Focusing on revitalizing cashew farming in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Embrapa develops technological routes focused on improving crop productivity. In 2024, the municipalities of Serra do Mel, the largest state producer of cashew nuts, and Porto do Mangue were awarded the implementation of eight Technological Reference Units (URT) focused on the cashew production system. The project is a partnership between Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical and the city halls of the respective municipalities. Researcher Luiz Augusto Lopes Serrano, from Embrapa, highlights the innovations that make up the showcases: “The technologies are successful results of several Embrapa projects in the areas of Genetic Improvement, Production Systems and Plant Health”. Researchers Carlos Alberto Kenji Taniguchi, Dheyne Silva Melo and Marlon Vagner Valentim Martins collaborate with the project. According to Serrano, “the best cashew clones already launched and others in the final testing phase were planted using the new planting techniques, and should be evaluated by the team for around six years, with the aim of identifying the best varieties, the better fertilization and the most effective powdery mildew control for this important cashew producing region”. Aline Saraiva, deputy head of Technology Transfer at the Unit, states that the technological units were designed as a means to teach producers the management techniques consolidated by Embrapa: “We have the idea that these spaces are large classrooms. Therefore, the main impact we expect is the adoption of this new knowledge. We are taking several clones to test which one is best adapted to that specific region. However, it is important that the producer also has knowledge of the management techniques recommended for each variety.” For Luiz Serrano, the implementation of the showcases will provide the beginning of the revitalization of cashew farming in these municipalities: “The showcases were installed in regions that still have a predominance of common cashew trees, with low productivity, in addition to low adoption of cultural practices. We noticed a significant loss of production due to the aging of common cashew trees and the lack of cultural management.” And he adds: “The state of Rio Grande do Norte presented in 2023, according to IBGE, a productivity of just 440 kilos of nuts per hectare, and several Embrapa cashew clones can reach over 2000 kilos of nuts per hectare, even in rainfed conditions, as long as appropriate fertilizer and powdery mildew management is adopted. Embrapa’s objective is to bring these new materials to producers, together with recommended cultural treatments, so that greater productivity can be achieved”.
Focusing on revitalizing cashew farming in the state of Rio Grande do Norte, Embrapa develops technological routes focused on improving crop productivity. In 2024, the municipalities of Serra do Mel, the largest state producer of cashew nuts, and Porto do Mangue were awarded the implementation of eight Technological Reference Units (URT) focused on the cashew production system. The project is a partnership between Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical and the city halls of the respective municipalities.
Researcher Luiz Augusto Lopes Serrano, from Embrapa, highlights the innovations that make up the showcases: “The technologies are successful results of several Embrapa projects in the areas of Genetic Improvement, Production Systems and Plant Health”. Researchers Carlos Alberto Kenji Taniguchi, Dheyne Silva Melo and Marlon Vagner Valentim Martins collaborate with the project.
According to Serrano, “the best cashew clones already launched and others in the final testing phase were planted using the new planting techniques, and should be evaluated by the team for around six years, with the aim of identifying the best varieties, the better fertilization and the most effective powdery mildew control for this important cashew producing region”.
Aline Saraiva, deputy head of Technology Transfer at the Unit, states that the technological units were designed as a means to teach producers the management techniques consolidated by Embrapa: “We have the idea that these spaces are large classrooms. Therefore, the main impact we expect is the adoption of this new knowledge. We are taking several clones to test which one is best adapted to that specific region. However, it is important that the producer also has knowledge of the management techniques recommended for each variety.”
For Luiz Serrano, the implementation of the showcases will provide the beginning of the revitalization of cashew farming in these municipalities: “The showcases were installed in regions that still have a predominance of the common cashew tree, with low productivity, in addition to low adoption of cultural practices. We noticed a significant loss of production due to the aging of common cashew trees and the lack of cultural management.”
And he adds: “The state of Rio Grande do Norte presented in 2023, according to IBGE, a productivity of just 440 kilos of nuts per hectare, and several Embrapa cashew clones can reach over 2000 kilos of nuts per hectare, even in rainfed conditions, as long as appropriate fertilizer and powdery mildew management is adopted. Embrapa’s objective is to bring these new materials to producers, together with recommended cultural treatments, so that greater productivity can be achieved”.
Tags: Cashew farming municipalities receive technological showcases
