KALRO Macadamia Nut

Macadamia belongs to the family Proteaceae and is native to south-eastern Queensland, Australia where it grows in the wild. Although there are ten species only two (Macadamia integrifolia [smooth-shelled type) and Macadamia tetraphylla [rough-shelled type]) are edible. Although macadamia was introduced in Kenya from Australia in 1946, it was not until 1964 that the Ministry of Agriculture initiated the planting of its seedlings by small-scale farmers mainly in Eastern and Central Provinces (Hamilton, 1971; Harris, 2004). It is grown as an additional cash crop to coffee and tea (Kenya Nut Annual, 2003). Macadamia has undergone a lot of improvement through selection, breeding, and propagation.