Performance of released cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) varieties under hot and humid climatic zone of Odisha
 

The wide gap between the present level of productivity and potential productivity (2 ton ha-1) of cashew nut in the country as well as in the state of Odisha is due to use of traditional varieties of low yield potential and  non adoption of scientific orchard management practices. To address the issue of low productivity of cashew in the state, a multi locational trial was laid out during the year 2008 using clonal planting materials of twenty five released cashew varieties collected from different co-operating centres of AICRP on Cashew, India.  The collected grafted plants were planted at a spacing of 7.5 m x 7.5 m following Randomized Block Design (RBD) having six plants per treatment and replicated twice. Recommended package of practices were adopted uniformly to raise a good crop. Data recorded on various vegetative growth parameters, yield attributing traits and nut yield of different cashew varieties revealed that Vengurla-7 recorded maximum for the vegetative parameters like tree height (5.45m), trunk girth (84.05cm) and canopy spread in North-South direction (8.75m) while canopy spread in East-West direction was recorded maximum in variety, BPP-8(8.75m). Maximum number of flowering laterals m-2 was recorded  in variety, Chintamani-1(28.87) while BPP-8 recorded maximum nuts m-2(46.0). Number of nuts panicle-1 recorded maximum in variety, Bhubaneswar-1 (9.0). Nut weight(9.6 g)  as well as kernel weight(3.02g) was recorded maximum in variety, Vengurla-7. Variety, Kanaka recorded highest shelling(32.76%) among the tested varieties. Nut yield was significantly maximum in variety, BPP-8 (16.75 kg plant-1) while that of lowest in variety Jharagram-1(1.60kg plant-1) at 7th harvest. TSS was recorded maximum in variety Bhubaneswar-1 while acidity was maximum in variety, Vengurla-4(0.22%).  Yield is the ultimate target for any evaluation programme.   From the study, it is be concluded that among the twenty five tested released varieties, BPP-8 was the  best performing cashew variety under hot and humid climatic zone of Odisha.