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CASHEW FARM UPGRADING: AGRONOMIC OPTIONS FOR INCREASING CASHEW PRODUCTION BY SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN TANZANIA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 1998

P. J. MARTIN ,
L. J. KASUGA  and
R. A. BASHIRU
P. J. MARTIN
Affiliation:
Tea Research Foundation (Central Africa), PO Box 51, Mulanje, Malawi
L. J. KASUGA
Affiliation:
Naliendele Agricultural Research Institute, PO Box 509, Mtwara, Tanzania
R. A. BASHIRU
Affiliation:
Naliendele Agricultural Research Institute, PO Box 509, Mtwara, Tanzania
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Abstract

As a result of higher prices and improved marketing, cashew (Anacardium occidentale) farmers in Tanzania are trying to improve production through improved husbandry. The main production constraint is powdery mildew disease which causes large reductions in tree yields. Although fungicides can control this disease, the majority of farmers are unable to afford them. Recently, cashew material with some tolerance to the disease has been released to growers and use of this material will be one of the main ways for farmers to cope with the disease. Cashew is grown principally by smallholders in Tanzania and since 1993 ways for farmers to increase production by including improved material on their farms have been investigated in participatory trials. The most important initial step is to fell non-productive trees. Where there is sufficient space these can be replaced by improved material established either as grafted plants, polyclonal seed or by top-working. Improved material can also be planted in gaps amongst the trees.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 34 , Issue 2 , April 1998 , pp. 137 - 152
Copyright
© 1998 Cambridge University Press

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