[ Etat des connaissances sur l’amélioration variétale de l’anacardier et perspectives de recherche ]
Volume 48, Issue 2, April 2026, Pages 622–632
Adolphe Azonkpin1, Iboukoun Fidèle Lawin2, Kouami N’Djolosse3, Aliou Saidou4, and Antoine Abel Missihoun5
1 Centre de Recherches Agricoles Centre (CRA-Centre), Institut National des recherches Agricoles du Bénin (INRAB), BP 112 Savè, Benin
2 Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches Forestières (LERF), Université de Parakou (UP), BP 123, Parakou, Benin
3 Centre de Recherches Agricoles Centre (CRA-Centre), Institut National des recherches Agricoles du Bénin (INRAB), BP 112 Savè, Benin
4 Unité de Recherche sur la Gestion Intégrée des Sols et des Cultures, Laboratoire des Sciences du Sol, École des Sciences et Techniques de Production Végétale, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d’Abomey-Calavi, 01 BP 526, RP Cotonou, Benin
5 Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire et d’Analyse des Génomes, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques (FAST), Université d’Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Cotonou 01BP526, Benin
Original language: French
Copyright © 2026 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale L.), of the Anacardiaceae family, is a woody species with multiple uses. In order to further research into varietal selection and vegetative propagation of the species, it is important to review the current state of knowledge on the subject and to understand the aspects that are still poorly understood. The purpose of this bibliographic review is to provide existing information on varietal improvement of the species in order to identify areas for research and development. The search engines Science Direct, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and PubMed were used to search for peer-reviewed publications on the subject. Theses, dissertations, and books obtained from libraries were also consulted. A total of 78 articles and documents published between 1949 and 2024 were taken into account. It appears that varietal improvement of the cashew tree is much more concerned with the selection of high-performance cashew trees, grafted plants, and polyclonal seeds. Work has been carried out on both varietal selection and vegetative propagation. Previous work on selecting high-performance mother trees has taken into account criteria such as nut quality, productivity, and tree health, while neglecting the shape of the tree crown. The latter is an important criterion that promotes yield improvement. In order to improve the productivity of the species, further work needs to be undertaken on, among other things, varietal selection, grafting techniques, hybridization techniques, and graft propagation.
Author Keywords: Anacardium occidentale, grafting, selection, productivity.
Volume 48, Issue 2, April 2026, Pages 622–632
Adolphe Azonkpin1, Iboukoun Fidèle Lawin2, Kouami N’Djolosse3, Aliou Saidou4, and Antoine Abel Missihoun5
1 Centre de Recherches Agricoles Centre (CRA-Centre), Institut National des recherches Agricoles du Bénin (INRAB), BP 112 Savè, Benin
2 Laboratoire d’Etudes et de Recherches Forestières (LERF), Université de Parakou (UP), BP 123, Parakou, Benin
3 Centre de Recherches Agricoles Centre (CRA-Centre), Institut National des recherches Agricoles du Bénin (INRAB), BP 112 Savè, Benin
4 Unité de Recherche sur la Gestion Intégrée des Sols et des Cultures, Laboratoire des Sciences du Sol, École des Sciences et Techniques de Production Végétale, Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d’Abomey-Calavi, 01 BP 526, RP Cotonou, Benin
5 Laboratoire de Génétique Moléculaire et d’Analyse des Génomes, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques (FAST), Université d’Abomey-Calavi (UAC), Cotonou 01BP526, Benin
Original language: French
Copyright © 2026 ISSR Journals. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
The cashew tree (Anacardium occidentale L.), of the Anacardiaceae family, is a woody species with multiple uses. In order to further research into varietal selection and vegetative propagation of the species, it is important to review the current state of knowledge on the subject and to understand the aspects that are still poorly understood. The purpose of this bibliographic review is to provide existing information on varietal improvement of the species in order to identify areas for research and development. The search engines Science Direct, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and PubMed were used to search for peer-reviewed publications on the subject. Theses, dissertations, and books obtained from libraries were also consulted. A total of 78 articles and documents published between 1949 and 2024 were taken into account. It appears that varietal improvement of the cashew tree is much more concerned with the selection of high-performance cashew trees, grafted plants, and polyclonal seeds. Work has been carried out on both varietal selection and vegetative propagation. Previous work on selecting high-performance mother trees has taken into account criteria such as nut quality, productivity, and tree health, while neglecting the shape of the tree crown. The latter is an important criterion that promotes yield improvement. In order to improve the productivity of the species, further work needs to be undertaken on, among other things, varietal selection, grafting techniques, hybridization techniques, and graft propagation.
Author Keywords: Anacardium occidentale, grafting, selection, productivity.
Abstract: (french)
L’anacardier (Anacardium occidentale L.), de la famille des Anacardiaceae est une espèce ligneuse à intérêt multiple. Dans le but d’approfondir la recherche sur la sélection variétale et la multiplication végétative de l’espèce, il est important de faire l’état des connaissances de la thématique et d’appréhender les aspects encore peu connus. Cette synthèse bibliographique a pour objectif de fournir des informations existantes sur l’amélioration variétale de l’espèce afin d’identifier les axes de recherche et développement. Les moteurs de recherche Sciences Direct, Google Scholar, Scopus, Web of Sciences et PubMeb ont été utilisés pour la recherche des publications évaluées par les pairs sur la thématique. Les thèses, mémoires et livres obtenus dans les bibliothèques ont été également consultés. Au total 78 articles et documents publiés de 1949 à 2024 ont été pris en compte. Il ressort que l’amélioration variétale de l’anacardier concerne beaucoup plus la sélection d’anacardiers performants, les plants greffés et les semences polyclonales. Des travaux ont été autant réalisés sur la sélection variétale que sur la multiplication végétative. Les travaux antérieurs sur la sélection des arbres-mères performants ont pris en considération les critères de la qualité des noix, de productivité et de l’état sanitaire de l’arbre tout en négligeant la forme de la couronne de l’arbre. Ce dernier est un critère important qui favorise l’amélioration du rendement. Afin d’amélioration de la productivité de l’espèce, des travaux complémentaires méritent d’être entrepris entre autres, sur la sélection variétale, les techniques de greffage, les techniques d’hybridation et la multiplication des greffons.
Author Keywords: Anacardium occidentale, greffage, sélection, productivité.
How to Cite this Article
Adolphe Azonkpin, Iboukoun Fidèle Lawin, Kouami N’Djolosse, Aliou Saidou, and Antoine Abel Missihoun, “State of knowledge on cashew variety improvement and research prospects,” International Journal of Innovation and Applied Studies, vol. 48, no. 2, pp. 622–632, April 2026.
