KERALA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY
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COMMERCIAL CROPS
CASHEW (Anacardium occidentale)
Cashew is adapted to warm humid
tropical conditions. It can be grown in
almost all types of soils from sandy to
laterite and up to an elevation of 600-700
m including wastelands of low fertility. It grows and yield best in well-drained
red sandy loams and light coastal sands. Heavy clay soils, poor drainage conditions, very low
temperature and frost are unsuitable
for the crop.
Planting materials
Cashew can be propagated by seedlings, air layers and softwood grafts. Since it
is a cross-pollinated crop, vegetative
propagation is recommended to obtain true
to type progeny. Field establishment of
air layers have been found to be poor. Hence softwood grafts, which give a high rate
of establishment and early flowering, are recommended for planting.
1. Propagation by seedlings
Selection of mother trees
Select mother trees having the
following characteristics: (1) Good health,
vigorous growth and intensive branching habit
with panicles having high percentage of
hermaphrodite flowers. (2) Trees of
15-25 years of age. (3) Bearing nuts of medium size and weight (5-8 g/nut) with an
average yield of 15 kg nuts per annum. (4)
Bearing 7-8 nuts per panicle.
Selection of nuts Select mother trees in February and
collect seed nuts in March-April. Select good, mature, medium sized nuts, which
sink in water as seeds after drying in sun for two to three days.
Raising seedlings
Raise seedlings in polythene bags
during May. Use polythene bags of size 20 cm x 15 cm and fill the bags with garden soil,
leaving a gap of 1 to 1.5 cm above.
Soak seed nuts in water for 18 to 24 hours to
hasten germination. Sow the pre-soaked
seed nuts in polythene bags filled with garden
soil at a depth of 2-3 cm with the stalk end up. Seeds germinate in seven to ten days. 2. Propagation by air layering
Prepare air layers during February-March, so that they will be ready for
planting in June-July. Select 9-12 months old
pencil-thick terminal shoots. Remove carefully a strip or ring of bark, 0.6 to 1.2 cm thick
by using a sharp knife without injuring the
underlying wood. Wind a string around the cut area and cover it with moist moss or
wood shavings or sand and saw dust mixture or
ordinary potting mixture and wrap round
with 150-200 gauge polythene film of
size 23 cm x 15 cm. Secure loose ends
of film with jute fibre. When roots emerge from the ringed portion in 40-60 days, give a
`V' cut at lower end of treated shoot. After
about 15 days, deepen the cut slightly. Cut and separate rooted shoot about 7 days later.
Pot the layers immediately after separation from the tree into containers of size 15 x 15
cm made from coconut husk and keep them in shade. Avoid excessive watering. Plant
the layers along with the container in the
prepared pits with the onset of southwest
monsoon. Provide shade and mulch with
dry leaves to reduce sun-scorch in tender plants. It is advisable to defoliate the layers
two weeks before separation from the mother
plant.
3. Propagation by grafting / budding
Different methods of grafting viz.,
epicotyl grafting, softwood grafting,
veneer grafting, side grafting, patch budding etc.
have been tried in cashew with varying degrees of success. Among them, softwood
grafting was found to be the best for commercial
multiplication of cashew.
Softwood grafting
Selection of seed nuts
(1) Seed nuts may be collected during
the peak period of harvest (February-March) and sun-dried for 2-3 days. (2) Quality seed
nuts may be selected by immersing in water or
10 per cent saline solution. Seeds, which
sink in water, may be selected. (3) Medium sized nuts (7-9 g) may be selected to get
vigorously growing seedlings.
Raising rootstocks
1. Fresh seed nuts are to be used for
raising rootstock. Seed nuts stored
for more than one year may be avoided.
2. The seed nuts should be soaked in
water overnight before sowing.
3. Use polythene bags (size 25 cm x 15
cm, 300 gauge thickness) for filling potting mixture. 5. Prepare the potting mixture (1:1:1
ratio of red soil, river sand and compost) mixed with rock phosphate @ 5 g per 2 kg
potting mixture. 8. Water the bags immediately after
sowing and daily thereafter. Avoid
excess irrigation. 11. During summer, provide partial shade
to the seedlings till they change their bronze colour to green and then keep them
in the open.
