Mato Grosso. is anallospecics of A.iianwn , nni\ A. fruticosum a new species) is end em icto the upper Mazaruni River basin in Guyana. It is closely related tothe Amazonian A. parvifolium.Th e eastern portion of the Am azon River figures promin ently in distribu-tions of many plants and animals, many of which are found either exclu-sively to the north or south of the river. However, in the case oi Anacardium,all Amazonian speeies are found on both sides of the Amazon River. The

reason for Ihis is probably the ease with which bats, large birds, and water in the case of>4. mic rosepahtm) carry fruits across water barriers M itchelland Mori. 1987). Anacard ium occidenlale is cultivated and adventivethroughout the Old and New World Tropics where the geographical limitsof its cultivation are latitudes 27N and 28 S . respectively Na mbiar, 1977).Anacardium occidentale is native to tropical Am erica wh ere its natural dis -tribution is unclear because of its long and intimate association with man.The problem of its origin and distribution has been investigated by Johnson 1973 ) w ho sugg ested that it originated in the resiinga low vegetationfound in sandy soil along the coast of eastern and northeastern Brazil).Johnson is probably correct in assuming that the cultivated form of A.occidentale came from eastern Brazil, because cashew trees cultivated inthe Old and New Worlds are identical in appearance to native trees found inrestinga vegetation. In particular, cultivated and wild pop ulation s of cashe wfrom eastern Brazil share chartaceotts leaf blades and long petioles, Ana-cardiiim occidentale is probably an indigenou s element of the savannas ofColombia, Venezuela, and the Guyanas. It is cleariy a native, and occasion-ally a dominant feature of the cerrados savanna-like vegetation) of centraland Amazonian Brazil. The cerrado populations of A. occidentale differiiotn the restinga poptilations by having undulate, thickly coriaceous leaveswith short, stout petioles. The hypo earps cashew app les) ol cerrado treesare usually smaller and sometimes have a more acidic flavor than those ofthe restinga. The natural distribution oiA. occidentale extends from north-ern South America south to Sao Paulo. Btazil. It is probably not native toCen tral Am erica, the West Indies, or South A m erica w est of the And es. It isbelieved that A. occidentale originally evolved in the cerrados of CentralBrazil and later colonized the more recent restingas of the coast. CentralBrazil is a center of diversity for Anacardium wh ere the distribution of


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80 H NDBOOK OFI WVSTRlAi CROPScloser morphologically lo ihe cerrado ecolype than it is to therestinga ancultivaled populations of A. occideutale M itchell and M ori. 1987). Thearliest reports of cashew are from Brazil coming from French, Portuguesand Dutch observers Johnso n. 1973). The French naturalist and monA . Theve t w as the first to des cribe , in 1558. a wild plant extrem ely com m oin Brazil: the cashew tree and its fniits. He recounted that cashew apple antheir juice were consumed and that the nuts were roasted in fires and thkernels eaten. Tlicvet provided the llrsl drawing of the cashew showing thlocal people harvesting fruits and squeezing juice from the cashew appleinto a large jar Johnson , 1973; N O M ISM A , 1994). There are indicationthat ihe local Tupi Indian s had used cashew fruits for cen turie s. They probbly played a major role in the species dispersion in their temporary migrations toward the coast of northeastern Brazil, where a considerable intraspeciHc variation lias been recorded A see nso . 1986). Th e entire cashefruit, nut and ped unc le, will lloal when m ature . Th is cou ld accoun t in Brazfor coastward dispersal of the species by rivers draining north and easFruit bats may also have been involved in seed movement. Within ihe Amzon forests fruit bats are the most imporlani agents of seed dispersal of trespec ies John son. 1973). From its origin in northe astern Bra zil, cash espread into South and Central Am erica Van Eijnatien. 1991). The presencof cashew in other continents is to be attributed to human interventio Johnson. 1973). Tlie Portuguese discovered cashew in Brazil and spreadfirst to M oza m biqu e Africa) and later into India betw een the sixteenth anseventeenth centuries De Castro, 1994). Ac cording to Agn oloni and Giulani 19 77 ). it arrived in Africa du ring the second half of the sixteenth cetury, first on the east coasl, then on the west coast, and llnally in the islandAllhough it can be guessed that the cashew was introduced to Africa at aearly period by the Portuguese, no records exist which provide specifdate s. Dispersal of the cashew in eastern A frica may in part be due lo the eephant, whose fondness for fruits is well known {Johnson, 1973). Attracteby the color of the false fruit, they swallowed this together with the nwhich was loo hard to be digested. This was then expelled with their droppings, a natural manure, and trodden far enough into the ground by the anmals following along behind lo root and grow, into a seedling first and thea tree. Th is Is how the cashew was spread along the east coast of Africa faing the Indian O cean M assa ri. 1994). The sprea ding of the cash ew withthe South Am erican continent was gradual and spontaneo us N O M ISM A1994). It is believed thai the Portuguese brought the cashew to India btween 1563 and 1578. It was first described in gardens in Cochin on th


