The Impact of Cashew (Anacardium Occidentale) on Forest Soil

Abstract

SUMMARYThe impact of a 20-year-old cashew plantation on a forest soil was evaluated by comparing the properties of soil under cashew with that under an adjoining logged rain forest. The levels of organic carbon, nitrogen, exchangeable calcium and magnesium, and available phosphorus were similar under logged forest and cashew, suggesting that organic matter and nutrient cycles in a cashew plantation are similar to those in a logged rain forest and that cashew has no significant adverse effect on soil organic matter and nutrient status.