12. The seedlings will be ready for
grafting in 50-60 days after germination.
13. Prevent damage to germinating nuts
from squirrels, birds etc.
14. During the rainy season, damping off
of young seedlings is common. To
control this disease, spraying
/ drenching
Bordeaux mixture (1per cent) is effective.
4. Punch about 16-20 holes on the polythene bags to ensure good drainage.
6. Fill the polythene bags up to the brim of the bag.
7. Sow the pre-soaked nuts in the centre of the bag with stalk end up, at a depth
of 2.0-2.5 cm.
9. Nuts usually germinate within 15-20 days after sowing during monsoon months
and within 8-10 days during dry months.
10. Nuts should be sown at weekly intervals to get continuous supply of rootstocks.
Selection of rootstock
Select 50-60 days old healthy
seedlings having single main stem grown in the
centre of the polythene bag, as rootstock. Selection of scions
(1) Select a high yielding variety
of cashew as mother plant to collect adequate number of scions. (2) Select 3-5 month
old non-flowering lateral shoots of current season's growth. (3) The selected
scions should be 10-12 cm long, straight,
uniformly round and pencil thick with brown colour having dormant plumpy terminal bud.
The top 4-5 leaves should be dark green in colour indicating proper maturity of the scion.
Pre-curing
(1) Pre-cure the selected scions by clipping off three fourth portion of leaf blades.
(2) Scions will be ready for grafting in
7-10 days after leaf removal.
Collection of scions
(1) The pre-cured scions are to be cut early in the morning to avoid desiccation.
(2) The scions should be collected before
the terminal buds sprout. (3) Wrap scions in
moist cloth and put in polythene covers as soon as they are cut from the mother tree and
bring them to the nursery for grafting. If necessary, they can be stored for 3-4 days and
used for grafting.
Preparation of rootstock
(1) Retain two pairs of bottom leaves
and remove others from the selected seedlings using a sharp knife. (2) Give a
transverse cut on the main stem, 15 cm above
ground level. (3) A cleft of 4-5 cm deep is made
in the middle of the decapitated stem of the seedling by giving a longitudinal cut.
Preparation of scion
(1) Select a matching scion stick (same thickness as that of the rootstock). (2)
The cut end of the scion is shaped to a wedge of 4-5 cm long by chopping the bark and
wood from two opposite sides.
Grafting
1. The wedge of the scion is inserted
into the cleft of the rootstock, taking care to ensure that the cambium layers of
stock and scion are in perfect contact with each other.
2. The graft joint is secured firmly by
a polythene tape (1.5 cm wide and 30 cm long).
3. The scion of the graft is to be
covered with a wet polythene cap (15 cm x 12.5 cm. 100 gauge thickness) and tied at the
bottom to maintain humidity inside and
to protect the apical bud from drying. The polythene cap should not touch the
terminal bud. A narrow polythene
cover of size 20 cm x 3 cm (sip-up-cover) can also be used instead of above
said polythene cap. 5. The polythene caps are to be
removed and the grafts shifted to open place. The successful grafts show signs of
growth within 3-4 weeks after grafting.
6. The grafts will be ready for planting
5-6 months after grafting. Care in the nursery
1. The grafts are to be watered
regularly using a rose can or micro-sprinkler.
2. Remove new sprouts emerging from
rootstock at frequent intervals.
3. Panicles, if produced by the grafts,
may be removed as and when observed.
4. Grafts should be placed on
polythene sheets spread on the ground to prevent rooting.
5. Shift the grafts frequently from one
place to another to prevent them from striking roots into the ground.
6. Spray recommended insecticides for
controlling the infestation of sucking
insects as and when required.
4. The grafted plants are to be kept under shade for 10-15 days to enable
sprouting of the terminal buds.
7. The success in softwood grafting is more during the period from March to
September under Kerala conditions.
