Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) insect pests and their management: farmers' knowledge and practices in Bangladesh

Cashew nut (Anacardium occidentale L.) farmers are facing challenges producing quality nuts due to inadequate knowledge of cashew insect pests and their management practices in Bangladesh. For this reason, a survey of 144 cashew farmers was conducted from June 2020 to December 2022. Tea mosquito bug (70.1%), cashew stem and root borer (52.8%), and apple and nut borer (45.8%) were the top-ranked among 21 insect pest species of cashew. The highest insect pest infestation was observed in the tender leaves (49.8%). Overall, 56.3% farmers noticed 11-20% yield losses caused by insect pests, while 9% of the farmers believed that yield losses could be more than 40% in cashew orchards. Although physical (7.7%) and mechanical (7.6%) pest management tactics, like hand-picking, use of coal tar, kerosene, and yellow sticky traps were used to control pests, most farmers (84.7%) relied on chemical pesticides. Young and educated farmers were interested in non-chemical pest management options compared to their counterparts. Farmers believed that intercultural operation like weeding and pruning could reduce insect pests in cashew orchards.