About Directorate of Cashew Research
Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) is a tree native of Eastern Brazil, which was introduced to India by the Portuguese in the 16th Century. Over the years, cashew became a crop with high economic value and is earning considerable foreign exchange for the country. Research on cashew in India was first initiated in the early 1950s. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), sanctioned ad hoc schemes for Research Centres located at Kottarakkara (Kerala), Ullal (Karnataka), Bapatla (Andhra Pradesh), Daregaon (Assam) and Vengurla (Maharashtra). In 1971, ICAR also sanctioned an All India Coordinated Spices and Cashew Improvement Project (AICS & CIP) with its headquarters located at ICAR-Central Plantation Crops Research Institute (CPCRI), Kasaragod. The CPCRI Regional Station, Vittal, Karnataka was given the mandate to carry out research work on cashew while four Centres under different Universities (viz. Bapatla, Vridhachalam, Anakkayam and Vengurla) were assigned the research component on cashew under AICS & CIP. During the V and VI plan periods, three more Centres (viz. Bhubaneswar, Jhargram and Chintamani) came under the fold of AICS & CIP and with shifting of work of Anakkayam Centre to Madakkathara. The recommendations made by the Quinquennial Review Team (QRT) constituted by ICAR in 1982, the working group on Agricultural Research and Education constituted by the Planning Commission for VII Plan Proposals and the Task Force on Horticulture constituted by ICAR resulted in the establishment of National Research Centre for Cashew (NRCC) at Puttur on 18 June 1986. During the VII Plan period, AICS & CIP was bifurcated into two separate projects, one on cashew and another on spices. The headquarters of independent AICRP on Cashew was shifted to the newly established NRCC, Puttur in 1986. NRCC was upgraded and renamed as Directorate of Cashew Research (DCR) by ICAR on 23 March 2009 under XI Plan. At present, the AICRP on Cashew is operating at 14 Centres distributed in major cashew growing regions of the country. The prefix “ICAR” was added before the Institute name since 2014 as per the instruction of ICAR, New Delhi.
Location
The main campus of ICAR-DCR is situated 5 km away from Puttur town at Mottethadka village of Kemminje (12.45°N latitude, 75.15°E longitude and 90 m above MSL). The main campus has an area of 69 ha having an administrative block, research laboratories and field experiment plots. Besides, the Directorate has an Experimental Station at Shantigodu, located 13 km away from the main campus which has an area of 80 ha. The institute is conducting and coordinating research on different aspects of cashew such as germplasm collection and conservation, crop improvement, crop production, crop protection, post harvest technology and transfer of technology.
Vision
Accomplishing self-sufficiency in raw cashewnut production and maintaining the premier position as the largest producer, processor and exporter at the global level.
Mission
To promote overall growth through the enhancement of production and productivity in cashew.
Mandate
- To undertake strategic, basic and applied research for enhancing productivity, quality, processing efficiency and value addition of cashew.
- To serve as National Repository of genetic resources and scientific information on cashew.
- To coordinate All India Coordinated Research Project on Cashew for addressing location and region specific problems.
- To promote capacity building through transfer of technology and consultancy services to
stakeholders.
Organogram
The Director is the administrative head of the Directorate. The Institute Management Committee (IMC), Research Advisory Committee (RAC) and Institute Research Committee (IRC) assist the Director in the matters relating to the management and research activities of the directorate respectively (Fig. 2.1). The research and extension on various aspects of cashew are conducted in five sections viz., Crop improvement, Crop management, Crop protection, Post harvest technology and Transfer of technology. The institute also has different laboratories for sections of Horticulture, Soil Science, Plant Breeding, Plant Physiology, Biotechnology, Plant Protection and Postharvest Technology. The other facilities available at the directorate include Audio Visual Laboratory, Priority Setting, Monitoring and Evaluation Cell (PME), Institute Technology Management Unit (ITMU), Agricultural Knowledge Management Unit (AKMU), Vigilance Cell, Women cell, Library and Museum. The Directorate also functions as headquarter for the All India Coordinated Research Project on Cashew.
Library/AKMU/ITMU
The Directorate has got a well-established library in the field of cashew research. The library is serving as an Information Centre on all aspects of cashew research and development in the country. The CD database viz. CABHORT, CABPEST, AGRICOLA and AGRIS, SOIL CD, CROP CD, PLANTGENE CD and TROPAG CD and online CAB database are also available. The library is equipped with automation software and barcoding facility. The library has 1938 books and 2030 back volumes of various journals. The library subscribes 35 national and 2 international journals. The library is a member of Consortium of Electronic Resources on Agriculture (CeRA), New Delhi. Tech-Focuz digital library software is also available for CD Database search.
The Agricultural Knowledge Management Unit (AKMU) was established with the responsibility of developing Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in agricultural research, maintaining the Institute’s network, the website and the webserver administration. The AKMU is managing the internet facilities and wifi connectivity at the Directorate. The Institute Technology Management Unit (ITMU) was established for intellectual property management and transfer/commercialization of agricultural technologies developed. At this Directorate, ITMU takes care of commercialization of technologies developed by ICAR-DCR, Puttur.
Staff
The Institute has a sanctioned strength of 17 scientific, 19 technicals, 15 administrative, 19 skilled support staff and 1 canteen staff, of which 13 scientists, 11 technical staff, 7 administrative staff and 18 skilled support staff are in position and the remaining are vacant
