Author Topic: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)  (Read 5144 times)

Caesar

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Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« on: August 06, 2018, 12:24:41 PM »
Anyone else growing these? I got seeds from Luc and they all sprouted successfully and look pretty healthy. But here's the thing... I've been afraid to water them after the last one sprouted. I've been waiting for them to show signs of drought stress, their soil is bone dry right now, and they still won't wilt. The also don't seem to be growing rapidly after their initial burst (which might be because of the lack of water). I want to water them, I'm used to saturating the soil when I water my plants, but I really don't want to kill them. Do they loose their sensitivity to water at some point or is it a lifelong issue?

Here's my plants so far, in the shade of my outdoor garage (to prevent them from getting rained on):




These were taken a couple of weeks ago, but they're pretty much the same right now, except for the little one, which has caught up with the rest.

00christian00

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #1 on: August 06, 2018, 01:07:18 PM »
I have 1 seedling of a big nut Anacardium from cerrado, don't know the species name.
I had 2 but lost due to some collar rot, they really don't like being watered. I had gifted one to my sister which was keeping it inside on her cafe and she's the type which will probably remember to water it every 3 weeks.
Mine was watered more regularly and did die.
It also doesn't seem to mind growing indoor, was always dark green except recently which I guess was just some missing nutrients. I took it back and fertilized and the new leaves are green again.
I don't care particularly for the plant, cause it seem to process the nut it develops very dangerous smokes which doesn't bode well with me.

Caesar

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #2 on: August 06, 2018, 05:28:06 PM »
Sounds sensitive... I'll restrain myself from watering mine for the time being then. Though I wonder if watering the root zone directly (like from underneath) would prevent collar rot.

I'm not sure if the nuts on mine are edible, though I suspect they are. I'm growing it for the fruit, which is said to be of excellent quality in this variety, free of astringency.

pineislander

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #3 on: August 06, 2018, 06:03:42 PM »
Big seeded plants with high oil content have a lot of food reserves. I remember that Cashew was one of the first tropical fruits I grew when I was down there. They grew very quickly and if I recall correctly I let my 4 year-old daughter put the seeds in the pots and treated them as "her" little trees. The seed has lots of energy but much of that may have been depleted which slowed down growth. As I recall Cashew also has growth flushes like Mango with similar leaf color changes, and periods of dormancy and hardening off in between., so maybe you are just into one of those. Maybe look to in-ground trees locally to gauge how those trees grow and respond to environmental changes like wet/dry or hotter/colder periods.

HIfarm

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #4 on: August 06, 2018, 07:41:55 PM »
I bought some of these from Luc a few years back.  I was hesitant to try them because of the "cerrado curse" but Luc mentioned that they grew well for him in the PV area.  My germination was ok but not great (probably too moist).  I think I had a half dozen or so seedlings before I went away on a vacation.  I think the person looking after them probably over watered.  I was down to two when I returned and lost one of those shortly thereafter.

I put one in the ground with a lot of cinder (lava rock) around the root zone & planted it on a bank where one side had been excavated away to level space for my greenhouse.  My thinking was that it should be better drained to give it a decent chance in our wet Hilo climate.  It was doing ok for over a year (but growing very slowly) but this spring was very wet & I lost it then.  The pera-do-campo (Eugenia klotzchiana, same root zone treatment) I had planted next to it have all made it through the wet spring, fingers crossed.

I recall someone else had posted about these at the time, you may want to search the forum for more info.

John

Caesar

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #5 on: August 06, 2018, 09:16:14 PM »
Sounds like they're going through one of their inter-flush "hardening-off" stages. The ground is kinda dry with the summer heat, but everything here is growing like crazy regardless, and there have been occasional rains lately.

I did the forum search and Luc reports them as being relatively trouble-free, but with everyone else's experiences I can't help but feel like their days are numbered. Would grafting on Common Cashew work? Those grow quite well here. My big problem with that is that I still don't have any practice with grafting, and even if I did, I wouldn't know how to handle a seedling under those circumstances.

