PANAJI
Heavy monsoon rainfall on Goa's sloping terrain and other parts of India’s west coast can wash away fertile topsoil and nutrients, threatening farm productivity. As such, researchers at the ICAR-Central Coastal Agricultural Research Institute (CCARI) in Goa have undertaken an extensive study to see whether growing fodder grasses alongside cashew trees can reduce soil erosion and water runoff while improving plantation productivity.
The five-year project, titled Evaluation of Cashew-Based Agroforestry Systems on Sloping Lands of the West Coast Region of India, will continue till July 2029. With a budget of Rs 85.55 lakh, the study aims to identify agroforestry combinations suited to the region’s sloping terrain, where soil loss and nutrient depletion pose challenges to sustainable cultivation.
“Cashew-based agroforestry offers an opportunity to combine a high-value cash crop with complementary crops and trees to conserve soil, improve resource-use efficiency, enhance biodiversity and diversify farmer income,” the project document, accessed by The Goan, states.
The research has sought to address gaps in scientific knowledge about how cashew trees interact with other crops, which intercrops perform best under different plantation conditions, and how different planting combinations affect soil and water conservation.
The institute noted that information on the suitability of intercrops, their economic returns and their compatibility with cashew plantations is limited.
“This project will therefore develop and evaluate suitable cashew-based agroforestry models for sloping lands, generating evidence-based recommendations for improving productivity, profitability, climate resilience and ecological sustainability in the West Coast region,” it added.
The experiment compares eight treatments, including cashew grown alone, cashew combined with Grazing Guinea grass, DGG-1 and BN Hybrid (CO-5) fodder grass, the grasses cultivated separately, and a bare plot used as a control. Goa Cashew 5 (high-performance cashew cultivar) is the cashew variety being studied.
Researchers will monitor tree growth, crop biomass and yields, light availability, soil moisture and nutrient interactions. They will also measure runoff and soil loss using specially installed multi-slot devices, while assessing cultivation costs, gross and net returns, and the benefit-cost ratio of the different systems.
“The project’s two principal objectives are to evaluate tree-crop interactions and performance of intercrops under cashew-based agroforestry systems” and “to estimate runoff and soil losses under different cashew-based agroforestry systems,” it said.
The institute expects the research will support improved farmer income and livelihood security through productive cashew-based agroforestry systems, as well as better soil and water conservation and more climate-resilient farming.
