Abstract

The cashew (Anacardium occidentale, L.) has, of late, received commercial importance chiefly on account of the great demand for its edible kernels. Believed to be a native of South America, the cashew that was introduced on the West Coast of India by the Portuguese, has now established itself as a commercial crop in the States of Cochin and Travancore and in the districts of Malabar and South Kanara. It is now seen to be spreading to other parts of this Presidency, on account of its capacity to thrive under widely varied conditions of soil, climate and rainfall. The possibilities of further extension in its cultivation in regard to its occupation of land now left uncultivated due to subnormal fertility, indifferent rainfall or other reasons, cannot be under-rsted.

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