The objective of this work was to evaluate the technique of magnetic resonance tomography for cashew nut analysis, compared to the traditional method of clone selection. Samples of cashew nut from 40 clones harvested in 2002 were analyzed using both methods. Using traditional method most of clones showed high and medium values of the industrial indicators nut and seed mass and industrial yield and low values of seed breakage. By magnetic resonance tomography majority of clones showed cashew nuts with empty spaces between the nut and the endocarp, which can protect the seed during decortication. The results for the two methods were complementary and the tomography, besides being a promising option for the quality evaluation of cashew nut, can give support to other researches related to cashew nut study.
Anacardium occidentale; selection; clones; image analysis
