»Thinning and Pruning a Cashew Grove«
As an agronomic practice, thinning and pruning are done to improve on the yielding ability and capacity of the fruit.
Because pruning takes place following harvest, its preparation starts when harvesting the is taking place and it is done by identifying high yielding trees and best producing ones. Pruning allows trees to access direct sunlight to form canopy.
Cashew nut management
As pruning methods include rope measurement, it is done by tying a rope a round tree trunk and 30ft is identified as the correct spacing between high producing trees making particular trees to be identified for removal to reduce on competition.
Similarly, use chain saw to size up the tree following the 3 cut method for the tree to fall in the needed direction. First make a face cut in a diagonal fashion followed by a flat cut until it joins the first cut and finally the back cut done at the back side of the tree and slightly higher than the bottom corner of the initial wedge to control the direction of tree.
Don’t cut the tree all way through as it acts as a hitch and keep trunk of tree from coming towards the mid section and make a final cut at an angle to prevent water accumulation on top of the stump to reduce on rot and pest infestation.
Finally, coat the cut area with oil and cover it to avoid direct sunlight on the stump and finally remove the branches from a tree which are below eye-line for a proper canopy formation.
