Among the cultivated fruit trees, cashew is distinguished in social and economic context for the high nutritional and commercial value of its parts, whose production and industrialization guarantee an expressive income flow, besides generating thousands of jobs. This study aimed at evaluating physical-chemical characteristics of precocious dwarf cashew nuts and stalks from Experimental Unit of EMBRAPA Technological Business, located in Nova Porteirinha district, State of Minas Gerais. Clones CCP 76, CCP 06, and CCP 1001 e CCP 09 were utilized corresponding to the four treatments. The experiment was designed in a completely-randomized block with five replications and four fruits per parcel. The stalks were harvested in September of 2002 and carried in harvest trays to Laboratory of Plant Physiology and Post-harvest Technology of Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros (UNIMONTES), situated in Campus of Janaúba-MG. Physical and Chemical characteristics were evaluated and subjected to variance analysis and Tukey test. Amongst evaluated materials, stalks of CCP 76 clone showed appropriate aspect of market purposes in nature, with deep orange coloration; pear-shaped format, good chemical features and stalks with adjusted firmness, making possible greater post-harvest conservation. Although good characteristics, the clone CCP 09 presented little intense orange coloration and low firmness. Probably the larger diameter stalk is minor firmness at post-harvest will be.
Anacardium ocidentale L.; pseudofruits; clones; parameters physical-chemical; dwarf cashew
