NUTS: Growing cashews: Part 3

The final instalment of this series discusses cashew production from flowering to harvesting and oil extraction. The challenging process of shelling is carried out either by hand or mechanically in factories.

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The timing of flowering in the cashew tree is affected by weather conditions, but continues for approximately three months. High temperatures lead to earlier flowering. The flowers are highly susceptible to mildew and this must be controlled to ensure a good yield.

Pollination is mostly by insects, and it takes six to eight weeks for the fruit to develop thereafter.

The nut develops first. The apple develops and enlarges only two weeks before fruit fall.

The nuts should be harvested as soon as possible, especially under wet conditions, and dried before storage. Irrigation is important during the establishment of young trees; in a dry season, it can double their growth tempo. Once established, the trees can survive for several months without irrigation, due to their deep root system, Mature trees should receive 1 800â„“ of water per tree every two weeks.

Ideally, you should grow grass in the inter-row spaces to prevent erosion. Cut the grass regularly to control weeds.

PROCESSING

The objective of cashew processing is to extract the healthy and tasty kernel from the raw nut in the shell. Most modern factories are designed to obtain the maximum number of whole nuts and as much shell oil as possible.

Cashew processing involves the following steps:

• Drying