Performance of cashew as influenced by different weather conditions under organic practices in plains of Karnataka

Study was undertaken to evaluate the performance of the organically grown cashew crop for consistent and stabilized yield under varied weather conditions of plain track of Karnataka, India. The study revealed that during September to December where flushing (vegetative growth) is active, highest average temperature recorded was 29.26°, 27.91° and 29.21°C in September to December of 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively. Similarly, highest average temperature recorded was 32.57°, 33.44° and 34.90°C in January to May of 2012, 2013 and 2014, respectively, which coincides with flowering and fruiting time. There was an increase in temperature from year to year. The data revealed that in the first year (end of 2013) of study, there was no significant yield differences observed between organic and inorganic practices (20.76 and 20.20 kg plant⁻¹, respectively in organic and inorganic system); whereas increasing yield in organic system was 21.45 kg (4290 kg ha⁻¹) of cashew nuts per plant compared to 20.52 kg (4104 kg ha⁻¹) in inorganic system at the end of April 2014. There was a significant increase in yield to the tune of 5% recorded with organic system at the end of second year of the study i.e. April 2014. Organic system significantly improved the soil quality and the sustainability index of the soil was maximum with organic practices (1.59) compared to inorganic one (0.88). The study supports the benefit of adopting organic system in enhancing and stabilizing production through increased productivity. Further, in spite of the varied weather (temperature and rainfall) in 2012, 2013 and 2014, cashew could give consistent and stabilized yield under plain track of Karnataka, indicating its suitability as a climate smart crop.