Cashew crop
Native of the American tropics, the cashew tree belongs to the family Anacardiaceae, which includes tropical and subtropical trees and shrubs, distributed between the parallels 27º N, in the southeast of Florida, and 28º S, in South Africa.
Considered one of the most important crops in tropical regions, the cashew occupies an area around 3.39 million hectares in the world. Its main economics products are the kernel and the cashew nut shell liquid (CNSL). World's raw cashew nut production is around 3.1 million tons per year. Vietnam, India, Brazil and Nigeria are the main cashew nut producing countries.
In Brazil, the cashew crop sector mobilizes about 280 thousand people and has a cultivated area of 740,000 ha, providing an output of approximately 250 thousand tons of raw cashew nut and 2 million tons of cashew apple per year. Although the crop is distributed over several regions of the country, the Northeast region accounts for 94% of Brazilian production, with the largest orchards located in coastal and transition zones of the States of Ceará, Piauí and Rio Grande do Norte. The raw cashew nut feeds a cashew processing industry composed by a dozen of processing plants and around eighty small-scale processing units. Most of the cashew nut kernels processed is exported, generating an average income of U$ 225 million annually.
The consumption of cashew apple in the internal market (cashew apple for fresh consumption) has been growing significantly in the last five years, mainly in the Southeast region of Brazil, with attractive prices to the producer. That has stimulated, although in a small ratio, new investments in the expansion and modernization of the orchards and the adoption of Good Agricultural Practices and Production Systems, which allows the certification of the raw material produced.
Besides the economic aspect, the cashew by-products present high nutritional importance. In recent years occurred significant increases in sales and the conquest of new markets of 30 cashew by-products, of which stand out the concentrate juice, currently the most sold juice in Brazil, sweets, soft drinks and "cajuína", a pure and clarified cashew juice quite consumed in the Northeast region.
Cashew has been grouped into two types, regarding its genetic variability, common and dwarf, named according its height. The common type is the most cultivated, presenting high canopy, height between 8 and 15 m, and canopy diameter reaching 20 m. The individual productive capacity varies widely, with some plants producing less than 1 kg and others up to 180 kg of raw cashew nut per harvest. The dwarf type is characterized by being less than 4 m, having a homogeneous canopy, with stem diameter and canopy diameter smaller than the common type, and by being more precocious, starting flowering between 6 and 18 months after planting.
Cashew dwarf clones most cultivated in Brazil (CPC 06, CPC 09, CPC 76 and CPC 1001) were obtained from plant introductions at the Embrapa's Experimental Station, in Pacajus City, from natural populations of the Brazilian Northeast coastal region, followed by phenotypic individual selection and annual production control of selected plants. Subsequently, new methodological procedures, as the policross method, selection between and within progenies and inter-and intra-specific hybridization, resulted in the development of dwarf cashew clones Embrapa 50, Embrapa 51, BRS 189, BRS BRS 226 and 265. Recently, Embrapa Tropical Agro industry launched two new clones: the BRS 274, the first clone of common cashew for commercial planting, and the BRS 275, the first clone of cashew hybrid, created by crossing the common cashew with the dwarf cashew clone (CPC 1001).
The expected yield, for the dwarf cashew under rained conditions is around 1.000 kg/ha of raw cashew and 10.000 kg/ha of cashew apple. Under irrigated conditions it may reach 3.800 kg/ha of raw cashew nut and 30.000 kg/ha of cashew apple.
Cashew propagation can be made by the seeds or vegetative methods. The vegetative or asexual propagation is performed using parts of the plant, such as grafts, gems and cuttings. Vegetative propagation is the most recommended method because it ensures the growth of more uniform and productive orchards.
Facing an increasingly competitive market, led by India and Vietnam, the Brazilian cashew crop searches alternatives to improve its position in the world nut market, especially with regard to orchard yields and the quality of cashew nuts processed.
Despite the substantial increase of cashew cultivated area in recent years, the total production and yield have been maintained at low levels. The Brazilian average raw cashew nut yield in 2007 was around 190 kg/ha, due mainly to the poor production infrastructure in most of cultivated areas, to cyclical drought in major producing regions, to pest and disease incidence in all crop development phases, and to poor propagation methods used for orchards establishment (sexual).
With the introduction of the dwarf cashew clones, the production system based on the use of high-yield cashew varieties, high-density planting, fertilizer application and plant protection has evolved significantly.
Several orchards have even being irrigated. Together, these factors may be able to increase yields, lower the risk of yield loss, extend the harvest season, and improve cashew nut and cashew apple quality.
Vitor Hugo de Oliveira
Ph.D., Plant Science
Researcher, Embrapa Tropical Agroindustry
Rua Sara Mesquita, 2270 CEP 60511-110 - Fortaleza, Ceará, Brazil
e-mail: vitor@cnpat.embrapa.br
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
06 May 2008 -
Date of issue
Mar 2008