Graft production under polyhouse
Softwood grafts can be prepared
almost throughout the year with a mean graft
success of about 60-70 per cent. Higher
success is achieved during the monsoon
season. For this, low cost polyhouses (prepared from casuarina / bamboo poles / areca
reapers / GI pipes / PVC pipes and covered with high density polythene sheet of
convenient dimensions) preferably 20 m long and 6
m wide may be utilized for graft production. The height of the polyhouse should be 2.5 m
in the middle and 1.0 m on both sides. The plants may be watered using hose. Misting
units can also be fitted at appropriate points and switched on for about 5-10 minutes at an interval of two hours from 10 a.m. to 6
p.m. during summer season. This reduces the
temperature build up inside the polyhouse.
Raising of rootstock seedlings, grafting of rootstocks and maintenance of grafts can
be done inside the polyhouses. These polyhouses give protection to the seedlings and
grafts during heavy rains and reduce the mortality.
Again during summer months the seedlings / grafts can be maintained in these
polyhouses by covering with HDPE shade nets (35-50 per cent shade).
Planting and management of grafts
The softwood grafts will be ready
for planting in 5-6 months after grafting. The pits are filled with topsoil and 5-10 kg of
compost or dried cowdung / pit and the grafts are planted after carefully removing the
polythene bags. Care should be taken while planting
to see that the graft union is 2.5 cm above the ground level. The polythene tape is to
be carefully cut and removed subsequently. Staking should be done immediately
after planting to avoid lodging. Planting and management of plantation
Plant softwood grafts in pits of
size 50 cm x 50 cm x 50 cm during
June-July.
Planting may be done at a spacing of
7.5 m for poor and 10 m for rich and
deep soils and sandy coastal area. On very sloppy lands, the rows may be spaced 10-15 m
apart with a spacing of 6-8 m between trees in a row.
Depending upon the weed growth,
weeding operation may be done during
August-September. Mulch the plant base with dry leaves to reduce sun-scorch to
tender plants.
Herbicides can be used for
controlling weeds. Apply glyphosate 0.8 kg ai/ha-1,
once in June-July.
Initial training / shape pruning
The sprouts coming from the
rootstock portion of the graft, that is from the
portion below the graft joint, should be removed
frequently during the first year of
planting. Initial training and pruning of young
cashew plants during the first 3-4 years is
essential for providing proper shape. Thereafter,
little or no pruning is necessary. The plants
should be allowed to grow by maintaining a single stem up to 0.75-1.00 m from ground level.
This can be achieved by removing the side shoots or side branches gradually as the
plants start growing from the second year of planting. Weak and criss-cross branches can
also be removed. Branches growing unwidely may also be cut off. Proper staking
of the plants is required to avoid lodging due to
wind during the initial years of planting. Initial
training and pruning of cashew plants facilitate easy cultural operations such as terrace
making, weeding, fertilizer application,
nut collection and plant protection. The flower panicles emerging from the grafts during
the first and second year of planting should also be removed (de-blossoming) in order to
allow the plant to put up good
vegetative growth. The plants are allowed to
flower and fruit only from the third year onwards.
General pruning
In older cashew plantations, removal
of dried or dead wood, criss-cross branches, water shoots etc. should be attended to at
least once in 2-3 years. This allows proper
growth of the canopy and receipt of adequate
sunlight on all the branches. Pruning of
cashew plants should be done during May / June.
Manuring
A fertilizer dose of 750 g N, 325 g
P2O5 and 750 g K2O per plant is recommended
for cashew. Apply 1/5th dose after the
completion of first year, 2/5th dose during second
year and thus reaching full dose from
5th year
onwards. Broadcast the fertilizer within an area of 0.5 to 3.0 m (15 cm deep) around
the tree and incorporate by light raking.
Intercropping
Pineapple is the most profitable
intercrop in cashew plantation in the early stages
of growth. It can be planted between two rows of cashew in trenches opened across
the slope. Paired row of pineapple suckers can be planted in each trench at 60 cm
between rows and 40 cm between two suckers within the row. These trenches can be opened
at 1 m between two rows of cashew. Ginger, lemongrass and tapioca are also suitable
as intercrops.
