Source of variation Degree of freedom Period of appearance Rate of flower types First flowers Completed appearance of flowers Cashew nut Apple Male Abnormal Hermaphrodite Season 1 4.71* 5.20* 27.70*** 111.10*** 2.36 ns 12.17*** 7.21** Area 1 4.67* 6.96** 18.14*** 13.86*** 8.15** 5.17* 23.00*** Cultivar characteristics 1 0.01ns 0.00 ns 0.01 ns 0.32 ns 1.77 ns 0.06 ns 0.79 ns Season*Area 1 17.23*** 7.44** 7.67** 8.01** 1.39 ns 116.54*** 147.61*** Season* Cultivar characteristics 1 2.45 ns 0.11 ns 1.39 ns 2.17 ns 0.00 ns 0.34 ns 0.79 ns Area*Cultivar characteristics 1 0.11 ns 0.75 ns 1.07 ns 3.50 ns 0.03 ns 0.01 ns 0.18 ns Season*Area*Cultivar 1 2.87 ns 0.06 ns 0.02 ns 0.32 ns 0.04 ns 0.35 ns 0.01 ns

Table 1: Three way ANOVA (F values) of the cashew plant phenology regarding season of plant production, geographical area and the cultivars characteristics.