Caesar

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #6 on: September 18, 2018, 08:12:21 PM »
To recap, all 7 had sprouted and were transplanted in a mix of miracle-gro moisture control and sand. They were all growing fine and dandy in the shade, but over time, I ended up losing two of them... to DROUGHT!!! Perhaps it was the sandy soil mix I gave them, but moisture doesn’t seem to bother them much, and they seem sensitive to a lack of water... they do give off subtle hints early on, but by the time the drought stress is obvious, you’ve already lost the plant. It’s been raining a lot lately (which is why they’re under the roof), but I decided to test two of them directly exposed. They look terrible from leaf burn, but the constant rain doesn’t seem to be bothering them, and the new incoming leaves seem fine and dandy. I’m tempted to put the other three in the same place, but I don’t wanna put all my eggs in one basket. I’m hoping these will ultimately be easier than I had first expected.

The burned-up two and the shaded three:



luc

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #7 on: September 19, 2018, 06:38:10 PM »
I really do like that fruit , so refreshing , zero astringency ... a few years ago I decided to plant some more , all came up fine and looked great , till like John , I went on a family visit in Europe and put somebody in charge of watering the seedlings , I even put red tags in the humile pots meaning NO WATER , when I came back they where all history ...in 2 weeks ... those were the only ones I lost .
Luc Vleeracker
Puerto Vallarta
Mexico , Pacific coast.
20 degrees north

Caesar

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #8 on: September 23, 2018, 03:38:40 PM »
How old were your seedlings? Mine are at a couple of months, and I’m half convinced most of their moisture-resistance comes from the free-draining-yet-moisture-retentive soil they’re in. It stays moist to the touch for a long time, but it’s light, airy, and never pools water (that’s the added sand, ‘cause the original soil does pool slightly at times).

Heinrich

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #9 on: September 25, 2018, 03:57:56 AM »
This is my experience with Anacardium humile. I germinated 20 seeds in 2016. Seeds of Anacardium humile, obtained from Luc Vleeracker, usually germinate close to 100%.  Already three days after sowing, the sand above the seeds stains dark and within seven days all plants are actively growing. These plants are very fast to come into life, but can be very fast to go. During the warm season, I grow my plants in a hoop house, with both ends permanently and entirely open for fresh air. All plants developed well until the end of summer. My first plants were dead in October, and by November, they were all gone. Dead, despite I watered very sparingly, as the autumn days became colder. 2017, I asked Luc to send me five seeds, only. I didn´t want to see 20 dying plants again. All five seeds germinated within a week, grew fast and looked happy. In September, before the first cold days approached, I potted four plants in a planter box with a water reservoir. The idea was, not to water the plants for the whole winter, so the roots stayed dry. However, to have some moisture in the subsoil. This would be a similar condition, like the plants would enjoy during the dry season, in its natural environment, in the Cerrado. I moved the planter inside the house in a room, heated at around 15°C (59° Fahrenheit) during winter, on a south facing window. In the planter was no space for the fifth plants. So I decided to keep this plant still in the hoop house, as sort of a control. Even, kept fairly dry and protected from frost, this plant was dead at the end of October. The other four inside plants still showed some grows, but stopped growing at around November, and started slowly to shed leaf after leaf, during the winter. By March 2018, the last leafs fell off. However, the stem itself was green, with a well-developed xylopodium at the base. All four plants leafless, but still alive. Some stems started to dry at the top. During a warm spell in March, on the now fairly warm and sunny window, several buds, situated mainly at the xylopodium, started to burst. Now, I decided to water. Was it too early, or was it too late? Anyhow, the weather became cool again and the shoots aborted. Moreover, the stems showed even more dieback. In April, two plants were dead and two plants alive and growing new leaves.

In May, the planter was moved in the hoop house again. There was no fast development in the second year. Did the plants change its character? Now, the plants grew fairly slow. Maybe, I didn’t I fertilize enough? I am not sure about this. The two plants grew steadily and gained more than its former strength.

Now, that winter is approaching, I am worried again. Maybe, it wasn´t a good idea with the planter. In a normal pot, soil moisture could be better controlled. Today, with the first cold day, I have moved the planter inside again.

In summary it can be said, that Anacardium humile likes a well-draining, acidic soil and plenty of water, as long as the plants enjoy a warm and sunny environment. It is a true tropical plant, which can survive colder temperatures in dry dormancy only. In nature, dormancy is initiated by shortness of water. Cold means for Anacardium humile, day max temperatures below approximately 15°C (59° Fahrenheit).  Wet and cold, soon results in dead plants. Furthermore, the demand for dormancy is genetically fixed. Anacardium humile would not survive either, in all year warm, wet tropical biome, unless protected from rain. The large seed enables the seedling to a rapid growth. Seedling plants can survive the first dry season only, if established a large enough root system and xylopodium.