High density planting
High density planting is a technique
recommended for enhancing the
productivity of cashew plantations. This
technique involves planting more number of grafts
per unit area and thinning at later stages.
Instead of the normal planting density of
64 to 177 plants per hectare (spacing
ranging from 7.5 to 10 m in the square
system of planting) or 74 to 204 plants
(spacing ranging from 7.5 to 10 m in the
triangular system of planting), 312 to
625 grafts will be planted per hectare, initially.
During later years, as the canopy develops, plant population is to be regulated by
selective felling to minimize competition.
While adopting a high density
planting technique, grafts may be planted initially at
a spacing of 4 m x 4 m or 8 m x 4 m so that there will be 625 or 312 plants respectively.
This population can be retained for a period of seven to nine or ten years depending
upon the canopy expansion rate. If the soil is
very rich the canopy development rate will be faster. High density planting would be
more useful in poor soils where the rate of canopy expansion is slow. Considering the
fertility status of the soil, the level of management
in terms of fertilization, irrigation etc. the
initial plant population is to be decided carefully
for every agro-climatic condition. Later, after monitoring the canopy pressure between
adjacent plants, the alternate plants are to be removed. Finally, when the plants attain
full growth, the spacing between the plants will be 8 m x 8 m.
If uniform management practices are
adopted, during early years of yield, the
per tree nut yield will be more or less the same with all the trees, in both the
conventional system of planting and in
high density planting. But the per hectare yield will be more from high-density plantations
(due to higher plant population) compared
to the normal density plantations. During later years, when the plant population is
equalized to that of normal density plantation, the
productivity of both the plantations would be more or less the same. The bonus yield
obtained during the early years of yield would be substantial in high-density plantations.
In addition to obtaining higher yields,
substantial quantities of firewood can be
obtained during thinning, which may fetch
additional revenue to the farmer. The weed growth in the interspace can be
effectively checked to a greater extent. Top working is a technique evolved
to rejuvenate unproductive and senile cashew trees. Top working can successfully
rejuvenate poor yielders in the age group
of 5-20 years. The unproductive trees are to be beheaded at a height of 0.75 to 1.00
m from ground level. The stem should be cut with a saw to avoid stump splitting. The
best season for beheading trees is May-September. Soon after beheading, the stumps
and cut portions should be given a swabbing with copper oxychloride and carbaryl 50 WP (50 g each per litre of water). Sprouts
emerge 30-45 days after beheading. Sprouting will be profuse in young trees. New, 20-25
days old shoots should be grafted with scions of high yielding varieties using softwood
grafting technique. To ensure at least six or
seven successful grafts, 10-15 grafting are to be done on the new shoots of every tree.
The best season for grafting is July _ November.Thinning of the extra shoots
arising from the stumps should be done to obtain better growth of the grafts. Removal
of sprouts below the graft joint and removal of polythene strip from the graft joint should
be done. Top working is simple and can be done by farmers after getting proper
training. The top worked trees start yielding
right from the second year after top working.
Thus precocity can be considered as one of the best advantages of this technique. The
major disadvantage associated with top working is the huge casualty of trees due to
stem borer attack. Intensive care and management to ward off stem borer is essential. As
such, adoption of top working on a larger scale would be difficult. Tea mosquito bug
Top working
Pest and diseases
This is the most serious pest
affecting cashew. The pest usually appears with
the emergence of new flushes and panicle.
Drying of inflorescence and dieback of shoots are the symptoms. For control of tea
mosquito bug, spray 0.1 per cent carbaryl or 0.05 per
cent quinalphos or 0.003 per cent Lambda
cyhalothrin. A rational rotation of insecticides would be desirable to
counteract the tendency of the pest to develop
field resistance. Spraying may be done once,
twice or thrice depending upon necessity.
First spraying is to be given synchronizing with the emergence of new
vegetative flushes in October-November. The
second spraying may be given synchronizing with
the commencement of panicle emergence in December-January. The third spraying
may be given at completion of flowering /
initiation of fruit set in January _ February.
