Publication
from Agroforestree Database: a tree reference and selection guide
version 4.0
by C. Orwa, A. Mutua, R. Kindt, R. Jamnadass and S. Anthony
Anacardium
occidentale L.
Local Names:
Arabic (habb
al-biladhir); Bengali (hijuli, hijlibadam); Burmese (thiho thayet si);
Chinese (yao kuo); Dutch (kasjoe, mereke); English (cashew, cashew
nut); Filipino (kasoy, balogo, bulabad); French (anacardier, acajou,
pommier cajou, pomme d'cajou, anacadier, noix d'cajou, anacarde,
anacardes, pomme acajou); German (Acajubaum, Kaschubaum, cashwenuß,
elefantenlaus); Gujarati (kaju); Hindi (bojan, kashu-mavu, kaju,
hijuli); Indonesian (jambu monyet, jambu mede); Italian (acagia);
Japanese (kashu nattsu); Javanese (jambu mede, jambu monyet); Khmer
(svaay chanti); Malay (gajus, jambu monyet); Mandinka (kasuowo,
kasuwu); Nepali (kaaju); Portuguese (caju); Sanskrit (kajutaka);
Spanish (cashú, merci, marañón, cacajuil, casho, cajuil, acaya);
Swahili (mkanju, mkorosho, mbibo); Tamil (mindiri); Thai (yaruang,
mamuang, himmaphan, mamuang letlor); Trade name (cashew nut);
Vietnamese (cây diêù, dào lôn hôt)
Family: Anacardiaceae
Botanic
Description
Anacardium
occidentale
is a medium-sized tree, spreading, evergreen, much branched; grows to a
height of 12 m. When grown on lateritic, gravelly, coastal sandy areas,
it rarely exceeds 6 m and develops a spreading habit and globose shape
with crown diameter to 12 m. Grown inland on loams, it reaches 15 m and
is much branched, with a smaller (4- 6 m) crown diameter. The root
system of a mature A.
occidentale,
when grown from the seed, consists of a very prominent taproot and a
well- developed and extensive network of lateral and sinker roots.
Leaves
simple, alternate, coriaceus, glabrous, obovate, rounded at ends, 10-18
x 8-15 cm, with short petiole, pale green or reddish when young and
dark green when mature.
The inflorescence is a terminal
panicle-like cluster commonly bearing male and hermaphroditic flowers.
The male flowers are the most numerous and usually bear 1 exserted
stamen and 9 small inserted ones. A.
occidentale normally comes into flowering in 3 to 5 years.
The
nut, which is the true fruit, dries and does not split open. Inside the
poisonous shell is a large curved seed, nearly 2.5 cm long, the edible
cashew nut. As the nut matures, the stalk (receptacle) at the base
enlarges rapidly within a few days into the fleshy fruitlike structure,
broadest at the apex, popularly known as the fruit. This thin-skinned
edible cashew fruit has a light yellow spongy flesh, which is very
juicy, pleasantly acidic and slightly astringent when eaten raw and
highly astringent when green.
The generic name was given by Linnaeus and refers to the vaguely heart-
shaped look of its false fruit.
Biology
Flies, bees and ants
as well as wind carry out pollination. Bees promote greater pollination
because scented flowers and sticky pollen grains attract them. Bagged
inflorescence does not produce nuts unless it is hand pollination or
insects are allowed inside. Self-pollination is also possible, as nuts
have developed from hand-pollinated, bagged inflorescence.
Ecology
A.
occidentale
requires high temperatures; frost is deleterious. Distribution of
rainfall is more important than the amount of it. The tree fruits well
if rains are not abundant during flowering and if nuts mature in a dry
period; the latter ensures good keeping quality. The tree can adapt to
very dry conditions as long as its extensive root system has access to
soil moisture. In drier areas (800-1000 mm of rainfall), a deep and
well-drained soil without impervious layers is essential.
Biophysical
Limits
Altitude: 0-1000 m, Mean annual temperature: 17-38 deg. C, Mean annual
rainfall: 500-3 500 mm
Soil
types: Prefers deep, fertile, sandy soils but will grow well on most
soils except pure clays or soils that are otherwise impermeable, poorly
drained or subject to periodic flooding.
Documented
Species Distribution
Native:
Brazil, Mexico, US
Exotic: Cambodia, Gambia,
India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Philippines,
Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, Vietnam
The
map above shows countries where the species has been planted. It does
neither suggest that the species can be planted in every ecological
zone within that country, nor that the species can not be planted in
other countries than those depicted. Since some tree species are
invasive, you need to follow biosafety procedures that apply to your
planting site.