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Cashew 8served as a dispersal poinl for the cashew in India, and perhaps tor South-east Asia as well (Johnson , 1973). A ccord ing to Johnson (19 73). the reasontor the introduclion is not documented, although the popular explanation isthat it was fo rth e purpose of chec king soil erosion in the coas tal areas of In-dia. This interpretation, however, smacks of a twentieth-century conceptbeing applied to a sixteenth-century event. The Portuguese learned of thereported medicinal propertiesof the cashew and also that the juice of the ca-shew apple could be fermented into a good wine. It seems plausible, there-fore, that they visualized cashew as a crop of potential value to India. AfterIndia, it was introduced into Southeast Asia(NOMISMA. 1994). Dispersalin Southeast A sia appears to have been aided by mon keys. Whe ther the ca-shew reached the Philippines via India is uncertain. It may have come di-rectly from the New W orld on the M anila galleo ns {Johnson. 1973). The ca -shew later spread to Australia and some parts of the North Americancontinent, such as Florida. Finally, its present diffusion can be geographi-cally located between 3r'N latitude and 3 "S latitude, both as a wild spe-cies and under cultivation (N O M ISM A , 1994). At present, cashew is culti-vated in many tropical countries, mainly in coastal areas (Van Eijnatten,1991; Ascenso, 1986). In the nineteenth century, proper plantations wereplanted and the tree then spread to a number of other countries in Africa,Asia, and Latin America (Massari. 1994). Traditionally, cashew has beencultivated on a com m ercial scale in Brazil. India, Tanzania, M ozam bique ,Keny a, and M ada gasc ar; in recent years plantations have also been raisedin Southeast A sian countries, such as Vietnam, Myan ma r, and Thailand, oncommercial scale (Bhaskara Rao, 1996).

AREA ND PRODUCTION

World Scenario

Cashew is grown in India. Brazil, Vietnam, Tanzania. Mo/ambique, In-donesia, China, Sri Lanka, and other tropical Asian and African countries.Ca shew -grow ing coun tries in the wo rld are listed in Table 3 .1. Th e w orldproduction of cashew is around 1.09 million tonnes during 2()()0 (Balasub-ramanian, 2000; Bhaskara Rao and Nagaraja, 2000). Between 1980 and1995, world raw nut production has increased from 0.422 million tonnes to0.878 m illion tonne s registering an increa se of 108 perce nt. Th e growth ratebetween 1995 and 2000 is less (24 percen t) com pare d to the grow th rate be -


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82 H ANDBOOKOF INDUSTRI L CROPSTABLE 3 . 1 , Cashew-producing countries in the world.

fricaAngolaBeninBurkina FasoGuinea-BissauMadagascarMozambiqueMaliNigeria*KenyaSenegalTanzania*Togo

Latin mericaBrazil*BarbadosDominicanRepublicEl SalvadorGuadeloupeHonduras

Southeast siaVietnamThailand*Indonesia*Malaysia*PhilippinesChina

IndiansubcontinentIndia*BangladeshSri Lanka

M ajo r Producers

1980 and 2000 is furnished in Table 3.2. Country production of raw cashenuts is furnished in Table 3.3. In dia s share in the world raw nut prod uctioaccounts to 47 percent. The share of Southeast Asian countries has rangefrom 14 to 16 percent d uring the past five years . Raw nut produc tion Southeast Asia has registered an increase of 45.2 percent from 1980 2000. Similarly. Latin American countries have registered an increase 114 percent during the past twenty years (1980-2000).ndi n cenario

In India, cashew is grown mainly in Maharashtra. Goa, Kamataka. anKerala along the west coast, and Tamil Nadu. Andhra Pradesh. Orissa, anWest Bcngalalong the east coast. To a limited extent it is grown in Manipu


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Cashew TABLE 3.2. World productionof rawnuts (m illion tonnes).

