New cultivation techniques for cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.).
The cashew tree produces its fruits at the periphery of the canopy but experiments in Kenya showed that increasing planting distances from 6 to 15 m did not influence yields/ha although they led to increased yields/tree. Productivity can be much increased, however, by planting cashews in hedgerows 9 to 12 m apart with 2 to 3 m within rows and using a clonal cashew cv. It is estimated that for the first 5 years of a new plantation gross margins would be 459, 519, 2827 and 2244 sh/ha annually, respectively, for traditional growing without charcoal production, traditional growing with charcoal production (from prunings at rejuvenation or replacement), hedgerows at 9 m, and hedgerows at 12 m. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)