Abstract
Cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale L.) farmers are facing challenges producing quality nuts due to inadequate knowledge of cashew insect pests and their management practices in Bangladesh. For this reason, a survey of 144 cashew farmers was conducted from June 2020 to December 2022. Tea mosquito bug (70.1%), cashew stem and root borer (52.8%), and apple and nut borer (45.8%) were the top-ranked among 21 insect pest species of cashew. The highest insect pest infestation was observed in the tender leaves (49.8%). Overall, 56.3% farmers noticed 11–20% yield losses caused by insect pests, while 9% of the farmers believed that yield losses could be more than 40% in cashew orchards. Although physical (7.7%) and mechanical (7.6%) pest management tactics, like hand-picking, use of coal tar, kerosene, and yellow sticky traps were used to control pests, most farmers (84.7%) relied on chemical pesticides. Young and educated farmers were interested in non-chemical pest management options compared to their counterparts. Farmers believed that intercultural operation like weeding and pruning could reduce insect pests in cashew orchards.
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