Products
Food:
A.
occidentale
is cultivated for its nuts. Botanically, the nut is the fruit; the
cashew apple is the swollen, fleshy fruit stalk. The seeds kernels are
extracted by shelling the roasted nuts. In production areas, cashew
serves as food. Elsewhere it forms a delicacy. The kernels are
nutritious, containing fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and
minerals. In Brazil, Mozambique and Indonesia, the cashew apple is also
important; it is eaten fresh or mixed in fruit salads, and a drink is
prepared from the juice; sweets and jams can also be prepared from it.
Young shoots and leaves are eaten fresh or cooked.
Fodder:
The cake remaining after oil has been extracted from the kernel serves
as animal food. Seed coats are used as poultry feed.
Fibre:
Pulp from the wood is used to fabricate corrugated and hardboard boxes.
Timber:
The wood of A.
occidentale
(‘white mahogany’ in Latin America) is fairly hard with a density of
500 kg/cm. It finds useful applications in wheel hubs, yoke, fishing
boats, furniture, false ceilings and interior decoration. Boxes made
from the wood are collapsible but are strong enough to compete with
conventional wooden packing cases.
Gum or resin:
The bark contains an acrid sap of thick brown resin, which becomes
black on exposure to air. This is used as indelible ink in marking and
printing linens and cottons. The resin is also used as a varnish, a
preservative for fishnets and a flux for solder metals. The stem also
yields an amber-coloured gum, which is partly soluble in water, the
main portion swelling into a jellylike mass. This gum is used as an
adhesive (for woodwork panels, plywood, bookbinding), partly because it
has insecticidal properties.
Tannin or
dyestuff: The acrid sap of the bark contains 3-5% tannin
and is employed in the tanning industry.
Lipids:
An oil, cashew nut shell liquid, is produced in the large cells of the
pericarp; it has industrial applications and is used as a preservative
to treat, for instance, wooden structures and fishing nets. It is also
in good demand for paints, synthetic resins, laminated products, brake
linings and clutch facings.
Alcohol:
In Brazil, Mozambique and Indonesia cashew wine (slightly fermented
juice) is enjoyed at harvest time and can be distilled to produce
strong alcoholic drinks. In Goa, India, fermenting the juice makes a
type of brandy called ‘fenni’. In Tanzania, a product called ‘konyagi’,
akin to gin, is made from cashew apple.
Poison:
One of the components of the bark gum acts as a vesicant and has insect
repellent properties.
Medicine: Cashew syrup is a
good remedy for coughs and colds. Cashew apple juice is said to be
effective for the treatment of syphilis. Root infusion is an excellent
purgative. Old cashew liquor in small doses cures stomach-ache. The oil
obtained from the shell by maceration in spirit is applied to cure
cracks on the sole of the feet, common in villagers. Cashew apple is
anti-scorbutic, astringent and diuretic, and is used for cholera and
kidney troubles. Bark is astringent, counterirritant, rubefacient,
vesicant, and used for ulcer. Cashew nut shell oil is anti-hypertensive
and purgative; it is used for blood sugar problems, kidney troubles,
cholera, cracks on soles of feet, hookworms, corns and warts. The
kernel is a demulcent, an emollient and is used for diarrhoea. Buds and
young leaves are used for skin diseases. The resinous juice of seeds is
used for mental derangement, heart palpitation, rheumatism; it was used
to cure the loss of memory that was a sequel to smallpox.
Services
Reclamation: Because of its extreme tolerance of external conditions,
it has been planted in poor soils to check erosion.
Intercropping:
Has been intercropped with cowpea, groundnuts and horsegram in India.
In Andra Pradesh and Orissa in India, casuarina and coconut constitute
a popular crop combination.
Tree
Management
Weeding
is necessary to conserve soil moisture for the seedlings during the dry
months. After the tree starts bearing, it is important to apply
fertilizers and spray against pests and diseases. Anacardium occidentale
is rarely pruned. Removal of dead and diseased branches is necessary,
however. When an initial closer planting is adopted, thinning is done
after about 5 years. Shape the tree by removing the lower branches to
allow nut collection and human movement.
Germplasm
Management
Seed
storage behaviour is orthodox; 100% germination has been recorded after
4 months of open storage at room temperature, but viability is reduced
to 50% after 10 months and none survives after 13-14 months. Viability
can be maintained for 1 year in storage at room temperature with low
seed mc; viability for more than 3 years in hermetic storage at ambient
temperature with seeds at 11-15% mc.
