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Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry

Journal of Pharmacognosy and Phytochemistry

Vol. 8, Special Issue 2 (2019)

Constraints faced by the cashew growers of Tamil Nadu

Author(s):

R Muthukumar, P Selvam and R Jayasankar

Abstract:
Cashew is generally described as poor man’s crop and rich man’s food. Cashew is a native of Brazil, which was spread by Portuguese to different parts of the world primarily for soil conservation, afforestation, and wasteland development. Cashew was introduced to India in the Malabar Coast in the 16th century and subsequently dispersed to other parts of the country. The cashew industry provides employment to more than 5 lakhs people in farms and factories, most of them in the rural areas. In cashew processing factories, over 95 per cent of the workers are women from the lowest strata of society, mainly belonging to socially and economically backward communities. Thus, apart from its economic significance, cashew industry has the potential to play a leading role in the social and financial uplift of rural poor. Cashews have served nutritional, medicinal, and wartime food. More recently, they have been used in the manufacture of adhesive, resins and natural insecticides. A paste of bark, grounded in water is used in a tropical applications for the cure of ringworm, in this form it can however act as irritant and should not be applied to sensitive skin or to children.

Pages: 843-844  |  1364 Views  457 Downloads

How to cite this article:
R Muthukumar, P Selvam and R Jayasankar. Constraints faced by the cashew growers of Tamil Nadu. J Pharmacogn Phytochem 2019;8(2S):843-844.

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