Year198019811985199019951996199719982000

Af r i ca0.612 (38.4)0.1856(40.0)0.1114(22.4)0.1119(18.3)0.1397(15.9)0,3205(29.5)0.2917(27.7)0.369 (36.9)0.200 (18.3)

La t inA m e r i c a0.0841(19.9)0.0835(17.9)0.1246(25.0)0,1200(19.6)0.1993(22.7)0.1689(15.6)0.1175(11.6)0.0380 3.8)0.18 (16,5)

S o u t h e a s tAs ia0.0275 6.5)0.0296 6.4)0,0305 6.1)0.0815(13.3)0.157 (17,9)0.1638(15.1)0,1708(16.8)0.1485(14.8)0,152 (13.9)

Ind ians u b c o n t i n e n t0,1483(35.1)0,1651(35.6)0,2309(46.4)0.2957(48,2)0,382 (44.4)0,4328(39,8)0,445 (43.8)0,445 (44.5)0,52 (47.7)

T o t a l0.42190.46380,49740.61270.8781,08611,01491,00051.090*

ource Cashew Export Promotion CouncilofIndia, 2003,Includes 0.38 million tonnes under others. Figures within parentheses indicatepercentoftotalraw nutproduction.

TABLE3.3Cashew raw nutproduction bycountry (2000).Country Production million tons)Indonesia

NigeriaVietnam

IndiaBrazil

TanzaniaMozambiqueOthers

Total

0.0300.0400.1220.5200.1800.1300.0300.0381.090

ource Cashew Export Promotion CouncilofIndia, 2003 .

in Table 3.4. Between 1990 and 2000, raw nut production has almost dou-bled, lj lhis trend continues, it would be possible to achieve the productionof lakh tonnes by2005, which would be sufficient lo meet the requirement


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HANDBOOK OF m OVSTRJAL ROPSTABLE 3.4. Production of cashew raw nuts in India.

Year19551960196519701975198019851990199519961997199819992000

Millionha0.110.1760.2320.2810.3580.4510.5090.5310.5770.6350.650.700.730.683

Area Increase/5 years

60.031.821.126.725.911.44.18.7

18.4

ProductionMilliontonnes0.0790.110.1410.1760.1660.1420.2210.2860.3710.4180.430.360.460.52

Increase/5 years

39.221.924.8-5 .7

-14.455.629.422.9

40.2

Productivity(kg/ha)720630610630460310430540640720835740800865

Source Cashew Export Promotion Council of India, 2003.

Over the last 45 years, area under cashew has registered an increase of 52percent. Area under cashew has been steadily increasing. Between 197and 1980. although area under cashew increased, the percent increase iproduction was negative. During 1995-2000, the increase in both area anprodu ction is phe nom ena l. In order to sustain In dia s presen ce in the intenational market, productivity has to be increased. Up to 1970. the productivity of cashew w as aroun d 630 kg/ha. Betw een 1975 and 1985. produ ctivity was low (430 kg/ha). Since 1985, productivity has been steadilincreasing from 430 kg/ha to 865 kg/productive ha in 2(X)() (Balasiihrama nian, 2 00 0: Bh aska ra R ao and N agjuaja. 2(XX)). This is mainly due to improved technologies available, replanting of large areas of old plunlalionand the availability of necessary high-yielding planting material througgovernment agencies and private nurseries. Research institutions and prvate nurseries are prod ucing ne arly 10 million grafts an nually. S tatewis


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Cashew 8TABLE 3.5. Area, production, and productivity of cashew in India {1999-2000).

StateMaharashtraAndhra PradeshKeralaKarnatakaGoaTamil NaduOrissaWest BengalOthersTotal

Area{in thousand ha)121.20100.00122.20

90,5054.4085,2084.10

9,1016,70

683,40

ProductiveArea in thousand ha)65.0090.00

118.0086,0049.0084,0065,00

9,0015,00

601,00

Production in thousand MT)

125.00100.00100.00

60,0030,0045,0040.00

8,0012.00

520,00

Productivity{MT/ha)

1,471,100,850,700,610.540,620,900.80 865

Source, Cashew Export Promotion Council of India, 2003, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur , Tr ipura, Meghalaya, and Andaman an d Nicobar Islands

WORIJ TR DEOFC SHEW

India has been exporting cashew kernels since the 1950s. Over the years,both the export earnings as well as quality ol kernels has been increasing.The established processing capacity of raw nuts is around 7 lakh tonnes.However, domestic production is around 5.2 lakh tonnes. Thus, India hasbeen importing raw nuts from African countries to meet the demand of ca-shew-processing industries. The growih of export and import of cashewsince 1955 is presented in Table 3.6. Export earnings have been on the in-crease since 1955. India has earned an all-time high export earnings of Rs2,500 crores during 2000 . Betw een 1980 and 1985, although export earn-ings increased, the quantity of cashew kernels exported decreased. Since1985, the quantity of cashew kernels exported has grown steadily. It is esti-


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86 HANDBO OK OF LWUSTRI.AL CROPSTABLE 3.6. Import of cashew raw nuts and export of cashew kernels.