Pests and
Diseases
A.
occidentale
is susceptible to over 60 known species of insect pests during
different stages of its growth. The major pests in India are considered
to be stem borers and root borers including Plocaederus ferrugineus,
tea mosquito (Helopeltis
antonii), leaf miner (Acrocercops
syngramma) and leaf and blossom webber (Lamida moncusalis).
In Tanzania, important pests include sucking bugs (Helopeltis schoutedeni
and H. anacardii),
the theraptus bug (Pseudotheraptus
wayi), thripts (Selenothrips
rubrocinctus), bark borers (Mecocorynus loripes)
and the defoliating caterpillar (Nudaurelia
bellina).
Common diseases include die-back or pink disease (Corticium salminicola),
damping-off of seedlings (Phytophthora
palmivora); anthracnose disease (Collectotrichum gleosporioides),
leaf spots, shoot-rot and leaf fall. A combination spray of BHC and a
copper fungicide like Blitox at the time of emergence of new flush has
been found an effective prophylactic measure.
Further
Reading
Aiyadura SG, Premanad PP. 1965. Can cashew become a more remunerable
plantation crop? India Cashew Journal.
4(1):2-7.
Anon. 1962. The cultivation of annatto. Farmer Jamaica. 67(5):156-158.
Anon. 1986. The useful plants of India. Publications &
Information Directorate, CSIR, New Delhi, India.
Beentje HJ. 1994. Kenya trees, shrubs and lianas. National Museums of
Kenya.
Cobley L.S & Steele W.M. 1976. An Introduction to the Botany of
Tropical Crops. Longman Group Limited.
Crane JH, Balerdi CF, Campbell CW. 1994. The avocado. Fact Sheet HS-52,
Horticultural Sciences Department,
Florida Cooperative Extension Services, Institute of Food and
Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida.
Dale IR, Greenway PJ. 1961. Kenya trees and shrubs. Buchanan’s Kenya
Estates Ltd.
Hocking D. 1993. Trees for Drylands. Oxford & IBH Publishing
Co. New Delhi.
Hong TD, Linington S, Ellis RH. 1996. Seed storage behaviour: a
compendium. Handbooks for Genebanks: No. 4.
IPGRI.
ICRAF. 1992. A selection of useful trees and shrubs for Kenya: Notes on
their identification, propagation and
management for use by farming and pastoral communities. ICRAF.
Jain
SK, Lata S. 1996. Unique indigenous Amazonian uses of some plants
growing in India. Indigenous Knowledge and Development Monitor. 4(3):
21-23.
Katende AB et al. 1995. Useful trees and shrubs for Uganda.
Identification, Propagation and Management for
Agricultural
and Pastoral Communities. Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU),
Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA).
Lanzara P. and Pizzetti M. 1978. Simon & Schuster's Guide to
Trees. New York: Simon and Schuster
Mbuya LP et al. 1994. Useful trees and shrubs for Tanzania:
Identification, Propagation and Management for
Agricultural
and Pastoral Communities. Regional Soil Conservation Unit (RSCU),
Swedish International Development Authority (SIDA).
Nair KM et. al. 1979. Monograph on plantation crops-1, cashew (Anacardium occidentale
L.). Central Plantations
Institute, Kerala, India.
Nair PK. 1980. Agroforestry species: A crop sheet manual. ICRAF.
Nicholson B.E, Harrison S.G, Masefield G.B & Wallis M. 1969.
The Oxford Book of Food Plants. Oxford University Press.
Noad T, Birnie A. 1989. Trees of Kenya. General Printers, Nairobi.
Northwood PJ. 1966. Some observations on flowering and fruit setting in
the cashew (Anacardium
occidentale L.). Trop. Agriculture, Trin. 43(1).
Perry LM. 1980. Medicinal plants of East and South East Asia :
attributed properties and uses. MIT Press. South East Asia.
Vaughan JG. 1970. The structure and utilization of oil seeds. Chapman
and Hall Ltd.
Verheij
EWM, Coronel RE (eds.). 1991. Plant Resources of South East Asia No 2.
Edible fruits and nuts. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden.
Vogt K. 1995. A
field guide to the identification, propagation and uses of common trees
and shrubs of dryland Sudan. SOS Sahel International (UK).
Williams R.O & OBE. 1949. The useful and ornamental plants in
Zanzibar and Pemba. Zanzibar Protectorate
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