Local research on cashew is limited. As part of the basic research on the crop, a field study was carried out to assess the relationship between the depth of hard spodic layer, which is an inherent soil property, and the varying levels of organic matter on growth of cashew. The study was located at the Cashewnut Industry of Malaysia (CIMA) plantation, Besut, where soil differences as based on the depth of spodic horizon had earlier been determined. Simple techniques, specially designed for field study, were used. The varying depth of hard spodic layer has no significant effect on the growth of cashew as measured either by its height or canopy surface area, simply because the tree does not have a deep root system. However, soil organic matter has a significant effect on the height as well as the canopy surface area of the tree, the correlation coefficients being r = 0.536 and r — 0.495 (P < 0.01) respectively. Further, soil organic matter is indirectly affected by the varying depth of the hard spodic layer and this is indicated by a negative correlation coefficient (r = -0.364; P< 0.05).