THE FIRST AFRICAN ELITE CASHEW HYBRIDS

This book provides briefs about botanical description of cashew, genetic diversity, farmers breeding preferences, conventional and molecular breeding. It outlines how cashew hybridization by controlled hand pollination was successful for the first time in Tanzania. It shows different phases of hybridization that took place to develop more hybrids with an objective of combining various desirable commercial traits. It also demonstrates how selection of the best hybrids in terms of yield and nut quality was undertaken which led to selection of 32 elite hybrids. These were used to establish genetic trials in two contrasting environments that enabled release of 22 hybrids in 2015 making Tanzania the first country in Africa and the world as a whole to do so.The book further gives detailed description of the hybrids covering morphological characteristics as well as their field performance in terms of yield, nut quality and reaction to major diseases and insect-pests. It provides also the information on the diseases and insect-pests of economic importance occurring in Tanzania, how to control them, as well as postharvest handling aspects of the crop.