Cashew, Anacardium oidentalie Linn, is a species of plant in the Dicotyledonaceae, Sapotaceae, Lacertaceae, and Cashew genera. It is also known as Catalpa as in the tree, chicken cashew nuts, mesquite fruit. Evergreen tree, trunk erect, up to 10 meters high. Cashew is a kidney-shaped nut, Sapindales, Lacertaceae, cashew genus. Native to the Americas.

Cashews are rich in nutritional value, can be fried, can also be used for medicinal purposes, for the world famous one of the four major dried fruits. Its edible part is born in the top of the kidney-shaped part of the pseudo-fruit, about 25 mm long, from greenish gray to yellowish brown (if the selection of the color of the white, may be bleached, do not buy), the shell is hard, wrapped with seed kernels, sweet as honey, contains a high calorie content, and the source of its calories is mainly fat, followed by carbohydrates and proteins.

Basic introduction Chinese name: cashew Latin name: Anacardium oidentalie Linn Alias: chicken cashew, mesquite, evergreen tree binomial law: Anacardium oidentale phylum: angiosperm phylum phylum: dicotyledonous phyla subclass: primitive perianth subclass? Order : Sapindales Suborder : Lacertaceae Family : Lacertaceae Group : Cashews Genus : Cashews Species : Cashews Origin : Northeastern Brazil, up to latitude 10°S Functions : Nourishes the brain, nourishes the blood, tonifies the kidneys, strengthens the spleen, and lowers the rebellious qi Morphological features,Distribution,Growth habit,Cultivation techniques,Propagation,Management,Disease control and insect pests,Main values,Medicinal use,Economy,Edible,Toxicity,Storage,Shopping for cashews, etc. Morphological features Shrubs or small trees, 4-10 m tall; branchlets yellow-brown, glabrous or subglabrous. Leaves leathery, obovate, 8-14 cm long, 6-8.5 cm wide, apex rounded, truncate or retuse, base broadly cuneate, entire, glabrous on both surfaces, lateral veins ca. 12 pairs, lateral and reticulate veins raised on both surfaces; petiole 1-1.5 cm long. Panicles broad, much-branched, arranged in corymbs, 10-20 cm long, many-flowered and crowded, densely rust-colored puberulent; bracts ovate-lanceolate, 5-10 mm long, abaxially rust-colored puberulent; flowers yellow, gregarious, sessile or shortly pedicellate; calyx densely rust-colored puberulent outside, lobes ovate-lanceolate, apex acute, ca. 4 mm long, ca. 1.5 mm broad; petals linear-lanceolate, 7-9 mm long, ca. 1.2 mm broad; petiole 1.2 mm long. linear-lanceolate, 7-9 mm long, ca. 1.2 mm wide, outside rust-colored puberulent, inside sparsely hairy or subglabrous, revolute at anthesis; stamens 7-10, usually only 1 developed, 8-9 mm long, 5-6 mm in bisexual flowers, sterile stamens shorter (3-4 mm long), filaments more or less connate at base, anthers small, ovate-orbicular; ovary obovoid, ca. 2 mm long, glabrous, styles subulate, 4-5 mm long. Drupe reniform, compressed on both sides, 2-2.5 cm long, ca. 1.5 cm wide, fruit base supported by fleshy pyriform or turbinate-shaped pseudocarp, pseudocarp 3-7 cm long, 4-5 cm at widest point, purplish-red at maturity; seeds reniform, 1.5-2 cm long, ca. 1 cm wide. Distribution Native to northeastern Brazil, within 10 ° S. Introduced into Asia and Africa in the 16th century, it has now spread to countries in East Africa and South Asia. The world's cashew planting area of the larger countries are India, Brazil, Vietnam, Mozambique, Tanzania. In China, cashew nuts are mainly distributed in Hainan and Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Taiwan are also introduced. Growth habit The cashew is highly adaptable, and is a temperature-loving, strongly positive species. Resistant to drought and barren, with a certain degree of wind resistance. To grow below 400 meters above sea level is appropriate. The soil requirements are not high, in addition to heavy clay and limestone on the poor development, in the soil organic matter content of less than 1% of the red soil, sandy soil or rocky mountains can grow. Cashews are not cold hardy and require high temperatures during the growing period. Average monthly temperature 23-30 ℃ flowering and fruiting normal, 20 ℃ slow growth, below 17 ℃, susceptible to cold damage, below 15 ℃ is seriously victimized by death. Annual sunshine 2000 hours or more, annual precipitation of 1000-1600 mm is preferable. Not suitable for planting in areas where the water table is too high or waterlogged during the rainy season. Avoid cloudy and rainy in the flowering period. The growth period is usually at the beginning of the rainy season. 