Note: Avoid spraying carbaryl and
0.003 per cent Lambda cyhalothrin at the time of flowering, as they are highly
toxic to honey bees.
Cashew stem and root borer (adhoc
recommendation)
This is a serious pest, which is capable of destroying the cashew tree. Main
symptoms of attack are yellowing of leaves, drying
of twigs, presence of holes at the base of stem with exuding sap and frass.
Check regulary for symptoms of
CSRB attack particularly during january _ May
period. In the case of already infested trees, mechanically remove various stages of
pest (grubs and pupae) by carefully chiseling the bark. Care should be taken to avoid
removal of more than 50 per cent of total bark
circumference. Swab the chiseled area by using Chlorpyriphos 20 EC (0.2 per cent
@ 10 ml/1) and drench the pesticide solution onto the soil near the root zone to
minimize reinfestation by the pest, (DCR, Puttur
recommendation).
Prophylactic treatment by swabbing the trunk region (up to 1 m height from the
ground level) and exposed roots, with a suspension of mud slurry +carbaryl 0.2
per cent or coal tar and kerosene (1:2) or 5 per
cent neem oil twice a year during March _ April and
November _ December.
To reduce the spread of infestation, it
is essential to remove the dead trees and trees in advanced stage of infestation at least
once in 6 months. Dead trees and trees beyond recovery - trees having yellow canopy and
/or more than 50 per cent bark circumference damage needs to be uprooted. Pest
stages occurring in the roots should be destroyed
so as to reduce pest inoculum in the future.
Dieback or pink disease
This disease is prevalent in cashew
plantations during rainy season. Main
symptom of attack is the appearance of white patches on branches followed by drying
of twigs from the tip.
Chisel out the affected parts and apply bordeaux paste. Give prophylactic sprays
of 1 per cent bordeaux mixture during
May-June and October.
Note: 2) For low volume application, the
concentration of the insecticides is to be maintained at 0.1
per cent for quinalphos and 0.2 per cent for carbaryl. It is difficult
to cover the entire canopy with low volume equipment. In such cases, the
uncovered upper canopy areas may be covered with rocker sprayer fitted with hi-tree
lance system.
3) Dusting powder formulations are not
recommended against tea mosquito bug.
4) Spray carbaryl 0.1 per
cent or 0.003 per cent Lambda cyhalothrin as a prophylaxis against pest infestation in nursery plants.
1) For grown up trees, 5 litres of spray
fluid would be required at high volume discharge rate and 2.5 litres at the low volume
discharge rate. For spraying, rocker sprayer with hi-tree lance is preferable.
5) Spray Bordeaux mixture 1per cent to
seedlings as a prophylactic measure against fungal diseases.
Post Harvest Utilization of
Cashew Apple
Cashew apple is a valuable source of sugars, minerals and vitamins
especially vitamin C and can be used for
preparation of various products.
Preliminary Processing
Select crisp, firm, tight and full
colour developed best quality apples. It should have medium to large size, more than 70
per cent juice, more than 11 per cent sugar and
0.39- 0.42 per cent acidity. Since
highly susceptible to physical injury and
microbial spoilage, collect apples every day,
after separating the nuts, when it falls to the ground. The selected fruits are washed
with water.
Stainless steel or glass containers should be used for processing, after
sterilization. Copper, iron, aluminum and brass
containers should not be used as it will blacken
the products. Plastic buckets or barrels can be used for dipping and cleaning fruits.
Juice can be extracted from ripe
cashew apples, after washing, using screw press, basket press, hydraulic press or by
hand pressing with the help of citrus juice
extractor. About 50-60 per cent raw juice with
9-10 per cent soluble solids can be obtained. The astringent taste of cashew apple is due
to the presence of tannins in it. The tannin present in the raw juice can be
removed through clarification by adopting one of
the following methods:-
1. Take 5g powdered sago in
minimum quantity of water, heat and make into paste by stirring and cool it. Add
sago paste into one litre juice and mix well by stirring. Decant the clear juice after 12 hours.
