Cashew is a tropical, perennial tree with large leaves and stems, widely adaptable to different harsh conditions such as drought, heavy rain or poor soil, sandy soil, soil with many stones. The tree can bear fruit after 4-5 years if grown from seeds and 3 years if grown from grafted trees.
Roots: The root system includes taproots and horizontal roots, they develop very strongly, spread widely and penetrate deeply to help the tree get water and nutrients in the deep soil layer.
Leaves: Belong to the simple leaf type, when the leaves first bloom, they are light green or pink, then gradually turn dark green when old. This is the photosynthetic organ that creates reserves for the tree, determining productivity.
Flowers: Belong to the cluster flower type, develop at the tip of the branch, the flowers are light pink and small. There are 2 types of flowers, male flowers and bisexual flowers, the ratio of male and bisexual flowers varies a lot depending on the environment and variety. Flowering at the end of the rainy season (November), the flowering period lasts 2-3 months.
Fruit: Belongs to the hard kernel type (cashew nut), is the part that develops from the ovary. After pollination, the ovary will develop rapidly and reach an average size of 2.6 – 3.1 cm long; 2- 2.3 cm wide, and the pseudo-fruit develops later from the flower base. The fruit development period lasts from 2-3 months.

MAIN GROWTH STAGES OF CASHEW TREE

Seedlings in the nursery

• Seedlings grown from seeds: seedlings can be planted after 30-45 days. However, this method has a slow fruiting time so it is often not chosen.
• Plants from grafted eyes: seedlings after 3 months of grafting, have at least 9 leaves, grow well and can be planted.

Basic construction period: Lasts from planting to 3-4 years. During this period, the tree produces many new leaves in a year (3-5 times), so it is necessary to provide enough nutrients for the tree, especially nitrogen fertilizer (N).

Exploitation period: From the 4th or 5th year onwards. During this period, the cashew tree usually sheds its old leaves and flowers at the same time in November-December (end of the rainy season), so nutrients need to be provided twice, basically at the beginning and end of the rainy season.