Indian Journal of Soil Conservation

A field experiment was conducted on lateritic soils in hilly region of Goa State to study the effect of different in-situ soil and water conservation measures on quality and production of cashew (Anacardium occidentale). The study reveals that an increase of 0.2 to 1.3 g in individual nut weight was due to the effect of in-situ soil and water conservation measures. Continuous contour trenches with live vegetative barriers increased the apple weight by 13.2 g and staggered contour trenches with vegetative barriers increased by 11.3 g as compared to control. An increase in TSS was recorded due to the in-situ soil and water conservation measures, which ranged from 0.9⁰B to 2.9⁰B over control. Continuous contour trenches with live vegetative barriers increased the juice content by 6.7% followed by staggered contour trenches with vegetative barriers (4.4%). The result showed that better quality and yields of nuts and cashew apple could be produced by adopting continuous contour trenches and staggered contour trenches with combination of vegetative barriers.