The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : `Pest management essential to increase cashew yield'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Oct 31, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Others

`Pest management essential to increase cashew yield'

By Our Staff Reporter

PUDUKOTTAI, OCT. 30. The productivity of cashew is low in Pudukottai, an important cashew-growing district in the State, due to improper selection of varieties, poor management practices, and the absence of protection measures.

The productivity of cashew in Pudukottai is 300 kg a hectare, as against 1,620 kg in Theni district. In Pudukottai, 11,243 hectares is under cashew, said S. Jebaraj, Professor and Head, National Pulses Research Centre (NPRC), Vamban, at a three-day seminar on cashew cultivation, organised by the Department of Horticulture and the Krishi Vigyan Kendra at Vamban recently.

To increase production, Dr. Jebaraj said, water harvesting and integrated nutrient and pest management were essential to check the attack by the stem-and-root borer and tea mosquito bug. Pest surveillance and monitoring were the key component of the integrated pest management, he added.

The Collector, Jatindranath Swain, advised the farmers, who took part in the seminar, to improve water harvesting structures in the water-starved areas. Periodical pruning, proper maintenance of cashew gardens and organic farming would enable the growers to get higher returns.

Advising the farmers not to go in for sole crop, so as to avoid price fluctuations, he suggested that they started vegetable nursery. He released a booklet on kitchen gardening and distributed vegetable seed pockets to the participants.

K. Samiayyan, Professor of Entomology, NPRC, said the country stood first in cashew production and area under the crop.

A. Sankari, Training Associate (Horticulture), explained the cultivation practices — the selection of seedlings, land preparation, planting methods, weed and nutrient management, harvesting and processing.

R. Vijayalakshmi, Training Associate (Agronomy), and A. Sathasivam, Extension Scientist, spoke about the post-harvest technology, export-oriented cashew cultivation and the production of quality nuts.

A total of 125 farmers participated in the programme.

They were taken to the NPRC cashew nursery to help them learn the methods of grafting and seedling production and to the KVK exhibition to have firsthand information about the different stages of the stem-and-root borer, and the tactics to eliminate it.

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