4-5-year-old trees have a main root up to 5 meters deep, with well-developed lateral roots, and 6-year-old trees have lateral roots up to about 7 meters long. After planting, it blooms in 2 years, bears fruit in 3 years, and reaches its full bloom in 8 years, and its full bloom lasts 15-25 years. Cultivation techniques Reproduction methods Because of the instability of the shape of the yield of the offspring of cashew seedlings, asexual reproduction is mostly used. Cashew asexual propagation techniques include crimping, plugging, epigerm grafting, set grafting, leaning grafting, budding, splitting grafting, cutting grafting, cork grafting, tissue culture and so on. Cashew tree Seedling rate can be increased by 61.11% by using 30 mg/100 g of indole butyric acid ITT for 24 hours; seedling rate can be increased by 50% by using lukewarm water at room temperature of 55℃ for 24 hours. In addition, the use of 60 mg/100 g of ITT for 24 hours and 1/2 of Adenike (ADNK) for 24 hours also promoted the germination of cashew seeds. The best results in promoting high seedling growth were obtained by soaking seeds in 90 mg/100 g of naphthalene acetic acid (NAA) for 24 hours. Pressing Aerial pressing of cashew seedlings should be carried out in February-April or October-November every year, with the highest survival rate of over 93%. The age of the mother plant is best below 10 years old, 35 days after the pressure strip can be rooted, 45 days can be separated from the mother tree, if the age of the mother plant is more than 20 years old, it is difficult to root after the pressure strip. Peat, moss and shavings are the best materials to use. Before the pressure strip propagation with 0.00025 g / ml of ethylene agent or 0.001 g / ml of chlormequat chloride treatment of the mother tree, and then 0.003-0.005 g / ml of ITT and 0.0002 g / ml of p-carboxyphenylmethyl treatment of its aerial pressure strips, which can promote the branching rooting, increase the number of roots and root length. Tissue culture Cotyledonary explants cultured on medium supplemented with 0.5 mg/l IAA and 0.5 mg/l agonist can form organs directly, and complete plants directly after about 5 weeks without further cultivation and induction of vegetative rooting. Management Shaping and pruning Shaping and pruning can regulate the canopy structure and improve the ventilation and light transmission of the tree, thus increasing the fruit set rate and yield. The principle of young cashew tree pruning is that it is better to be light rather than heavy, earlier rather than later, using a phased approach to pruning in batches, pyramidal pruning and shaping is effective. Fertilizer Although the cashew tree is resistant to barrenness and drought, cultivation practice has proved that the cashew tree growing in the natural state is almost no yield. Adult fruit trees and then fertilize the yield will increase exponentially. From the type of fertilizer application, N, P, K mixed application of yield increase effect is the best; followed by single application of P, again N, P mixed application. Higher levels of N can extend the flowering period, while higher levels of P and K shorten the flowering period. Annual application of N600 grams per plant, P200 grams per plant, K200 grams per plant can significantly increase the single nut tree, improve the total yield and kernel yield. Disease and Pest Control Cashew nuts are subject to more than 60 kinds of diseases and pests at different stages of their growth. Among them, cashew diseases mainly include inflorescence blight, failure disease, rheumatism, branch rot and defoliation disease, leaf rot, yellow leaf spot disease, leaflet disease, etc. Insect pests mainly include cashew hornworm, cashew moth, cashew iron moth and golden tortoise, etc. The cashew iron moth is a kind of insect that can cause damage to nuts. Cashew iron moth is a cashew tree stem pest, its control is best in July-August egg-laying period, generally available 0.15% carbaryl or 0.05% monocrotophos treatment of cashew trees *** roots. The larvae of the Golden Tortoise mainly harm the roots of cashew trees, and the method of chemical control is to apply 1 kg of active ingredient per hectare of the best effect of the stone sulfur synthetics, and the insect population is reduced by 74.4% after 15 days of drug use. The main value Medicinal medicine False fruit is formed by the receptacle of the fleshy fruit, also known as "pear fruit", is formed by the receptacle of the fleshy fruit, gyroscopic, flat rhombic and ovoid, bright red, orange and yellow-green mixed colors. Fruit flesh is crisp and juicy, containing 87.8% water, 11.6% carbohydrates, 0.2% protein, 0.1% fat, but also contains a variety of vitamins and calcium, phosphorus, iron and other mineral elements, with favorable water, dehumidification, decongestive effect, can prevent and control gastrointestinal diseases, chronic dysentery and so on. True fruit is born at the top of the pseudo-fruit kidney-shaped nut, about 25 millimeters long, from greenish gray to yellowish brown, hard shell, covered with seed kernels, which is what we often say "cashews". It is very nutritious, containing up to 47% fat, 21.2% protein, 22.3% carbohydrates, also contains A, B1, B2 and other vitamins and minerals, especially manganese, chromium, magnesium, selenium and