Agriculture department to farmers: Don't cultivate Vengurla 4 cashew

PANAJI: The agriculture department has discouraged the cultivation of the Vengurla 4 variant of cashew due to its poor production output. The directive comes amid concerns of declining yields and availability of superior alternatives.
Agriculture director Nevil Alphonso attributed the reason to the dwindling efficiency of the Vengurla 4 variety due to grafting by the habitation method.
"There is a need to transition away from the Vengurla 4 variety and adopt newer, more productive cashew variants that have been released over the past decade," he said. He was speaking on the sidelines of the technical session held at Kala Academy, Panaji, on the occasion of the second edition of the Cashew Fest Goa on Friday.
Speaking of the attributes of the preferred alternative, Vengurla 7, which boasts a higher yield potential of up to 8-9kg per tree, Alphonso said the Vengurla 7 variant features larger cashew apples, resulting in higher juice yields, and larger nuts. "The the nut size of Vengurla 7 is about 10g compared to 8g of the Vengurla 4 variant," he said.
However, Alphonso clarified that the discouragement of Vengurla 4 cultivation does not imply a ban on its usage. "It is not that Vengurla 4 is not growing well. With proper soil and water management practices, coupled with effective grafting techniques, satisfactory yields could still be achieved," he said.
The department also encourages the adoption of other locally popular variants such as Goa 1 and Goa 2 from Balli and Tiswadi.