Year19551960196519701975198019851990199519961997199819992000

Import ofrawnutstonnes)

63 00095,000

191 000163 000160 000 .24 00033 00059 000

222 000222 819192.285224 968181.009199 000

Export ofkernels tonnes)

31 00039,00056.00060.00065 00038 00032 00045.00077 00070 33468 66376 59375 02695.000

Export earningsMillion Rs)12.916.129.057.4

118.1118 0180.03 65 7

12.458.012 405.012 855.013 961 016 099 025 000.0

ource Cashew Export P romotion Council of India. 2003 .

ECONOMIC BOTANYAnacardium is one of the mo st econ om ically imp ortant genera in tAn acardiaceae. This is due oAnacardium occidentale the cashew of com erce), which yields: roasted cashew nu ts seed s), which are a major thiworld export to industrialized natio ns: cashew apples hy poc arps). whicare consumed locally or used to make a widely marketed juice in SouAmerica, especially Brazil; and cashew nutshell liquid, which has medicand industrial applications. Some of the other Anacardium species haeconomic potential but they are currently underutilized. Anacardium excesum is used for construction and as a shade tree for coffee and cocoa planttions.Anacardium giganteum is a locally imp ortant tim ber in South Am e

ica, and its hypocarps are relished by local people. The spectacular whileaves associated with the inflorescences of A. spruceamim make it a tr


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Cashew 87with A. occidentale, could yield subshrubs with fruits that could be har-vested mechanically. The economic potential of the other two subshrubs,A. nanum and A. corymbosum alsu should be investigated M itchell undMori, 1987).

TAXONOMYCashew belongs to the family Anacardiaceae, the genus Anacardium,

and speciesoccidentale.A taxonomie treatmentof Anacanlium {Anacaidiaceae;tribe Anacardieae), a Latin Am erican genus of trees, shrubs, and geoxylic sub-shrubs, is provided by M iicheil and Mori 1987). A nacard iuceae is a mo der -ately large family consisting of 74 genera and 600 species. It is subdividedinto five tribes, namely Anacardieae, Spondiadeae. Semecarpeae. Rhoeae,and Dobineae. The tribe Anacardieae consists of eight genera, namely,Androtium, Buchanania, Bouea, Gliita, Swintonia, Man^ifera, Fegimanra,and Anacardium M itchell and M ori. 1987). Ac cording to Bailey 1958)Aniicardium is a small genus of eight species indigen ous to South A m erica .How ever, Agnoloni and Giuliani 1977) and Johnson 1973) have recog-nized eleven and sixteen species, respectively. Valeriano {1972) names fivedifferent species, namely Anacardium occidentale L., A. pnmilum St Hil-aire, A. giganteum Hanca, A. rhinocarpus, und A. spruceanum Bcnth. Healso suggests recognition of only two species, namely A. nanum andA.giganteum, which can further be subdivide d based on the colo r yellowor red) and shape {round, pear-shaped, or elongated) of ihe pseudofruit.Valeriano 197 2) also con siders the division into dwarf and giant species tobe the only w ay to classify cashe w in a rational and practical w ay. His argu-ments are based on the characteristics of pscudofruits. However the descrip-tion provided by Peixoto I9 60 ) separates recognition of more than twospecies. It appears from the published accounts thatA. occidentale L. is theonly species that has been introduced outside the New World. Within Cen-tral and South America as many as 20 species oi Anacardium are know n toexist {Table 3.7). M itchell and M ori 198 7) recogniz e ten species in the ge-nus Anacardium, one of which, A. fruticosum, is describe d as new. Thegenus has a primary center of diversity in Amazonia and a secondary centerin the Plan alto of B razil. All know n spec iesof ihc Anacardium genus can be


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88 H A N D B O O K O F I N D U S T R IA L C R O P STABLE 3.7. Species ofAnacardiutv Linn.

otanical name CountryAnacardium brasiliense Barb. Rodr,A curatetlaehlium St. Hil (= A subcordatum Presl.)A encardium NoronhaA giganteum Hancock ex Engl.A humile St. Hil (= A subterranean} Liais)A mediterraneum Veil. F l. FlumA nanum St. Hil (= A humile Engl., A pumilum Walp)A occidentaleL. (cashewnut)A rhinocarpus D. C. Prod,A spruceanum Benth ex Engl.A microsepalum LoesA corymbosum Barb, Rodr,A excelsum Skeels (= Rhinocarpus excetsaA parvifolium D uckeA amilcahanum M achadoA KuhlmannianumM achadoA negrense Pires an d Fro esA rondonianum MacbadoA tenuifoliumD uckeA microcarpum D ucke

