Most breeding programs of perennial crops have great limitation on land availability for experimental plots. The purpose of this work is to introduce a new method here called "Intensive Early Selection" (IES), to be used in the cashew breeding with the aim of increasing the genetic gain per area and time. It is a simple method that uses a density of plants four times higher than the traditional system and an early selection based on characters with high heritability, when the plants reach two years old. The analysis results demonstrate greater effectiveness and feasibility of applying this approach over the conventional system of breeding in this crop.
Anacardium occidentale L.; breeding; genetic gain
