Whole Cashew Seeds Prove Most Successful in Maros

Image: article cover, from Muchtar et al. (2024), Jurnal Wasian, licensed CC BY 4.0.

Planting cashew seeds (Anacardium occidentale L.) directly in the field without any treatment has proven to give the best results. Research in the educational forest area of Hasanuddin University in Bengo-bengo, Maros Regency, South Sulawesi, recorded that whole seeds germinated up to 97.76 per cent. The research team from Universitas Indonesia Timur and Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar compared them with seeds whose wings were sliced (81.06 per cent) and split (88.86 per cent).

In addition to the highest germination rate, whole seeds also produced better stem diameter growth and leaf number. However, the study noted that the treatment had no significant effect on height growth and leaf number. The researchers suspect that sliced or split seeds are more susceptible to soil fungi and bacteria, especially in moist conditions, thus inhibiting the germination process.

For farmers and land managers, this result offers a simpler and cheaper planting method: there is no need to damage the seed coat before planting. Cashew is known to be drought-tolerant and able to grow on degraded land, making it suitable for the rehabilitation of critical lands. The study concludes that planting whole seeds can support seedling growth, forest conservation, and reduce the risk of pest attacks.

Source and how to cite

This story is based on the research article Analysis of the Success and Vigour of Cashew Seedlings Through Direct Seed Planting (Anacardium occidentale L.) for Sustainable Land Management by Asikin Muchtar, Nirwana Nirwana, Wahyullah Wahyullah, Mahmud Mahmud and Ummu Kultsum, published in Jurnal Wasian Vol. 11 No. 2 (2024). The full article is free to read on the Jurnal Wasian website.

Cite the original article (APA 7):

Muchtar, A., Nirwana, N., Wahyullah, W., Mahmud, M., & Kultsum, U. (2024). Analysis of the Success and Vigour of Cashew Seedlings Through Direct Seed Planting (Anacardium occidentale L.) for Sustainable Land Management. Jurnal Wasian, 11(2), 58–64. https://doi.org/10.62142/k2c42y88

If you use these findings in coursework, a thesis or other writing, cite the original article above, not this news story. The original article is licensed CC BY 4.0.