BrazilBrazilMalayasiaBrazilBrazilBrazilBrazilBrazilBrazilBrazi lAm azon regionBrazi lBrazi lAmazon regioBrazilBrazilBrazilBrazilBrazilAmazon regio

Source: Index Kewensis. 1996, Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew.

the high number of wild species suggests thai the northeast coast is the sitof origin for Anacardium genus and nam ely for A ncardiiim occidentaleIn fact, here different forms of ciishew can be found with a high var iabil itfor loca l popula t ions , namely a long the coas t and dune a reas . Nowadaymost species belonging to theA nacardium genus a r e found every wher e B ra z i l NO M ISM A. 1994). Ascenso 1986) reported that cashew Anacadium occidentale L.) is the only species in the genus hut a tta ined econ omimpor tance. TheA nacardium genus a ppea red to ha ve or igi na ted in the Am


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Cashew 89CYTOGENETICS

The cytology of Aiiacardium occidentale L. has ni)t been stud ied in de-tail. The chrom osom e num ber is reported only forA.occidentale. This mor-phologically polymorphic species also exhibits choromosome polymor-phism M itchell and Mori, 1987). Ch rom osom e num bers reported in theliterature range from lit = 24 G oldb latl, 1984; K hosla et al., 1973), 2n = 30 Machad o. 1944). and 2;; = 40 Goldblatt. 1984; Sim mo nds, I 9 5 4 )t o 2 =42 Go ldbiatt, 1984; Kh osla et al., 1973; D arlington and Janaki A m m al,1945; Purseglove, 1988). Such ehromosome polymorphism is well knownin many dome sticated trees Kh osla et al., 1973).Genetic ResourcesCollection Consenatioii and Cataloging

Even Ihough no reliable records of the introductions are available, it ispresumed that the initial introductions in the Malabar coast of Kerala werefrom only a tew trees, an dd ue to the hardy na tureo f t he er op it has spread toall the coastal regions of India naturally. Ail these introductions originatedfrom Anacardium occideutale. The initial emphasis was only on the estab-lishment of plantations of seedling origin. As cashew is primarily a cross-pollinated crop, it is highly heterozygous. Considerable segregation hasresulted in large variation in the pop ulations Bh aska ra Rao and Bha t,1996). Subsequent to the initiation of research under the Indian Council ofAgricultural Research ICA R), the germ plasm collection for collectingthese variants/segregants has been undertaken at ICAR and State Agricul-tural University SA U) research ce nters. Until the estab lishm ent of the N a-tional Research Centre for Cashew NR CC ) in India, germ plasm accessionswere collected as seed samples only. Variability recorded for some of theimportant characters in seedling germpiasm accessions is given in Table 3.8 Bh askara Rao and Swam y, 1994). W ide variation w ithin the acc essionsdue to the cross-pollinated nature of the crop was noticed in these germ-plasm acc essions of seed origin Pho tos 3.1 and 3.2 ).

The National Cashew Gene Bank N CG B). which was established at theNRCC, Puttur, is concerned exclusively wilh the clonai accessions. In thecurrent research efforts, the accessions to be collected are identified inthe survey taken up during the fruiting season and the scions from the iden-tified m othe r tree are collected du ring the pro pag ation season June to Se p-


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90 H NDBOOK OF INDUSTRI L CROPSTABLE 3.8. Variability recorded for some of the characters In the germplasmaccessions seedling progenies). haracter RangeFlowering season October-JanuaryFlowering duration 40-127 daysHarvesting duration 30-105 daysNumber of fruits per panicle -8Apple weight 30-150 gNut weight 2.4-18.0 gApple:nut ratio 4:1-12:1Shelling percentage 19.0-35.0Kernel weight 0.5-4.5 gKernel count/lb 100-900Shell thickness 1.5 5.0mmMean yield/plant/year ten annual harvests) 0.50-11.75 kg ource Bhaskara Rao and Swamy, 1994.

lhe clotial accessions in coordinating centers of the All India CoordinateResearch Project on Cashew. A total of 1.490 accessions of cashew havbeen co nserve d in India {Bhat et al., 1999). At the N R C C . Puttur, a total o433 clonal accessions have been conserved in the NCGB. As per the Intenational Plant Ge netic Resources Institute IPG RI) cashew desc riptors, sfar 255 accessions have been characterized and cataloged after six annuaharvest after ten years of plan ting ), and the Catalogue of Minimum Descritors of Cashew {Anacardium occidentale L.) Germplasm Accessions I. /and // / have been published Sw am y et al., 1997, 1998, and 200 0).Genetic ImprovementBreeding Perspectives

