Kilograms are not the crop if the buyer will not take them

A high-yielding mango that bruises in the crate, a guava full of seed, or a cashew with a kernel nobody wants will not pay the labour. Breeding programmes track quality, colour, shelf life, and use for a reason: the market does too.

Score more than weight

• Fresh local sale, export, juice, dry nut, oil, or dual fruit-and-nut — pick the use before you pick the line.
• Watch shelf life and handling, not only flavour at the tree.
• Secondary product (cashew apple, processing pulp) is part of the yield if you actually have a buyer for it.

Log harvest on the existing plant harvest action (quantity, notes on grade). Compare saleable yield, not only total kilograms on the tree.

The farm record plus the buyer’s complaint is enough to drop a line that looks heavy and sells poorly.

In this series

• Trial a small block before you fill the orchard
• Buy clean, uniform planting material — not the cheapest seedling
• Choose for the disease you already have, not the bunch you hope for
• Kilograms are not the crop if the buyer will not take them
• Compact trees are a labour tool, not a fashion
• Match the plant to the soil, the water, and the actual buyer