Papaya is a tropical fruit native to tropical America that is now grown extensively in many warm regions. It is a quick growing plant that begins bearing fruit within 8-10 months. Papaya is a good source of vitamins and minerals and contains the enzyme papain. Papain is used to treat ulcers and skin blemishes. Papaya fruit can be eaten ripe or unripe and is used to make products like jam. Papaya grows best in warm, humid climates between 22-26 degrees C and requires annual rainfall between 1500-1800 mm. It is commonly propagated from seed.
2. • Ideal fruit for growing in kitchen garden, back yards of home
• Also grown extensively as filler plant in the orchards
• Papaya is quick growing
• Start bearing within 8-10 months of transplanting.
3. Origin and distribution
• Tropical and subtropical regions
• Native of tropical America.
• Presently, papaya is grown extensively in Australia,
Hawaii, India, Bangladesh, Srilanka, Malaya,
Myanmar, Taiwan, Peru, Florida, California, South
Africa and Kenya.
4. • Papaya is very refreshing and delicious fruit.
• It is a rich source of vitamins and minerals.
• The yellow pigment in papaya is due to caricaxanthin
5. • Contain a valuable proteolytic enzyme papain, which
helps in the digestion of protein rich foods
• Papain is manufactured from the white latex of unripe
papaya
• It is used for the treatment of ulcers and ailments
• Skin blemishes are said to vanish when treated with
papain.
6. USES
• Fruit, when fully ripe.
• The unripe fruit can be used as vegetable.
• Ripe fruits are used in preparation of jam, jelly, soft drinks, ice
cream etc.
• Young leaves are also used as vegetable in Java.
• Carpaine obtained from papaya is utilized as diuretic and heat
stimulant.
7. Temperature
• Tropical fruit
• Required warm and humid climate
• Temperature below 10⁰ C affects adversely on growth and
development of fruits
• At this temperature, the fruit can be develop flavor and causes
poor taste
• Dry climate characterized by a meagre rainfall tends to add the
sweetness of the fruit whereas wet climate with heavy rainfall
tends to reduce the sweetness.
• Papaya can’t tolerate hot summer and frost. The optimum
range of temperature is 22⁰-26⁰ C for papaya
8. Rainfall
• Annual rainfall should range between 1500 to 1800
mm and it should be evenly distributed.
• It can’t stand in waterlogged conditions.
Altitude
• It can be grown up to height of 1000 m above sea
level.
Soil
• A well-drained sandy loam soil rich in plants foods is
the best for papaya cultivation.
• The pH of soil should be within 6.0-7.0.
9. Variety:
(1) Shahi (developed by BARI from P-041 line, dioecious) (2)
Washington (3) Honey Dew (4) Coorg Honey Dew (hermaphrodite
but also female form present) (5) Ranchi (6) Co. 1-4.
Propagation:
• Papaya is propagated entirely from seed.
• Seeds used for raising seedlings should be fresh as their
viability is lost in about 45 days.
10. Preparation of seedbed and raising of seedlings:
Seeds before shoeing are treated with 3 g of Captan per kg of seed.
About 375 g seed and 100 m sq. area is sufficient to raise the seedlings
for transplanting one hectare. The seeds are sown 2-3 cm deep and 15
cm apart. The distance from row to row is also 15 cm. Light irrigation is
given immediately after sowing of the seed.
Aftercare and transplanting of seedlings:
• The seeds germinate in 2-3 weeks.
• 40-50 days old seedlings should be transplanted.
11. Raising of seedlings in polythene bags:
The seeds are sown in polythene bag of 22.5 cm X 15 cm size filled with a
mixture of farmyard manure, soil and sand in equal proportion. After
germination only one seedling should allowed to grow. Care should be taken
the bags should be ruptured at the bottom when transplanting.
Preparation of pit and Planting:
After preparation of land, pits of 50 cm X 50 cm X 50 cm should be dug and
filled with top soil and farmyard manure in 3:1 ratio. Three seedling are
planted per pit
Planting distance:
2 m x 2 m
Time of planting:
the best time for papaya planting is either July-September or February-
March.
12. Intercultural operations
Irrigation:
Generally, papaya is irrigated 4-5 days intervals in summer and 8-10
days in winter depending upon climate and soil conditions. Papaya
can’t tolerate wet feet. Therefore, heavy irrigation should be
avoided.
Harvesting:
Papaya trees set fruits within 8-10 months of their planting. In
another 4-6 months, depending upon the season, the fruits develop to
proper size. To avoid bird damage, fruits should be harvested
immediately when mature.
13. Maturity index
• The fruit is ready for harvesting when the
latex of the fruit becomes almost watery.
• When fruits attain ripening, the color
changes from green to yellowish green.
Yield: An average yield of about 40-50 t/ha in
the first year and about 20-25 t//ha in the
second year.
14. INSECT PESTS Fruit fly:
Spraying with Dipterex 80 SP @ 1 oz/12 liters of water.
DISEASES
Papaya mosaic:
Spraying with Malation 50 EC @ 250 ml/250 literrs of water.
Collar rot:
Field should be kept in well-drained condition. Spraying with Bordeaux mixture
@ 1% solution. Anthracnose: Spraying with Dithane M-45 @ 200 g/100 liters of
water.
15. PROBLEM IN PAPAYA CULTIVATION
• Papaya can’t tolerate waterlogging condition. Therefore,
its require high land which is often difficult to manage the
land.
• Papaya being a dioecious, true type plant can’t be
maintained.
• Mosaic virus is another problem.
• Storage problem
16. Causes of unfruitfulness of papaya
• Problem of sex
• Temperature and dry weather
• Soil factor
• Nutrients (Boron deficiency)
• Prolonged water stress
