<p></p><p><b>Introduction</b> <br></p> <p> Cashew (Anacardium occidental L) an introduced species of late got itself acclimatized to varied types of soil and climatic conditions of India and is now considered as an important Horticultural crop of the country. This nutrient rich kernel yielding and export earning crop was earlier only considered for soil and water conservation purposes and in wasteland development programmes of this country. Due attention for the improvement of the crop and development of cultivation packages was not given due to which country started slowly losing its supremacy in production, processing and international cashew trade. The requirement and demand for the cashew both at domestic and international level has grown more than expectation and also the processing facilities of raw nuts were developed at a faster phase than the production. The approximate raw cashew nut requirement of the country is estimated at 40-50 lakh tones or even more by 2050 AD. The research and development efforts of present rate of the system may not lead to this until a breakthrough technology comes in to revolutionalise the cashew nut production in the country. <br></p> <p>High density orcharding for many folds productivity enhancement from unit land area and to reap the early benefits of the orchards looks a real hope in this direction. High density in many fruit types brought tremendous yield improvement and such an improvement was earlier not felt necessary in cashew for want of both dwarf and compact type of high yielding cultivars or dwarfing root stocks to achieve it. Use of growth reducing chemicals such as paclobutrazol (PBZ) was not much encouraged in the present era of organics. Though, the complete concept of pruning and canopy management package has tremendous scope in bringing the dream of cashew high density planting into reality in the field. <br></p> <p>Basically cashew is a tropical tree having fast growth and with its spreading branches covers complete available space in short period of time. The regular annual flowering trees of cashew always require more sunlight for flowering and production. The cashew has terminal flowering habit on newly emerging shoots on the canopy. Judicious annual pruning during appropriate time is thus has advantages for the production of flowering shoots. The high density orchards the canopies of the plants are to be controlled in size within the limited pace more effectively to be productive and needs to be contained for long. Containing the canopy size within a small space of 3M x 3M or 4M x 4M of high density orchards though difficult but near necessity selection of pruning responsive varieties plays prime role in the development of such size controlled high density orchards. <br></p> <p>Therefore the cultivars for high density orcharding should be <br></p> <p>· Precocious and regular bearers </p> <p>· Slow growing and dwarf stature</p> <p>· Preferably early season flowering</p> <p>· Prone to annual pruning </p> <p>· Responsive to management practices with less pest and disease susceptibility and</p> <p>· Medium to bold nut type with high yield. <br></p> <p>Among available cashew varieties in the country <br></p> <p>· VRI-3, NRCC Sel-2, K-22-1 and Ullal-1 and preferred types for high density planting with respect to their productive response to pruning.</p> <p>· Ullal-3, Vengurla-4, Ullal-4 and Madakkathara-2 are in the order of the second preferences for the establishment of high density orchards. <br></p> <p><b>Suitability of crop and area <br></b></p> <p> Generally, Cashew is grown in hilly terrains or semi sloppy land areas of the country and the idea of high density fit well as the completion for space and light gets reduced due to the presence of canopy at different layers horizontally. The canopies need to be regulated vertically with horticultural techniques which are easier in sloppy terrains. However, plains also suit for the high density orchard either at square system of planting or hedge row system with proper planning before planting. Plant to plant space need to be managed at 3 to 4M spacing and by annual regular pruning or subsequent thinning in the later years the canopies be managed. Present cashew expansion programme in the country goes with high density package, but needs proper guidance for keeping the orchards more productive and remunerative in long run. Therefore following technical advice be made for establishment and management of productive high density orchards.<b> <br></b></p> <p><b>Packages for establishment and management of high density orchards <br></b></p> <p>· Row terrace with pits of 1 m3 dimension at 3m or 4m distance be opened.</p> <p>· Row to row distance should be maintained at 3m or 4m.</p> <p>· Planting of 4-5 months old recommended quality cashew grafts be done during onset of monsoon (June-July).</p> <p>· Half filled pits with compost and good soil are recommended for planting.</p> <p>· De-sprouting of side shoots on the grafts should be done up to a height of 35-40 cm from ground level.</p> <p>· Terminal shoots at 1 to 1.5 m height be knifed off to induce more lateral growth.</p> <p>· De-blossoming is not a must in the healthy growing plants.</p> <p>· Annual base cleaning, mannuring and fertilizers applications should be attended as scheduled and suggested.</p> <p>· Plant protection against Tea Mosquito Bug and other minor pests is a need based and must.</p> <p>· Annual heading back of the excess vertical growth at 1 to 1.5 m height and restriction of spreading growth within the allotted space and application of board ox paste (10%) to cut ends and sprays of Boudreaux (1%) to the remaining part should be practiced. Pruning may be taken up preferably after harvest of the crops during May – June every year.</p> <p>· Irrigation / Fertigation can be provided if available to late flowering varieties only after flowering as advised for cashew. <br></p> <p><b>Economics of the High density orchards</b> <br></p> <p> The dream of achieving near impossible target (4-5 tons/ ha) of raw nut requirement sets for the future can be made reality by advancement in cultivation with high density orcharding in a phased manner. In the 3rd or 4th year of high density planting the allotted full space can be covered by the plant canopies and the full potential yield from the allotted unit land can be realized. While in the normally spaced orchards on 8M x 8M spacing the complete utilization of space by plant canopies can be realized only after 7-8 years. <br></p> <p> On planting at 3m x 3m (1111 plants/ha) or 4m x 4m (625 plants/ha), the full potential yield at 3kg/plant could be nearly 2-3 tons in the 3rd to 4th year of planting. While in the widely spaced plants to achieve 2 tons/ ha, the plant has to yield 12-15 kg, which may take 6-7 years of orchard life. <br></p> <p> Cost of establishment of 1 ha high density orchard including planting material input and other management costs may range from INR 60,000 to 1,00,000 depends on the area and type of land while the establishment of normally spaced orchard may go 30,000 to 40,000, but early income from the investment may also be low from the unit area in the widely spaced orchards. Subsequently the management of the plantations may range from INR 30,000 – 40,000/ha in high density orchards. While in normally spaced it may go up to INR 10,000–20,000/ha. In high density orchards the initial investment of establishment of orchard can be recovered from the 3-4 years. The income generated from 5th year will be mere profit. In high density planting, an income of about INR 1.5-2.0 lakhs (1 lakh equals 0.1 million) can be realized annually. <br></p> <p>Ø High density planting technique in cashew is recent development, although it is well known in several other fruit crops. Some farmers in and around Puttur in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka and parts of Kasaragod district in Kerala State adopted the technique of high density planting and realized the higher yields up to 2 tonnes/ha from the plot. The spacing adopted was either at 5 m x 5 m or 6 m x 4 m. In the recent 4-5 years, people have taken up ultra density planting @ 400 plants / acre ( 3m x 3m ) or even up to 600 plants / acre (2.5 m x 2.5 m) on adopting proper pruning techniques and suitable varieties. The farmers from such plot harvested the crop from very second year of planting (about 1 kg/plant). <br></p> <p><b>Conclusion</b> <br></p> <p>Ø The technology of high density planting or orcharding involves higher initial investment and intensive management compared to normally spaced plantations. But, the income and benefits from the unit area is much higher and thus technology is economically viable. The target of achieving productivity of 3-4 tons/ha is not a difficult task if high density planting with good cultivation practices are adopted.<br></p><p></p>