*Research Scholar, Department of Business Administration, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, India
**Guide & Assistant Professor, Department of Business Administration, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, India
***Co-Guide, Professor & Head, Department of Management Studies, Sathyabama University, Chennai, India
Online published on 11 July, 2017.
Cashew is a hardy crop and can be grown in almost all types of soil from sandy to laterite including wastelands of low fertility. ‘It's very nature and adaptability to diverse soil and climatic conditions have been to an end responsible for a misconception that the crop does not need much attention ’(Rao, 1957). Most of the plantations developed in the country from the early part of this century till late 1980s were of seedling origin. The primary consideration was to cover area rather than increase the productivity of the crop, resulting in non-productive plantations. As cashew is a hardy plant, often it has been thought to be highly suitable for afforestation, soil conservation and wasteland development. Unfortunately, the plantations raised with this objective, did not receive any management or inputs, thereby resulting in low productivity.
Cashew nut is cultivated in most of the cashew producing countries, individually by small holders. In India, more than 70 percent of cashew area is under small and marginal holdings and hence, plays an important role in the development of small and marginal farmers. The average cashew holdings in the sample districts of Kerala were 0.7 ha. In Koraput district, Orissa, cashew cultivation was limited to marginal lands. 26 percent of the sample farmers in Cuddalore district of Tamil Nadu were small and marginal.
