The Hindu Business Line : Meet to demonstrate cultivation of cashew plants

NEARLY 600 farmers from various districts of Karnataka and Kasaragod district of Kerala will meet at Ullal in Mangalore on February 4. They will be given practical demonstration on the cultivation of various varieties of cashew plants.

The function will be held to commemorate the golden jubilee celebrations of Agricultural Research Station, Ullal, of University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore.

Cashew is being cultivated in 90,000 hectares of land in Karnataka. Coastal Karnataka contributes to nearly 70 per cent of State's cashew production.

The Ullal research station, which was established in 1953 by the then Madras Government, has contributed significantly to the cashew research. The Ullal varieties of cashew are still popular among the farmers in Karnataka, especially in the coastal belt.

Of the five Ullal varities - Ullal-1, Ullal-2, Ullal-3, Ullal-4 and UN-50 - Ullal-1 is the most sought after variety among farmers. Released in 1984, the mean nut yield per tree is 19 kg. The mean nut yield per tree of Ullal-2, released in the same year, is 18 kg. However, Ullal-2 is the preferred choice of farmers of Sullia and Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district. The mean nut yield per tree of Ullal-3, Ullal-4 and UN-50, released in 1993, 1994 and 1995, is 14.7 kg, 9.5 kg, and 10.5 kg, respectively.

Dr T.R. Guruprasad, Associate Professor (Horticulture), Agricultural Research Station, Ullal, told presspersons here that developing a crop variety is a long-term process. India produces nearly 4.5 lakh tonnes of cashewnut every year against the demand of 10 lakh tonnes. There are nearly 1,300 cashew processing units.

In Karnataka, production of cashewnut is 35,000 tonnes every year against the demand of 75,000 to 80,000 tonnes.

He said the demand-supply gap in cashewnut production could be narrowed down by adopting the latest agronomic practices in cultivation.

The management practices include selection of the variety suitable to grow in a given climatic condition, and the adoption of right package of practices recommended for the region.

Dr Guruprasad said that Agricultural Research Station, Ullal, is producing softwood cashew grafts of high yielding varieties and supplying them to farmers and the NGOs. The number of softwood grafts produced and supplied from 1990-91 to December 2003 is 5.41 lakh, he added.

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