Akshaya
A 1998 hybrid (H-4-7 x K-30-1) from the KAU station at Anakkayam with the biggest nut on the KAU sheets, 11 g and a 3.12 g kernel, but low shelling, 28.36%, lower on TNAU's sheets only than Priyanka (26.57%). No trial result was found.
Quick facts
- Crop
- Cashew (Kaju)
- Type
- Softwood grafted planting material
- Season
- All seasons
- Maturity period
- First bearing in about 3 years (grafted, TNAU crop-level); flowers December to January, fruits January to March
- Expected yield
- TNAU: 11.78 kg of nuts a mature tree; 11 g nut (the largest on the KAU sheets), 28.36% shelling, W180
- Suitable soil
- Tolerant of poor, lateritic and sandy coastal soil
- Release
- Cashew Research Station, Kerala Agricultural University, Anakkayam (Malappuram); released 1998, a hybrid of H-4-7 and K-30-1 (TNAU, Kerala)
About this variety
Akshaya is a cashew hybrid of H-4-7 and K-30-1, released in 1998 by the Cashew Research Station of Kerala Agricultural University at Anakkayam, Malappuram. TNAU lists a compact canopy with intensive branching, flowering in December to January and fruiting from January to March, a yellow apple with 68% juice. The nut weighs 11 g (91 to a kilo), with a 3.12 g kernel, 28.36% shelling and the W180 export grade. A mature tree gives 11.78 kg of nuts. We found no trial result or ICAR-DCR note for it. The practice below is the TNAU crop-level practice for cashew.
Should you pick this variety?
Choose Akshaya if your buyer pays a premium for large kernels. TNAU lists a 1998 hybrid of H-4-7 and K-30-1 from Anakkayam with an 11 g nut (91 to a kilo), a 3.12 g kernel and the W180 grade, the largest on the KAU sheets, and 11.78 kg of nuts a mature tree. The trade is shell-out. At 28.36% it shells out less than every KAU variety here except Priyanka (26.57%), only just above the 28% international standard the Odisha paper cites. A bad season could tip it under. If a buyer pays by the kernel weight he gets, Dharasree (30.5%) or Amrutha (31.58%) may beat it.
Key characteristics
Sowing & cultivation
- Sowing timeJune to December is the best planting time (TNAU).
- Spacing7 x 7 m, about 204 trees a hectare (TNAU crop-level figure).
- Sowing methodPlant softwood grafts in pits of 45 x 45 x 45 cm filled with topsoil, 10 kg of FYM and 1 kg of neem cake (TNAU).
- IrrigationCashew is normally rainfed. TNAU says watering from flushing to fruit maturity improves yield.
- FertilizerTNAU crop-level schedule, per tree per year: year 1, 10 kg FYM, 70 g N, 40 g P and 60 g K; from year 5, 50 kg FYM, 500 g N, 200 g P and 300 g K. Apply in November-December on the East Coast, or in two equal doses in June-July and October-November.
- HarvestingTNAU lists flowering in December to January and fruiting from January to March for Akshaya. Pick the apples fresh if you process them, and dry the nuts in the sun for 2 to 3 days to 10-12% moisture.
Soil & climate
Soil
- Suitable soil
- Tolerant of poor, lateritic, gravelly or sandy coastal soil; pH 5.0–6.5 (TNAU)
Yield & maturity
Maturity period
First bearing in about 3 years (grafted, TNAU crop-level); flowers December to January, fruits January to March
Expected yield
TNAU: 11.78 kg of nuts a mature tree; 11 g nut (the largest on the KAU sheets), 28.36% shelling, W180
Actual yield depends on sowing time, soil, irrigation, weather, seed quality and crop management.
Pest & disease considerations
Advantages & considerations
Why farmers may choose it
- The largest nut on the KAU sheets, 11 g, and a 3.12 g kernel (TNAU).
- W180 grade, the largest-kernel class in the sheets.
- 11.78 kg a mature tree, above Dharasree and Kanaka.
Things to consider
- Low shelling, 28.36%, close to the 28% standard; only Priyanka (26.57%) is lower on TNAU's KAU sheets.
- One source, TNAU's sheet; no trial result or DCR note.
- No disease rating published.
Suitable regions
States this variety is recommended for — check locally, since a state can have more than one recommended zone.