I do have a request. Luc, can you please show us a photo of your plant at the end of the dry season? Does your plant shed leaves during dormancy?

June 22, 2017. Seven days after sowing. Five seeds gave five plants. Garcinia seeds in the other pots, took much longer.


September 08, 2017. Not even three months old. The planter was moved inside.


September 24, 2018. The left plant regenerated from the xylopodium, only. This plant developed several new stems, none as tall as the one last year, and a strong xylopodium.  In the other plant, the whole stem survived, beside the very top part. New leaves emerged from the stem with an additional shoot from the xylopdium. The moss shows, that the plants were watered almost every day, during summer. There were seeding trays on top, beside the dead plants. The planter was moved inside, today.


September 24, 2018. The above part of the xylopodium of the left plant produced many dormant buds. The xylopodium of the right plant looks similar, but is not as thick.







« Last Edit: October 02, 2018, 04:50:09 PM by Heinrich »

Caesar

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #10 on: September 27, 2018, 09:52:38 PM »
Judging from your experience, they sound even more finicky than I expected. It’s already autumn and the rains are just getting started... I’m concerned with the survival of my seedlings, but let’s see how it goes. The soil in my current plot is heavy clay landfill, hardly free-draining, but perhaps planting on the steeper parts of the slope could help with that. They’re currently in pots, but I don’t know how well they adapt to long-term pot culture, if they can be fruited in a pot, what pot size and what maintenance they would require. I had hoped to grow them in the ground, or at least get some scions grafted onto a common Cashew rootstock.

Heinrich

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #11 on: September 28, 2018, 02:42:26 PM »
You are in a tropical climate and Anacardium humile should do fine on your place, if protected from autumn (?) and winter rain. The plants stay small and protection should not be a problem. Unfortunately, there is no information about the dormant habit of this plant. Kimi from Western Australia has grown Anacardium humile successfully, from seed to flower in about one year.
http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=729d82f1cc3014d7934eb0806f34a127&topic=5583.msg161742#msg161742
Wish you good luck with your plants. Please let us know about your future experience.
« Last Edit: September 28, 2018, 03:01:22 PM by Heinrich »

Caesar

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #12 on: September 28, 2018, 08:59:34 PM »
Thanks for the thread, it gives me hope for container culture.

Of the two trees that I had acclimated to sun and rain, I stuck one in the ground just below the top of the hill where the slope starts going down. I'll photograph it in the coming days. It's original top had died off and it has since sprouted several side shoots.

Of the three I kept under the roof, I sent one out back to acclimate with the remaining tree. Depending on how the in-ground and acclimated trees react to the local seasonal weather, I might plant out more or I might keep the remainder in pots (to shade them in inclement weather).

I'll be up-potting at least one until I get it into one of the big pots I've seen (I don't remember the exact size), and I'll be keeping that one in container culture long term, with heavy use of sand or perlite to prevent moisture damage.

I'll keep you all posted.

Soren

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #13 on: September 29, 2018, 04:16:55 PM »
I have problems with all Anacardium spp. until transplanted to the ground, after which they take off in an almost insane growth speed  8)
Søren
Kampala, Uganda

Caesar

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #14 on: September 29, 2018, 09:47:41 PM »
I have problems with all Anacardium spp. until transplanted to the ground, after which they take off in an almost insane growth speed  8)

Maybe they don't like pot culture? What's the soil like at your place?

Soren

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #15 on: September 30, 2018, 11:00:51 AM »
Nutrient depleted ferralsols
Søren
Kampala, Uganda

Caesar

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #16 on: October 17, 2018, 02:40:55 PM »
Nutrient depleted ferralsols

Not too different from mine then.

Here's the one I stuck into the ground, doing well so far with some new growth. Barely discernible in the first picture, it's between the papaya plants, yautía and turmeric.