Yield in cashew is a complex character involving an integt^ted set of atributes, namely, number of inflorescence per unit area, number of nuts peinflorescence, and tnean nut weight. These variables either directly othrough their interaction influence the total nut yield in cashew. Any a


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Cashew

PHOTO 3 1 A young cashew plant in fruiting

vestigated. Although the data available at present are not adequate to offeran explanation of the differentiation of vegetative shoots into reproductiveshoots, the indications are that this could be governed by environmentalvariables, such as the nutritional factors, availability of moisture, andweather parameters. Understanding this process wiil be helpful in breedingthe varieties that have higher yield-contributing factors such as number ofintlorescence per unit area, nLimber of nuts per inflorescence, and fruit-to-nut ratio Bh aska ra R ao et al., 1998). Tb e study by Foltan and Lu dde rs 1995) indicated that there are no significant differences in fruit set follow-ing selfing compared to cross-pollination, except in one case where selfingH-3 -13 resulted in significantly lowe r fruit set while the same variety w hen


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92 H NDBOOK OFL\ DUSTWALCROPS

PHOT O 3.2. Variability for cashew apple shading shape and size.

the need to understand the cross-pollinated nature between preferentiacombinations of parents for realizing higher yields. Therefore, studies othe compatibility relationship of cashew varieties and designing tbe modefor establishing orchards with polyclones to ensure highest compatibilitand for reali?:ing higher yields in cashew is a priority. One of the optionavailable for increasing productivity of cashew per unit area is to resort to highdensity plantings ranging from n ormal spacings of 8 x 8 m 156 plants/haor 7.5 7.5 m 175 plants/ha) up to 625 plants/ha dep endin g upon the fertity of the soil and the canopy structure of the variety to be planted. Highdensity plantings ran ging from 200 10 x 5 m) to 625 plants/lia 4 x 4 mwill be possible only with the ge no typ esb av ing dw arf stature, compac t canopy, and intensive branching with high proportion of flowering laterals peunit area. Therefore the breeding strategy should also give priority for identifying dwarfing ge notyp es i nc as he w that can be either used as root stock o


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Cashew 93able canopy managemenl lechniques, such as pruning, either through con-ventional metho ds or appliculion o l chem icals such as Paclobu lrazol. Am ongihe various species reported in Anacardium only Anacardium microcar-pum is supposed to be a dwarf genotype that can be tried as the root stocktor ihc multiplication of varieties ihal have compact canopies {BhaskaraRaneia l . . 1998) .

Tree nuls are generally considered as highly nutritive and have beenplaced in the base of the Medetcnanian Diet Pyramid developed by theWorld Health Organization, which recommends their daily consumption.Nagaraja (I987a,b) reported differences with respect lo neutral lipids andgiycolipids, whereas the composition of phospholipids did not differ amongthe varieties. A quality index was developed (Anonymous, 1994) based onihe protein, lysine. and sugar content of cashew kernels. However, the re-cent emphasis is also on low fal content so that ihe misapprehension thatconsumption of cashew kernels is deleterious to health is not propagatedamong consumers. Some of ihe varieties having > 35 percent protein, lysine>5()(.ig/mg protein, a n d < 14 percent of sugar were idenlified. The se can beused in the breeding program to develop varieties with better nutritive valuefor the diet-conscious co nsum er m arkets. On e of the major production con-straints in India as well as in oiher cashew-growing countries is ihe inci-dence of tea mosquito hug (TMB) in the Hushing and llowering season.Studies made so far on screening for resistance indicated that among thegermplasm accessions available in the country, resistance is unlikely to beencountered. However, in one of the accessions, Goa 11/6, a phenologicalevasion has been noticed which enables the accession to escape severe in-festation of tea mosquito bug (Sundararaiu, 1999). Similarly, reports havealso been made that hybrids like H-3-17, H-1600,H-8-1, H -8-7. H -8-8. andH-15 show mo derate tolera nce to ihis pest. Il will be w orthw hile lo look intothe varieties whose ilowering seasons do not coincide with the peak popula-tion of TM B and escape the infestation. Th e possibility of identifying toler-ant types through screening of somaclonal variants is also a worthwhileproposition. Finally, it may be mentioned that ihe yield structure in cashewinvolves the integrated set of complex characters enumerated earlier. Eventhough each appears to be important on its own. specitlc partitioning ofthese variables needs to be understood through experimental approaches orthrough statistical models such as multiple linear regression, path analysis,principal component analysis, etc. Through such efforts, high heritabilitycomponents contributing to yield need to be identified, and efforts shouldbe made to integrate tiiese characters through hybridization. These breedingefforts should be coupled with suitable management practices to achievethe desired result of achieving higher productivity of cashew (Bhaska ra Rao


