Innovative Pest Management Approaches for Sustainable Cashew Production System

摘要

India is one of the major cashew producing countries holding a share of 39.6 per cent of the world production. Cashew provides food security and livelihood to millions of people who are directly or indirectly involved in production, processing and trade. However, the national average productivity of cashew is very low compared to yields realized in research trials. The low productivity can be attributed to a great extent to pests and diseases besides modifications of farming practices and various abiotic stresses impacting production and productivity. Technological innovations are vital to address these challenges. A substantial number of pest management technologies have been developed through systematic research conducted by Directorate of CashewResearch (DCR), Puttur, Karnataka and the different centers of All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) on Cashew to enhance the productivity by mitigating pest associated losses. I have presented a detailed account on the recommendations of existing crop protection technologies for cashew during the previous National Conference on Cashew organized at Ranchi, Jharkhand in 2013. This article focuses on the current pest management approaches together with future researchable areas in newer directions.