Phenology of Anacardium Occidentale (Anacardiaceae) and relationship with climatic factors

Abstract

Anacardium occidentale (Anacardiaceae) is a species of great economic importance for Brazil and several other countries due to its food and medicinal uses. However, studies describing its reproductive phenological cycle are scarce. For this reason, this study aimed to describe the reproductive phenology of A. occidentale in Montes Claros de Goiás, state of Goiás, Brazil. Between June 2012 and July 2015, the phenophases of flower budding, anthesis, underripe fruit and ripe fruit were recorded monthly using the Fournier scale. Data were analyzed using the Fournier index, absence/presence method, and circular statistics. The data were correlated with the average, maximum, and minimum temperatures and the precipitation of the study area. Flowering and fruiting were synchronous in the dry season, and the two events ended with the onset of rainfall, resulting in a significant negative correlation between flowering and precipitation (rs = -0.73) and a significant positive correlation between fruiting and average temperature (rs = 0.70) and between fruiting and maximum temperature (rs = 0.41). The minimum temperature influenced when anthesis (rs = -0.64) and underripe fruit (rs = -0.37) would occur. The reproductive phenological events of A. occidentale are closely related to the climatic data of the studied area. A. occidentale presents reproductive strategies for species perpetuation in the study area.