Addressing the Post-harvest Wastages and Under-utilization of Cashew Apple in Nigeria – A Review
##plugins.themes.academic_pro.article.main##
Abstract
This review reported the underutilization of cashew apple fruits in Nigeria and how it can mitigated. This trend has become worrisome as much attention has been placed on cashew nut processing while very little attention is placed on the apple which are mostly left to rot away in the farm. There is lack of knowledge and skills in the processing and post-harvest management of cashew apple and its products. Other challenges may include unavailability and affordability of cashew apple handling and processing technologies, and low level of cashew apple consumption as a result of its inherent astringent compounds. To address these wastages the awareness on the use of simple juice extracting machine to express the juice from the apple was reported. Cashew apple juice is very rich in vitamins and mineral scan be processed into a variety of products, such as juice, wine, syrups, jam, bioethanol etc. Also training and retraining of cashew farmers in some cashew producing areas on the use of these simple and adaptable technologies was also reported.