2. Mix gelatin @ 0.5 g kg-1
of raw juice and allow to settle. Decant the clear
juice and discard the sediment (gelatin may be dissolved in water by heating).
3. Mix poly vinyl pyrollidone @ 1.4 g
kg-1 of raw juice. Allow to settle and decant the clear juice.
4. Mix about 125 ml of fresh rice gruel
(kanjivellam) and allow to settle. Decant the clear upper layer and
repeat the process using 125 ml of rice gruel.
Tannin can be removed from mature
or ripe apples (de-tanning) by adopting the following procedures:-
1. Detanning of ripe whole
apples: - Clean the apples and immerse in 5 per
cent salt solution for 3 days with the change of
salt solution daily. Take out the fruit on the
4th day and wash thoroughly in water.
The fruit is now de-tanned.
2. Detanning of mature but unripe
whole green apples for pickle preparation:-
Wash the raw green fruit and cut
into small pieces. Keep in 8 per cent salt solution for 3 days with the change of
salt solution daily. Take out the fruits on the
4th day and wash thoroughly with water. The fruit is now de-tanned.
Off season storage of raw material
Raw material for cashew apple processing can be stored for a period of
six months without affecting quality for the
off season preparation of products.
1. Juice for beverage
production:- Mix
2.5 g potassium meta bisulphate
(KMS) and 5 g citric acid during clarification of juice and store the clarified juice in
food grade plastic containers.
2. Pulp for jam
production:- Cook ripe cashew apple, after removal of tannin,
for 20 minutes, make into pulp using pulper and mix with 2.5 g KMS and 5 g
citric acid.
3. Cashew apple for pickle
production:- Keep one kg of de-tanned green
cashew apple pieces with 200 g salt in alternate layers.
Standard products like syrup,
squash, ready- to- serve beverages etc can be made using the clarified juice as per
FPO specifications.
Preparation of products
The recipe for the preparation of
various products from cashew apple is given below:-
1. Cashew apple juice
Ingredients
Cashew apple _ 25 kg
Poly Vinyl Pyrollidone _ 10 g
Sodium benzoate
_ 6 g
Sugar _ 500 g
Citric acid _ 8 g Preparation
Extract the juice by pressing. Clarify
the juice by adding PVP and filter it through a muslin cloth. To the clarified juice, add
all the items one by one under stirring.
Note:
1. Cashew apple juice can be blended
with lime juice, orange juice or pineapple juice on 75:25 basis and served.
2. The recovery of juice from apple can be improved by using basket press,
screw press or hydraulic press.
Table 15. FPO specifications for fruit products
Products |
Minimum fruit juice % | Minimum TSS% |
Acidity max. % |
Max. preservative (free SO2) ppm |
Squash |
25 | 40 | 3.5 | 350 |
Syrup |
25 | 65 | 3.5 | 350 |
Ready to serve beverages |
10 | 10 | --- | 70 |
2. Cashew apple squash
Ingredients
Cashew apple _ 25 kg
PVP _ 10 g
Sodium benzoate _ 6 g
Sugar _ 3 kg
Citric acid _ 100 g
Preparation
Wash cashew apple and extract the
juice (8 litres). Clarify the juice by adding PVP and filter the juice through muslin cloth.
To the clear juice, add the other items and stir well. Bottle the juice and store in cool place.
3. Cashew apple syrup
Ingredients
Clarified cashew
apple juice _ 1litre Sugar _ 2 kg
Citric acid _ 15 g
Lemon yellow _ Should not colour exceed 100 ppm
(100 mg l-1)
Preparation
Add sugar @ 2.0 kg litre-1 into the
clarified cashew apple juice and then heat
moderately. Continue heating with continuous stirring
till the sugar completely dissolves. Then add citric acid @ 15 g
litre-1 (dissolved in little quantity of syrup) and stir well. Remove
the solution from the stove, cool, strain and then add colour (dissolved in little quantity
of syrup). Now syrup is ready. To store the syrup for long periods without spoilage,
pour into well sterilized glass bottles/new food grade pet bottles and seal air tight. It can
be stored for one year. Keep in a cool, dry place. Dilute the syrup five times with cool
water to use as fresh drink.
