BIODIVERSITY AND CONSERVATION OF CASHEW IN TAMIL NADU

Abstract

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is a native of eastern Brazil. Four centuries ago, the adventurous Portuguese came sailing down the Indian coasts and brought with them the priceless tree nut “cashew”. Cashew came, conquered and took deep roots in the entire coastal region of India. India is the leading country in the world in cashew area (9.23 lakh ha) and production (6.13 lakh tons). Cultivation of cashew in India is confined mainly to the peninsular areas. It is grown in Kerala, Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra along the west coast and Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal along the east coast. To a limited extent it is being cultivated in Chattisgarh, North Eastern States (Assam, Manipur, Tripura, Meghalaya and Nagaland) and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In Tamil Nadu, cashew is being cultivated in Ariyaloor, Cuddalore, Pudukottai, Sivagangai and Theni Districts covering an area of 1.33 lakh ha with a production of 60000 metric tons. Early attempts for cashew germplasm collection were made during the early 1950s in the composite states of Madras, Travancore, Cochin and Bombay. The research work in cashew at Tamil nadu was initiated in 1963 with the establishment of the Cashew Research Station at Vridhachalam. Research work continued under The All India Coordinated Research Project on Cashew from 1970. At the Regional Research Station, Vridhachalam cashew germplasm collection has been made since 1963. The accessions were collected from forest plantations, farmers field and research stations of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and few from other countries. As a result 265 germplasm accessions were being conserved in the Regional Cashew Field Gene Bank (RCFGB) of the Regional Research Station, Vridhachalam.