- Kerala
The biggest nut, the thinnest margin: what 28.36% means
Akshaya's nut is 11 g and its kernel 3.12 g, so 3.12 over 11 gives 28.36%. That is lower than every other KAU sheet here except Priyanka (26.57%), and the Odisha paper calls more than 28% the acceptable international standard. A tree whose nuts come in a little thinner-kerneled in a poor season would fall under that line.
The arithmetic cuts both ways. Per 100 kg of raw nuts, Akshaya gives about 28.4 kg of kernel at a 3.12 g kernel size, against about 30.5 kg for Dharasree at 2.4 g. The processor gets more weight from Dharasree but bigger pieces from Akshaya, and W180 means larger whole kernels. Ask your buyer whether he pays more for them, and ask your buyer to price your actual lot, and weigh a sample of shelled kernels from your own trees.
Can you save seed from this crop?
This one is raised from planting material — suckers, grafts, cuttings or tubers — not from a seed packet. Take it from a registered nursery or a government farm, so the plant is true to the variety and free of disease.
How it compares with other varieties
Every Cashew (Kaju) variety with a page on this site, side by side. The row for this page is highlighted.
| Variety | Best for | Starts bearing | Yield | States |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akshayathis page | Kerala farms that sell on kernel size and can accept a shell-out just above the 28% standard | First bearing in about 3 years (grafted, TNAU crop-level); flowers December to January, fruits January to March | TNAU: 11.78 kg of nuts a mature tree; 11 g nut (the largest on the KAU sheets), 28.36% shelling, W180 | Kerala |
| Amrutha (H-1597) | Small plots or trials where a compact tree and a high shelling percentage matter more than early yield | First bearing in about 3 years (grafted, TNAU crop-level); flowers December to January, fruits January to March | TNAU: 18.35 kg of nuts a mature tree; 7.18 g nut, 31.58% shelling, W210. Odisha trial: 3.07 kg a tree over four harvests (627 kg/ha) | Kerala |
| Anagha | Kerala farms that want a large-kernel nut with the best listed yield among the Anakkayam hybrids | First bearing in about 3 years (grafted, TNAU crop-level); flowers January to February, fruits February to April | TNAU: 13.73 kg of nuts a mature tree, the highest of the three Anakkayam hybrids; 10 g nut, 29% shelling, W180 | Kerala |
| Bhaskara | Steady nut yield on normal spacing | First bearing in 3 years (grafted) | Odisha trial: 9.85 kg a tree over four harvests (2,010 kg a hectare at 7 x 7 m) | Karnataka |
| Bhubaneswar-1 | Odisha farms that want a locally sourced variety with high shelling and a medium canopy | First bearing in about 3 years (grafted, TNAU crop-level); no flowering calendar was found for Bhubaneswar-1 | Odisha trial: 7.12 kg of nuts a tree over four harvests (1,453 kg/ha); shelling 30.77% and 30.68% | Odisha |
| BPP-8 | Farmers in eastern, Odisha-type conditions who want the variety with the best published trial yield | First bearing in about 3 years (grafted, TNAU crop-level); no flowering calendar was found for BPP-8 | Odisha trial: 11.86 kg of nuts a tree over four harvests (2,420 kg/ha), the best of 25 released varieties; 6.0 kg a tree in 2014 | Andhra Pradesh |
| Dhana | Large cashew apples plus a good nut | First bearing in 3 years (grafted) | TNAU: 10.66 kg of nuts a mature tree; 8.2 g nut, 29.8% shelling, W210. Odisha trial: 7.28 kg a tree over four harvests | Kerala |
| Dharasree | Kerala farms that want a compact tree with a mid-size nut that shells out well, from the Anakkayam station | First bearing in about 3 years (grafted, TNAU crop-level); flowers December to January, fruits January to March | TNAU: 10.66 kg of nuts a mature tree; 7.8 g nut, 30.5% shelling, W240 | Kerala |
| Kanaka (H-1598) | Farmers who want a high shelling percentage and a steady early yield, and have room for an open, tall tree | First bearing in about 3 years (grafted, TNAU crop-level); flowers November to December, fruits December to March | TNAU: 12.8 kg of nuts a mature tree; 6.8 g nut, 30.58% shelling, W280. Odisha trial: 7.16 kg a tree over four harvests (1,461 kg/ha) | Kerala |