4. Blended cashew apple -
Pineapple squash
Ingredients apple juice _ 125 ml
Pineapple juice _ 125 ml
Water _ 350 ml
Sugar _ 400 g
Citric acid _ 5 g
Lemon yellow _ Should not exceed colour 100 ppm (100 mg l-1)
Clarified cashew
Preparation
Take required quantity of sugar and
citric acid in water and boil. Towards the end, switch off the flame and add clarified
cashew apple juice immediately in hot condition
itself by stirring. Cool, add pineapple juice and colour and bottle it after sieving through
a clean muslin cloth. Bottle in sterilized glass bottles or new grade pet bottles and seal
it air tight. Keep in cool dry place. Dilute the squash three times with cool water to
use as fresh drink.
5. Ready - to - Serve beverage
(RTS beverage)
Ingredients
Clarified cashew _ 150 ml
apple juice
Sugar _ 120 g
Water _ 730 ml
Citric acid _ 5 g
Lemon yellow colour _ Should not
exceed 100 ppm (100 mg
l-1)
Preparation
Take required quantity of sugar and
citric acid in water and boil. Towards the end, switch off the flame and add clarified
cashew apple juice immediately in hot condition
itself by stirring. Cool, add colour, strain and
bottle it. Pasteurize the bottles by keeping in boiled water for 20 minutes for a storage life
of three months. Packing can also be done in food grade plastic covers using
liquid packaging machine. But it cannot be pasteurized and hence can be kept only
for 2-3 days, unless kept under refrigerated condition.
6. Cashew apple Pineapple
blended RTS beverage
Ingredients
Clarified cashew _ 75 ml
apple juice
Pineapple juice _ 75 ml
Sugar _ 150 g
Water _ 700 ml
Citric acid _ 5 g
Lemon yellow _ Should not exceed
colour 100ppm (100 mg
l-1)
Preparation
Take required quantity of sugar and
citric acid in water and boil. Towards the end, switch off the flame and add clarified
cashew apple juice immediately in hot condition
itself by stirring. Cool, add pineapple juice,
colour and bottle it after sieving through a clean muslin cloth. Pasteurize the bottles by
keeping in boiling water for 20 minutes.
7. Cashew apple Mango mixed fruit jam
Ingredients
De-tanned cashew apple pulp _ 500 g
Mango pulp _ 500 g
Sugar _ 1.0 kg
Citric acid _ 2.5 g
Preparation
Fresh ripe mango fruits are
washed, peeled, sliced and made into pulp using a mixer or pulper. Add KMS @ 2.5 g and
citric acid @ 5 g per kg of pulp for storage. Mix the pulps in the ratio of 1:1. Add one kg
sugar per kg of mixed pulp and citric acid
(quantity adjusted as per acidity) and cook it
with continuous stirring. When it reaches the
appropriate stage for jam, transfer hot
into sterilized glass bottles.
8. Cashew apple pickle
Ingredients
De-tanned and sliced
raw green fruit _ 1.0 kg
Gingelly oil _ 100 ml
Chilly powder _ 100 g
Fenugreek powder _ 10 g
Asafoetida powder _ 10 g
Turmeric powder _ 5 g
Mustard powder _ 5 g
Mustard _ 2 g
Garlic paste _ 10 g Green chilly paste _ 10 g
Vinegar _ 150 ml
Sodium benzoate _ a pinch (0.75 g)
Salt to taste
Ginger paste _ 10 g
Preparation
Boil gingelly oil in steel vessels.
Put mustard seed, asafoetida powder, turmeric powder, fenugreek powder, chilly
powder and mustard powder to the boiling gingelly oil. When the colour of chilly
powder changes, add all the pastes to it. Then add de-tanned and sliced raw green
cashew apple. Heat at least for three minutes,
after which vinegar and salt (if needed) are added by thorough stirring. Cover the vessel
well and allow to cool. Add sodium benzoate dissolved in little quantity of boiled water
and stir. Transfer to clean dry glass jars. Use
the product after keeping for one week.