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9 HAiWBOOKOFIWUSTRJAL ROPSCrop Improvem ent Throu gh Selection

Of the 40 cashew varieties released in India, 25 arc selections made fromthe gennplasm materials available in different cashew research stations ithe country (Abdul Salam and Bhaskara Rao. 2001). These 25 varietiewere identified and released based on the germplasm evaluation carried ouat different centers (Table 3.9). As the crop was propagated initially from plus trees for soil conserv ation and afforestation, not much emp hasis habeen given on the varietal conc ept of cashe w. The conc ept of the varieties icashew is of recent origin. The initial identification of varieties was baseon total yield realized per tree only. This has resulted in lhe release of varieies with kernel grades of more than W 320. Important attributes such as kernel weight, shelling percentage,, and reeovery of whole kernels received little attention. In recent years, with increasing concern for quality, emphashas been placed on the identification of varieties with kernel weigh ts of ove2 g falling into the export gra de of W 210 to W 2 40. To realize higher recovery of whole kernels, standards have been fixed for shelling percentage (noless than 30 percent). This calls for the identification of donor parents having these characters that can transmit them to their progeny (Bhaskara Raet al., 1998) (Photos 3.3 and 3.4). rop mprovementThrough Hybridization

Crop improvement through hybridization is receiving greater attentioin almost all the cashew res earch cetiters of India, A crop im provem ent proTABLE 3.9. Germplasm selections released as cashew varieties in India.

State Center VarietiesAndhra Pradesh Bapatia BPP-3. BPP -4. BPP-5, BPP-6Goa ICAR, RC, Goa Goa-1Karnataka NRCC, Puttur NRCC Selection-1,NRCC Selection-2Cbintamani Cbintamani-1

Utial Ullal-1,Ullal-2, Ullal-3, Ullal-4, UN-50Kerala Anakkayam Anakkayam-1 BL A1 39-1)Madakkathara Madakkathara 1 BLA 39-4),Madakkathara-2 NDR 2-1),K-22-1,Sulabba

Mabarashtra Venguria Vengurla-1, Venguria-2


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shew

PHOTO 3.3. NRCC S elect ion 1.

gram in Australia also is centered around the development of hybridswherein thousands of hybrids are produced using parents of wide geneticdiversity obtained from different countries, especially from India and Brazil(C hac koe t al. . 99 0;C ha ck o, 1993). This has necessitated ihe standardiza-tion of a pollination technique in cashew ihat is reliable,foolproof and sim-ple. A simple technique of pollination in cashew has been developed at theNational Research Center for Cashew. Puttur {Bhat et aL, 1998). The newpollination technique developed at NRCC involves the use of butter paperrolls or pantog raphic paper rolls. Th e new pollination/crossing technique isas follows:

Pan icles having flower bud s that will open the next day are selectedboth on male and female parental trees. All the opened flowers and


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96 H NDBOOK OF INDUSTRI L CROPS Every m orning betw een 8 and 9:30 a.m., all the open ed ma le flowefrom the selected panicles on female parental trees are removedThe n, anthers are removed em asculated) using ordinary pins befor

anther dehiscence from freshly opened hermaphrodite flowers of thpanicles. The stigma along with the style is enclosed with a butter paper roll pan togra phic pape r roll), wh ich is prepared using a smapiece of butter paper sheet of2 5 x 1.5 em in size by rolling it with thhelp of fingers. Freshly opened male fiowers with undeh isced anthe rs are collected a petri dish from selected m ale parents betw een 8 and 9:30 a.m.) anthe anthers are allowed to dehisce under partial shade. The butter paper roll from the em ascu lated Hower is remo ved and thstigma is pollinated with pollen from freshly dehisced anthers of thmale parent collected in a petri dish. The pollinated stigm a along with style is re-enc losed with butter pper roll. Each panic le is labelled indicating the nam es of female and male paents of the cross as well as tbe panicle number. Each panicle is usefor only one cross combination. The previous proc edu re is continu ed until eight to ten herm aph rodi lowers are pollinated in each selected panicle. All the open ed he rm aph rodite flowers that are not used for pollinatioare removed daily. All the rem aining flower buds are remov ed from the panicle on thlast day of pollination for that panicle. Each panicle witb developing hybrid nuts is enclose d in a cloth bag order to collect the nuts on maturity. Tbe details of the crosses shoulalso be written on the cloth bags. The hybrid seedling s are raised in poly bag s utilizing the hybrid nuso obtained.This pollination technique is easier to adopt and also gives higher peeentage of hybrid nuts as compared to the existing procedure of pollinatiodue to less injury to the delicate casb ew flowers.Fruit set and fruit retention Studies on flowering, fruiting, and genotypcom patibility w ere carried out at D arw in, A ustralia Foltan and Lud der