| NRCC Selection-1 | Farmers who already have these trees, or are offered the name by a nursery and want to know what it means | Short duration; flowers December to February, fruits March to April (ICAR-DCR) | ICAR-DCR: 10 kg of nuts a tree; 7.6 g nut, 28.8% shelling, W210. Withdrawn from recommendation | Karnataka |
| NRCC Selection-2 | Farmers who want a short-duration, DCR-recommended selection with a good trial record, and plant for the nut | Short duration; flowers November to January, fruits February to March (ICAR-DCR) | ICAR-DCR: 9 kg of nuts a tree; 9.3 g nut, 28.6% shelling, W210. Odisha trial: 8.81 kg a tree over four harvests (1,798 kg/ha), fourth of 25 | Karnataka |
| Priyanka | The heaviest cashew apple, for processing | First bearing in 3 years (grafted) | TNAU: 17.03 kg of nuts a mature tree; 10.8 g nut, 26.57% shelling, W180. Odisha trial: 4.15 kg a tree over four harvests | Kerala |
| Sulabha | Kerala farmers who want a big nut and a compact tree, and can accept a late flowering season | First bearing in about 3 years (grafted, TNAU crop-level); flowers January to February, fruits February to April | TNAU: 21.9 kg of nuts a mature tree, the highest of the KAU sheets; 9.8 g nut, 29.4% shelling, W210 | Kerala |
| Ullal-3 | Early, short flowering season in Karnataka | First bearing in 3 years (grafted) | TNAU: 14.7 kg of nuts a mature tree. Odisha trial: 8.04 kg a tree over four harvests (1,641 kg a hectare) | Karnataka |
| Vengurla-4 | Older, proven west-coast cashew | First bearing in 3 years (grafted) | TNAU: 17.2 kg of nuts a mature tree. Odisha trial: 7.68 kg a tree over four harvests | Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka |
| Vengurla-7 | Bold nuts for export-grade kernels | First bearing in 3 years (grafted) | ~18.5 kg/tree average; bold 10 g nuts, W180 kernel grade, ~30.5% shelling | Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka |
| VRI-3 | A smaller tree with W210 kernels | First bearing in 3 years (grafted) | TNAU: 11.68 kg of nuts a mature tree (another TNAU page says 14.19 kg); 7.18 g nut, 29.1% shelling, W210 | Tamil Nadu |
Tools for this crop
The numbers you need next: how much seed to buy, whether the lot germinates, what the fertilizer bill looks like and what Cashew (Kaju) is selling for.
- Seed Rate CalculatorHow much seed your Cashew (Kaju) plot needs, corrected for the germination of the lot you bought.
- Seed Variety FinderFilter every Cashew (Kaju) variety on this site by state, season, duration and soil.
- Fertilizer CalculatorTurn the NPK recommendation for Cashew (Kaju) into bags of urea, DAP and MOP for your field size.
- Crop Profit CalculatorPut your seed, labour and input costs against the yield you expect from this variety.
- Mandi Price CheckerToday's Cashew (Kaju) rate in your nearest mandi, before you fix a price with a trader.
Subsidy and government support
Schemes that help with the cost of Cashew (Kaju) seed or planting material. Rules and the application route are on each scheme page.
Frequently asked questions
What are Akshaya's parents and release year?
TNAU lists Akshaya as a hybrid of H-4-7 and K-30-1, released in 1998 by the Cashew Research Station of Kerala Agricultural University at Anakkayam, Malappuram.
Is Akshaya's 28.36% shelling too low?
It is above the 28% that the Odisha paper cites as the acceptable international standard, but only just. It is the lowest of the six new KAU sheets here, which run from 28.36% to 31.58%; only Priyanka, at 26.57%, is lower. Check your own lots with a shelling test.
Akshaya or Anagha?
Both are W180 hybrids from Anakkayam. Anagha (T20 x K-30-1) gives more (13.73 against 11.78 kg a tree), shells out more (29% against 28.36%) and has an orange-red apple. Akshaya has the bigger nut (11 g against 10 g) and flowers earlier, December to January against January to February.
Does Akshaya need more space than other varieties?
TNAU calls the canopy compact and gives no spread. We found no canopy measurement for it, because the Odisha trial did not include it. Use TNAU's 7 x 7 m and measure your own trees at year 4 to 5.
Sourced from: Akshaya — TNAU Agritech Portal, cashew varieties, Model Profile for 1.0 ha Cashew Cultivation — NABARD/TNAU. editorial policy.