9. Cashew apple candy
Ingredients
De-tanned ripe cashew apple _ 1.0 kg
Sugar _ 1.0 kg
Citric acid _ 1.0 g
Potassium metabisulphite _ 1.35 g
Preparation of cashew apple
Keep the de-tanned apples in a
solution of potassium metabisulphite (half the quantity ie. 625 mg) for 2-3 days. Thoroughly
wash the apples in water. Remove black spots and parts of pedicel. Keep in perforated
crates of stainless steel and steam for 10-20
minutes in pressure cooker without over cooking. Make deep holes in the apple using
bamboo sticks or steel forks to facilitate entry of
sugar syrup in the next stage.
Preparation of sugar syrup
Dissolve 250 g sugar in one litre of
water and heat well. Dissolve citric acid (1.0 g) and potassium metabisulphite (625 mg) in
this solution.
Preparation of candy
Drop the pre-prepared apple pieces
into the boiling sugar syrup so that the apples
are completely immersed. Cover the container with lid and keep as such for one day.
Take out the fruits on the 2nd day, add 125 g
sugar, and drop the apple while heating. Repeat it for 5 days. On
8th day, volume of sugar syrup will be reduced to one-third. Keep the
apples as such for 8-10 days. Remove the apples from the syrup solution, drain for 30
minutes and dry it slowly in open area by
spreading in a polythene sheet. Keep it in clean,
dry, screw capped glass jars in a cool, dry place. It can be stored for one year in air
tight containers under refrigerated condition.
10.Cashew apple vinegar
Ingredients
Unclarified cashew apple
juice _ 1.0 litre
Sugar _ 158 g
Powdered sago _ 5 g
Mother vinegar _ As needed
Starter solution _ 2 g yeast
+ 20 ml
coconut water
Preparation
Cashew apple vinegar
preparation consists of two stages ie., alcoholic fermentation and acidic fermentation.
Add 2.0 g yeast in 20ml coconut water and keep for 12 hours to make starter solution.
Add sugar, cooked and cooled sago along with starter solution into one litre of
extracted unclarified juice and keep it for twelve
days for alcoholic fermentation in narrow mouthed plastic bottles, with cotton plugging.
After twelve days filter the fermented supernatant juice (to obtain alcoholic ferment) into a
wide mouth glass container or clay pot and add thrice the quantity of mother vinegar
for acetic fermentation. Keep it tied with a
muslin cloth, allowing air passage, for 15 days.
Filter the clear juice portion to a clean
stainless steel, pasteurize by keeping in boiling
water for 10minutes, cool and bottle it on the
16th day to get vinegar with 5-6 per
cen acidity. For continuous vinegar production, the
filtrate can be used as mother vinegar.
11. Cashew apple wine
Ingredients
Cashew apple pieces _ 1kg
Sugar _ 1kg
Lukewarm water _ 1 litre
Clove _ 5 g
Cardamom _ 5 g
Starter solution _ 10 g sugar +
100 g luke warm
water + 5 g yeast
Preparation
Prepare starter solution by mixing 5
g yeast and 10 g sugar in 100 ml lukewarm water and keep for 30 minutes. Place
one kg of cashew apple pieces and one kg of sugar in one litre of lukewarm water
along with 5 g each of clove, cardamom and cinnamon in a porcelain vessel, mix
together and keep air tight for 21 days. Shake
daily the ingredients without opening the vessel. Strain the solution through muslin cloth
after 21 days, again keep for 21 days and strain
to get the cashew apple wine.
Other products
Methods have been standardized for
the preparation of canned cashew apple, cashew apple chutney and cashew apple liquor
at Kerala Agricultural University.
Citation:
Kerala Agricultural University. 2011.
Package of Practices Recommendations: Crops.
14th Edition. Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur. 360p.