Cashew crop revitalization, the next goal for fruit growing in Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

An activity that generates around R$ 1 billion a year for the coffers of Rio Grande do Norte and moves the economy by bringing jobs and income to the cities of the interior, fruit growing is the main agricultural asset of the state. Currently based on the 4 Ms, melon, watermelon, papaya and mango, the Potiguar sector is now seeking to reinvent itself and open up new fronts for crops, or revive old crops. This is the case of cashew cultivation, a crop originating in the North-Northeast of Brazil with the first reference dating from 1,558 and which already occupied 514,934 hectares in mid-1986, according to data from Embrapa, but lost ground due to the droughts registered between 2012 and 2017 and the advance of pests and diseases (whitefly, anthracnose and powdery mildew), which led to a 60.7% reduction in cultivated hectares in Rio Grande do Norte. “This was due to the long drought we had in 2017 with significant losses in the orchards from Severiano Melo and also in Serra do Mel, ...