When to plant Cashew in Luau

Moxico, Angola

Known here as cajueiro · caju

Cashew is a tough evergreen tree that lives and bears nuts for 20 years or more.

Cashew in Luau, rain-fed and with irrigation
Measure	Rain-fed	With irrigation
Fit	Favourable
When to plant (establish)	14 Sep 2026 – 25 Mar 2027 open now	21 Jan 2026 – 1 Jan 2027
Expected harvest	about 1.5 t/ha	about 2.0 t/ha
Bearing cycle	60–90 days per crop once the plant is established. Planting to the first harvest takes longer than one cycle.
Work it takes	57–127 days per hectare, by hand

Rain-fed. These dates are worked out from each place's own rainfall, for a field watered by the season — with irrigation a window can open earlier, close later, or come round more than once a year. Check your own field under What grows, or get the Divisi app for a calendar dated to your farm.

If you only get one chance to plant, aim for around 12 Jan 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.

This season's rainfall outlook for Luau is close to normal, so these dates match the pattern the area usually follows.

Planting after 25 Mar 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.

What decides this in Luau

Rain and temperature	96%
The soil	96%
The lie of the land	60%

For cashew in Luau, the lie of the land is the tightest of the three at 60%. You cannot flatten it, but you can farm it: plant along the contour rather than up and down, ridge or tie ridges to hold water on the slope, and expect shallower rooting than the crop would manage on flat ground.

The 2026/27 season in Luau

Rainy seasons	One each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it
When the rains are expected	October 2026 to May 2027
Rain in a typical year	About 1,221 mm
This season's rain	Rain close to usual — plan around about 1,221 mm falling roughly when it always does
This season's heat	Hotter than usual — about +1.3 °C over the growing months. Heat makes the same rain do less, so a dry spell bites sooner: do not plant late, and shade or mulch what you can.
What that supports	enough rain for one full main crop, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season
Ground this covers	One kind of ground throughout.

last updated 16 September 2026

Frost and pest pressure hold back about 15% of yield here.

What cashew needs to grow here

Soil it likes	well-drained sand or sandy loam soil
Soil sourness (pH)	Happiest between pH 4.5 and 6.5
Spacing	800 cm between rows, 800 cm between plants
Feed it most with	sulphur, zinc and boron

What it takes to grow cashew in Luau

Planting material	About 156 plants per hectare
Nitrogen (N)	About 52 kg per hectare
Phosphate (P₂O₅)	About 14 kg per hectare
Potash (K₂O)	About 33 kg per hectare
In the shops	A basal compound at planting — Compound D, or an NPK blend — covers the phosphate and potash. A nitrogen top dressing — urea or AN — goes on once the crop is established.
Hand work	57–127 days per hectare, by hand

These are the nutrients a cashew crop of that size carries off the field. What you actually apply depends on what your soil already holds — which is what a soil test, or the app's field records, tell you.

What to watch for

Pest/disease risk — manageable

Grow Cashew with a plan, not a guess

Everything above describes Luau as a whole — your own soil, slope and rainfall will shift the dates. The Divisi app works them out for your field, and dates each job that follows.

Or check your field first

Cashew in nearby districts

How to grow Cashew, step by step Land preparation to harvest — every task, in order

Frequently asked questions

Will cashew grow well in Luau?

Luau rates as favourable for cashew.

When should I plant cashew in Luau?

Typically 14 Sep 2026 to 25 Mar 2027, forecast-adjusted.

Is this exact for my own field?

No — these are readings taken across Luau, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.