Influence of moisture regimes and organic manure on nutrient dynamics and growth of cashew

Provision of optimum growth conditions is vital to field establishment of tree crops. Experiments were conducted in 2015 at Abeokuta, Nigeria, to determine the influence of cultivars (‘Local,’ ‘Brazilian’ and ‘Jumbo’), moisture regimes (field capacity at daily, 3-days, 5-days and 7-days intervals (D1, D3, D5 and D7, respectively)), and chicken manure (OM) rates of zero (control), 5, 10 and 15 t ha^-1 on growth of cashew seedlings. ‘Local’ and ‘Brazilian’ cashew were significantly P≤0.05 taller than ‘Jumbo’. Both ‘Local’ and ‘Jumbo’ had significantly P≤0.05 more leaves, wider canopies and thicker girth than ‘Brazilian’. Across ‘Local’, ‘Brazilian’ and ‘Jumbo’ values increased for foliar crude protein content (CPC), ash content, sugar content, starch content and K, but decreased for Mg. ‘Brazilian’ and ‘Jumbo’ had significantly (P≤0.05) higher N and P, while ‘Brazilian’ had excessive Fe uptake. Plants grown at daily field capacity had larger growth attributes compared to those grown other irrigation regimes. Plants grown with D1 and D5 had thicker girth, while values for CPC increased across daily, 3- and 5-day intervals, but decreased for K and Fe across D1, D3 and D5. Those with D3 and D5 had more starch and ash content, respectively, and with D1 and D5 had more P and Mg. Compared to other treatments 5 t ha^-1 OM produced taller plants, 10 t ha^-1 had thicker girth, 5 and 15 t ha^-1 had wider canopy, while 5 and 10 t ha^-1 had more leaves. In summary, although moderate in proximate content, ‘Brazilian’ was poorly adapted to moisture stress, while daily watering and all manure rates favored improved growth responses in cashew seedlings compared to the control.