Studies on use of Cashew Nut Shell Liquid (CNSL) in Biopesticide and Biofertilizer

Abstract

Cashew is an immigrant tree from eastern Brazil and is regarded as one of the top three commercial crops of India. In general, Cashew nutshell contains 25-34% oil and was not much used earlier; however, commercial and industrial applications are being developed in the recent decade. In this present study, 100 kg of dried cashew shells yielded around 18.5 to 22.6% of cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL) while 58-63% of waste dark solid oil cake retained in extraction chamber. Eventually, these oil cakes were rich in fibre, protein and energy contents and offered as good alternative to traditional applications in the production of environmentally friendly organic fertilizer for vegetable crops. Also, this study investigated the safety of using CNSL cake as fertilizer for leaf & vegetable; and also noted improvised physico-chemical properties of soil which enhanced the soil fertility thereby leading to high crop yield and nutritional quality. Furthermore, CNSL was also proven to be a phytopesticide for eradication of serious pests, Odontopus varicornis, on cotton plant. Interestingly, toxicity study proved that the applications of CNSL was not only limited to biofertilizer but was also proven to be an effective biopesticide for the control of pest and insects.