other trace elements, with antioxidant, anti-aging, anti-tumor and anti-cardiovascular disease effects. The fat contained in the unsaturated fatty acids, of which oleic acid accounted for 67.4% of the total fatty acids, linoleic acid accounted for 19.8%, is high blood fat, coronary heart disease patients of the therapeutic fruit. Cashews in the content of vitamin B1 is second only to sesame seeds and peanuts, have to replenish energy, eliminate fatigue effect, suitable for people prone to fatigue to eat. Cashews are rich in vitamin A, is an excellent antioxidant, can make the skin glossy, good color. Cashews also have the effect of lactation, beneficial to women with insufficient milk secretion after childbirth. Cashews contain a large number of protease inhibitors, which can control cancer conditions. Regular consumption of cashews has a strong body, improve the body's ability to resist disease, enhance ***, increase body weight and other effects. Chinese medicine believes that cashew nuts taste sweet, flat, non-toxic. Can cure cough, heartburn, thirst. Gleanings from the Materia Medica" cloud: cashew nut kernel main thirst, moisturize the lungs, to annoy, in addition to phlegm. The Sea Drugs Materia Medica also said: the main irritability, heart boredom, phlegm, typhoid fever, clearing snot, coughing against the upper air. Economy False fruits can be eaten raw or made juice, jam, preserves, canning and winemaking. Seeds fried, taste like peanuts, can be sweet or salty, can also be processed pastry or candy, high oil content, for the top quality edible oil, mostly used for hardening chocolate candy raw materials. Shell oil is an excellent antiseptic or waterproofing agent, and can also be extracted to make quebracho extracts. The wood is rot-resistant and can be used for shipbuilding. The bark is used to kill insects, treat termites and make non-fading ink. Eating Cashews are high in calories, with the main source of calories being fat, followed by carbohydrates and protein. Cashews contain up to twice as much protein as the average cereal crop, and contain a complementary range of amino acids to those found in grains. Cashews have a sweet, crisp flavor and are most commonly eaten as a snack, like peanuts. The most common way to eat cashews is to pass them in boiling oil, then pick them up and eat them immediately, making them an ideal dish for drinking. If it is a dish, there are cashew nut chicken, cashew nut shrimp, cold cashew nuts celery bamboo, cashew nuts fried scallops and so on. Making soup with cashew nuts does not seem to be common, but for many vegetarians, cashew nuts are also good soup ingredients, commonly used like peanuts and chestnuts. For example, vegetable cashew soup, pumpkin cashew thick soup, burdock cashew soup, lotus barley cashew soup, asparagus cashew golden mushroom soup, and so on. Toxic Plant This species is a poisonous plant included in the Chinese Plant Atlas database. The toxicity of this species is that the fruit rind and seed coat are poisonous, and its aqueous extract causes stinging, redness, swelling and blistering when it comes into contact with the skin. Accidental ingestion causes tingling of the tongue and abdominal pain. Both aqueous and alcoholic extracts of the rind given intravenously to anesthetized cats can lower blood pressure, and are more toxic to small fish. Cashews contain a variety of allergens and may cause some allergic reactions in people with allergies. The cashew shell is rich in fat, but this fat is toxic. Because cashew nuts are delicious and have certain therapeutic effects, many people like to eat. But eat too much, often appear some allergic symptoms, mild abdominal pain, nausea, lips, eyelid edema, pharyngeal itching, eyes, ears, nose itching, sneezing, sneezing, dizziness, panic; serious children with the whole body from the wind, adults anaphylactic shock; the most dangerous than the respiratory tract edema. If the laryngeal edema, can lead to asthma, asphyxia, failure to rescue can lead to death. Especially the original bronchial asthma, the condition will be more serious. During an asthma attack, bronchial susceptibility to *** substances increases. Certain components of cashews can cause a type I allergic reaction in asthmatics, followed by a series of clinical allergies. Storage Should be stored in a sealed jar of cashews, placed in the freezer refrigerated storage, or placed in a cool, ventilated place, avoid direct sunlight, and should be consumed as soon as possible. Cashew shopping 1, select the appearance of a complete crescent-shaped, white color, full, fragrant smell, rich in oil, no moths, spots for the best; and sticky hands or moisture phenomenon, said the freshness is not enough. 2, it is best to soak the washed cashew nuts for 5 hours before use. 3, should be stored in a sealed jar, into the freezer refrigerated storage, or placed in a cool place, ventilated place, avoid direct sunlight.