Impact of Organic Inputs on Quality of Cashew Apple (Anacardium occidentale L.) Mohapatra Amrita1,*, Dash D.K.2, Tripathy P.3, Sethi K.4 Department of Fruit Science and Horticulture Technology, OUAT, Bhubaneswar 1KVK (OUAT), Keonjhar, Odisha 2Professor & Head, Department of Vegetable Science, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 3Department of Vegetable Science, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, Odisha 4AICRP on Cashew, OUAT, Bhubaneswar, Odisha-751 003, India *email: amritaouat@gmail.com
Online published on 15 December, 2016. Abstract Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) being emerged as one of the most important dollar earning plantation crops having very significant role to play in Indian economy, hence there is need for producing organic cashew for export purpose. Besides the nut yield, cashew apple or cashew pseudo fruits are rich source of vitamin C, organic acids, minerals, carbohydrates with many medicinal properties, hence cashew apple utilization is one of the most important aspects for Indian economy. In order to address the challenge, the present investigation of use of organic inputs in cashew was carried out at All India Coordinated Research Project on Cashew (ICAR) of OUAT, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India. Eight treatments of different organic inputs including recommended dose of fertilizers and FYM as control were used by adopting RBD, replicated thrice having four plants per treatments in recommended cashew variety, BPP 8. The results recorded during 2014–15 revealed significant variations among different treatments for various cashew apple quality parameters. Invariably, integrated application of fertilizers and manures, as control, recorded significantly maximum cashew apple weight (62.80g), TSS (13.46 0Brix), Ascorbic acid (5.33%), acidity (0.36%) and total sugar (12.65%) with respective highest values than rest of the treatments. Among the sole application of organic inputs, application of 100% nitrogen either through vermicompost + Bio-fertilizers@ 200g, or through FYM + Bio-fertilizer @ 200g or 25% N each as FYM + Recycling of organic residue + In situ green manuring/green leaf manuring + Bio-fertilizers @ 200g were proved to be significantly better for various cashew apple parameters, indicating the scope of organic cashew cultivation for quality apple production and utilization. The present study revealed a scope for further elaborate study in these aspects in future. Top Keywords Cashew apple, Organic inputs, Ascorbic acid, TSS, Acidity. Top |