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Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L) is an important cash crop cultivated by about 3 million households in Africa and serves as the livelihood for many African farmers, especially Ghana. Despite the importance of cashew as a commodity crop with increasing cultivation in Northern Ghana, the crop is challenged with problems such as, low and variable nut yields, low kernel out turn percentage and susceptibility to insect pests as a result of establishing cashew farms with unselected seeds. In order to address the challenges, the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana established a clonal evaluation trial in Northern Ghana (dry savanna vegetation) to indentify promising clones for subsequent distribution to cashew farmers as an interim measure. The trials consisted of ten different clones planted in Randomised Completed Block Design (RCBD) with four replicates. Parameters evaluated were yield, yield efficiency, nut weight, percentage out turn and canopy area. Data analysis was performed with Gen Stat version 11.0 and the results revealed significant differences (P < 0.05) in the performance of the clones in all the parameters considered. Such differences allowed the identification of promising clones over other clones tested. A few clones combined two or three traits (parameters) which were significantly different from the rest of the clones evaluated. No single clone was found to be significantly different from the rest in terms of all the parameters considered. However a greater proportion of the clones were found to produce yields far above average yields recorded by unselected cashew trees in farmers' fields. Clones W266 and W278 seem outstanding for most of the parameters considered, though not exclusive.

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Palatable and acceptable kola nuts for chewing are predominately obtained through curing. Curing involves the storage of fresh nuts in cane baskets lined with Musa sapientum (Linn) leaves or Mitragyna stipulosa (DC) leaves, with occasional turning and replacement of the leaves. The study explored how sensory attributes of kola nuts varied with curing duration (1 to 9 weeks) for phenolics and other biochemical compounds during the curing process of kola. The organoleptic assessment indicated that there are biochemical substances in the kola that influence the taste and the overall quality of the nuts. It was also clear that these biochemical substances are already present in the fresh nuts as precursors and are developed during the curing process. Total polyphenols could not be used wholly to account for astringency and bitterness in kola nuts. A subgroup, o-dihydric phenols could be better used to partly account for astringency and therefore as a marker.