Heinrich

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #17 on: April 19, 2019, 04:44:14 PM »
My last two plants are gone. It was in early January that the leaves dropped, one after the other, within about 14 days. With only a few leaves remaining, I finely decided to give some water. This had no effect. With the last leaves falling, the numerous dormant buds on the xylopodium died as well. This was a great surprise to me. I did expect that the dormant xylopodium would not be effected by the drought. The sparse watering at the end might not be responsible for the death of the xylopodium, because there was no rot. The whole plants desiccated. The plants were on the same window sill as the winter before, with a temperature minimum at around 10 °C (50 °F).
 I have no idea what I did wrong. There is still no information about the dormancy of Anacardium humile. The only information, I could find: Luc´s plant enjoys an 8 months dry season.

http://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=6209.msg81895#msg81895

I am somehow frustrated, but I don´t give up. Luc, please send me a few more seeds.

Caesar, how are your plants doing?


« Last Edit: April 29, 2019, 03:43:20 AM by Heinrich »

Caesar

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #18 on: April 26, 2019, 04:33:00 PM »
Mine have seen better days, but they're still alive. Some have died back and re-sprouted, others had a tip die off and then branch out lower. The ones in pots are in full sun and quite yellowed. The one in the ground is deep green, in the shade. None has showed substantial growth. I'm thinking of fertilizing them.

The one in the ground is in heavy clay, the others are in a very fast draining sandy mix. I saturate all of them when watering, and water with moderate frequency (ideally no less than once a week).

Pics:





Guanabanus

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #19 on: April 28, 2019, 01:38:52 PM »
Cerrado soils that I have seen had a good-to-high amount of clay.  So they wouldn't likely dry out at depth very soon.
Har

Heinrich

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #20 on: April 29, 2019, 03:47:36 AM »
Wikipedia tells about the climate of Puerto Rico. Even in the coldest months, January and February, the temperature minimum is 21 °C (70 °F).   A wet autumn is followed by a somewhat cooler season with considerably less rain, from January to April. Caesar, this may have helped your plants to survive. Very interesting to know, that your plants survived continuous watering throughout your cooler season. However, Luc reported, his plants didn´t survive continuous watering on cooler places, like Puerto Vallarta.

Thank you to all, who have supplied information. Now, I believe to know, what caused the death of my plants. Certainly, the soil was not too wet. Further, it is unlikely, it was the drought. Responsible is the cold. As a tropical plant, roots are incapable to sufficiently supply the shoot at temperatures below about 15°C (59 °F). After 12 weeks of persistent temperatures, not much above 10°C (50 °F), hardly ever exceeding 15°C, the shoots withered and the whole plants deceased. The room was kept a few degrees colder, than the year before.
« Last Edit: April 29, 2019, 09:36:23 AM by Heinrich »

Caesar

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #21 on: May 12, 2019, 07:16:20 PM »
Perhaps temperature isn't the only factor. I finally ended up losing another one. 3 remain in pots, 1 in the ground.

I got a bunch of common cashew seeds from a friend, I'm going to sprout them and make my first attempt at grafting. Perhaps the Cerrado Cashew will do better on a Common Cashew Rootstock. If it works out with the first tree, I'll graft the remaining trees as well.

Caesar

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #22 on: June 06, 2019, 01:01:35 AM »
My seedling cashews are a week old, and they already match the Cerrado species in height and girth. I think I'll try grafting them soon. Here's the thing though...

This'll be my first time grafting anything. I've seen it in person, I've seen pics, videos and diagrams, and I've read about it, but since I've never actually done it, there's always the impression that I'm gonna mess everything up. My intention was to take a Cerrado Cashew, cut it at the base, defoliate it, shape it for a cleft graft, cut the Common Cashew and prepare the cleft, stick the scion knto the rootstock and tape it together with grafting tape. I have no idea if this is right, or if I'd be doing it wrong. Anyone got any pointers for a first time grafter?

LEOOEL

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #23 on: June 15, 2019, 05:39:42 PM »
I have both the Red and Yellow types of Cerrado Cashew and breeding for larger fruit; the photos are stock.



'Virtue' should be taught, learned and propagated, in order to save others and oneself.

Caesar

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Re: Cerrado Cashew (Anacardium humile)
« Reply #24 on: October 29, 2019, 02:49:44 PM »
You're breeding them? Do they reach maturity fast? And are your strains also free astringency and of the Cerrado Curse?

My last specimen died before I could graft it. I plan on getting more as soon as I'm able.