Divisi
When to plant Cashew in BOBONONG
CENTRAL, Botswana
Cashew is a tough evergreen tree that lives and bears nuts for 20 years or more.
| Fit | Favourable |
|---|---|
| When to plant (establish) | 2 Mar 2027 – 9 Aug 2027 opens in 22 weeks |
| Expected harvest | about 0.9 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 11 Apr 2027. That is the point in the window where the rains are most reliably established.
This season's rainfall outlook for BOBONONG leans dry, so these dates sit later than the long-run average. Planting on the date you are used to risks germinating into a false start and having to replant.
Planting after 9 Aug 2027 leaves the crop short of season: it runs into the dry months before it has finished filling.
What decides this in BOBONONG
| Rain and temperature | 76% |
|---|---|
| The soil | 96% |
| The lie of the land | 96% |
For cashew in BOBONONG, rain and temperature is the tightest of the three at 76%. This one is fixed. It is why the planting window above is where it is — hitting those dates is the whole of your control here.
The 2026/27 season in BOBONONG
| Rainy seasons | One each year — one chance to plant, so timing carries it |
|---|---|
| When the rains are expected | November 2026 to March 2027 |
| Rain in a typical year | About 403 mm |
| This season's rain | Leaning dry — January, February, November and December look short of rain. Plant at the early end of the window, favour quicker and more drought-tolerant crops, and keep moisture in the soil: mulch, and weed early. |
| This season's heat | Hotter than usual — about +2.3 °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 short crop, and only if timed to it, warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season |
| Ground this covers | 2 kinds of ground. The season below is the largest that farms — about 36% of this area. |
| 64% | too dry for rain-fed cropping without irrigation; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season no rain-fed season · about 340 mm |
|---|---|
| 36% | enough rain for one short crop, and only if timed to it; warm all year, so nothing but rain ends the season 96 growing days · about 380 mm · November to March |
last updated 17 September 2026
Temperature holds back about 40% 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 BOBONONG
| Planting material | About 156 plants per hectare |
|---|---|
| Nitrogen (N) | About 32 kg per hectare |
| Phosphate (P₂O₅) | About 8 kg per hectare |
| Potash (K₂O) | About 20 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
Grow Cashew with a plan, not a guess
Everything above describes BOBONONG 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.
This calendar moves
Planting windows shift with the forecast. Leave your email and we'll send what changed, and a note when planting time nears — a couple of emails a month at most.
Frequently asked questions
Will cashew grow well in BOBONONG?
BOBONONG rates as favourable for cashew.
When should I plant cashew in BOBONONG?
Typically 2 Mar 2027 to 9 Aug 2027, forecast-adjusted.
Is this exact for my own field?
No — these are readings taken across BOBONONG, not on your field. Soil, slope and rainfall change from one farm to the next. Check your own location to see your own numbers.