1995).Among the five cultivars used for tbe study, one eultivar, namely. H3-13, behaved differently from the others. No significant differences we


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Cashew 97

PHOTO 3.4. NRCC S election 2.

fruit set of 51.7 percent was obtained. In the reciprocal combination ofG untur x H -3- 13 , the fruit set was only 38 percen t. Tliis indicates that care-ful selection of parental combination is necessary in cashew for obtaining agenotype with good fruit set Bhask ara Ra o, 1996). W un nac hilet al. 1992)recorded a general reduction in the yield in .selfed progenies when com-pared to crossed progenies, and the authors attributed post/.ygotic mecha-nism to be responsible for observed self-sterility. Premature preferentialsheddin g of sclled fruits is also noticed in av oca do Dcgani et aL, 1989).These studies emphasize the need for better understanding of the compati-bility relationships of cashew genotypes, since premature fruit drop is oneof the major problem s in cashew production Bha skara Rao, 1996).Performance of hybrids The review of performance of the 34 cashew va-rieties indicated that in the states of India wh ere both se lections and hy bridswere released for cultivation, the performance of hybrids has been betterthan the selections. Hybrid vigor can easily be exploited in cashew because


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9 HANDBO OK OF INDUSTRIAL CROPSfor commercial muUiplication of cashew varieties/clones. Hybridization icashew was started in Kerala at K otta rak ka rain 1963 and later continu ed athe Cashe w Research Station, An akk aya m ; it is currently b eing pu rsueat the Cashew Research Station, Madakkathara. In the initial breeding program s, three parents with prolific bearing (T .N o. 2A , 3 0. and 30A ) anthree bold nut type parents (T.No. 27, 8A, and Brazil-18) were used in hybridization at the Cashew Research Station. Anakkayam (Damodaran1977). The reports on the evaluation ofthese hybrids indicated marked variation in the progenies derived from the same parental combinations. It waalso reported that wherever Brazil-18. an exotic bold nut accession, waused in the hybridization, the percentage of progenies wilh high yiel(greater than 8 kg of raw nuts/tree) was higher {35 percent) than those involving the accessions that are collected within the country (9.1 percentOf the 28 parental combinations evaluated at the Cashew Research StationAnakkayam (191 hybrid progenies), and Vellanikkara (I 14progenies), twhybrids, namely, H -3 -I 7a nd H-4 -7, were found to be superior than all othecombinations tried (Damodaran et al., 1978). Further, it may be mentioneihat both these hybrids had exotic aecession Brazil-18 as the male parenResults reported from other research stations that have undertaken hybridization, namely. Venguria (Maharashtra) and Bapatia (Andhra Pradeshalso indicated that whenever a prolific bearer is crossed with bold nut typethe chances of realizing the hybrid with better nut weight are greate(N aga bhu sha nam , et al.. 1977: Salv i, 1979). Based on these results, varieies with sm aller nut size but high nut yield w ere crosse d with bold nut typesnamely Vetore-56 and Bra/H-711, in the Cashew Research Stations aMaharashtra. Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala. Nawale and Salvi (1990) founthat Vetore-56 exhibited higher ability of transmitting bold nut character tthe progenies. Seven hybrids recently released from Kerala AgriculturaUniversity, namely Dhana. Kanaka, Priyanka, Dharashree, Amnitha, Akshaya, and Anagha (Table 3.10) have at least one parent with bold nut chaacter. Dhana is a cross between ALG D-1 and K 3 0 /I . and Priyanka is ac rosbetw een BLA 139-1 and K 30 /1 , wh ere K 30/1 has a good nut weight (ove8 g). Kanaka is across between BLA 139-1 and H 3-13. H 3-13 is itself hybrid having one of its parents with bold nut size, namely, Brazil-1Among the 5 cashew hybrids released in India (Abdul Salam and BhaskaRao, 2001) (Table 3.10). three hybrids, namely, BPP-1 . BPP-2, and Venguria-5 have small nuts (4.0 to 5.0 g) with kernel grad es of W 400 to W 45 0wh erea s the rema ining 12 have kernel grad es of W 180 to W 2 40. Th ese 1hybrids have at least one of the parents with bold nut character, and thuconfirm the advantage of selecting the parent with bold nut type for realiz


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Cashew by E. V. V. Bhaskat-aRao & K. R. M. Swamy

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