Papaya Seeds From Around the World

Each 8 ounce bottle of JPG01 Plant Growth Stimulator makes 16 gallons spray-on solution, you can also use a drench and pour it around the base of the plant if you prefer. The bottle comes with a 1/2 ounce measuring spoon, simply mix a half ounce of plant growth stimulator with a gallon of water and spray onto the plants, or drench the soil around the plant. :

Spray plants weekly, best to apply in early morning/late evening. Start spraying when plants are young. Can be sprayed onto vegetable plants upto harvest. Mix 1/2 ounce stimulator with one gallon of water.

Seed treatment: Prior to planting, make a weak solution of fungide/water ( any brand
of gardening fungide will do ) and soak seeds in it for 5 minutes.

For small scale use:
Start seeds in trays using good grade potting soil. Treat soil with fungicide before
planting. Transplant seedlings in late afternoon to avoid shock.

Nursery Practice:
Prepare nursery beds of 15 ft. x 3 ft. Apply and work in a lot of well decomposed cow
manure 20 days before sowing.
Make ½” deep furrows at distance of 1½” apart. Sow seeds giving a spacing of ½”. Fill
the furrows with1:1 mixture of dry crumbled leaves and soil. Cover the beds with black
polythene sheet or straw. Spray water regularly to maintain the top bed moisture, remove
top cover; and lightly irrigate to maintain constant moisture. One or two times spray with
mild fungicide solution. When the seedligs grow to a height of 2″, transplant them to a
separate bed at a distance of 6″x6″ or transfer into small perforated polythene bags filled
with 1:1 seived soil and cow dung ensuring that the plant depth does not exceed 1½”.
When the plant attains 4-6″ height, it will be ready to transfer into actual field.
Caution: Transplanting into polythene should be done under shady conditions
and be kept for at least two days under shade.

HOME FRUIT PRODUCTION–PAPAYA
Julian W. Sauls
Extension Horticulturist
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/homefruit/papaya/papaya.html

Papaya is native to Central America and is grown in tropical and warmer subtropical
areas worldwide. It is a large herbaceous plant, usually with a single, straight trunk
which can reach to 30 feet. The leaves are large (up to 3 feet in diameter) and deeply
lobed, borne on hollow petioles 2 feet or more in length. The older leaves abscise as
new leaves emerge, producing a palm-like form to the plant. The flowers and fruit
arise from buds on the trunk at the base of the leaves.

Because of its tropical appearance and abundant fruit, papaya is in considerable
demand for use in protected landscape settings throughout coastal and southern
Texas.

Climate

Papaya thrives best under warm, humid conditions. It is generally intolerant of strong
winds and cold weather. Temperatures just below freezing can kill small plants to the
ground–larger plants that are not killed outright will normally produce suckers to
regenerate the plant and bear fruit within a year.

Limited commercial plantings in the lower Rio Grande Valley rarely survive more than
a few years because of freezing temperatures.

Soil and Site Selection

Papayas are adapted to practically any well drained soil. The plant is shallow rooted
and will not tolerate excessive wetness or standing water. Raised beds can partly
overcome drainage problems.

Although papayas thrive best in full sun, some concession can be made to protection
from wind or cold weather. Close to the south or southeast side of the house is the
warmest location in most residential sites. Some wind protection provided by other
plantings or structures is helpful.

Varieties

Papayas are generally grown from seed so there are few true varieties. The Hawaiian
Solo, Blue Solo and more recent types are fairly uniform and are closest to varietal
status. Consequently, most papayas are types rather than varieties, so fruiting
characteristics are better considered in groups.

Papaya is polygamous, with three primary sex types: female, male and bisexual. There
are some cases where plants produce more than one kind of flower at the same time.
Bisexuals are usually preferred for home plantings, but most types available in Texas
are male or female. Because sex determination prior to flowering is practically
impossible, two to four seedling plants are grown together until flowering to assure
females for fruit production and males for pollination.

Fruit types range from small to medium round and medium to large oblong. Flesh color
is mostly yellow, although there are some orange to red types.

Female flowers are borne along the trunk and can be identified by that location and
the presence of a miniature papaya fruit inside the base of the flower petals. Male
flowers are borne in long sprays that originate along the trunk. Each spray is
much-branched with inch-long, trumpet-shaped, male flowers. Bisexual types are
practically identical to the females, but have male stamens surrounding the miniature
fruit inside the flower petals.

Propagation and Planting

Most papayas are grown from seed because of the impracticality of vegetative
propagation methods in nursery production. Seeds are extracted from fully ripe fruit,
washed to remove gelatinous material and planted several per pot of soil or potting
medium.

Germination is accomplished in approximately two weeks under full sunlight. The
plants can be set out as soon as they are large enough (about 1 foot tall) to survive
with minimal care. The pots of plants should be spaced 8 to 10 feet apart.
Papaya seedlings should begin flowering in five to six months, at which time they can
be thinned to a single female or bisexual plant at each site. In the absence of bisexual
plants, one male plant is needed for every eight to ten females.

Cuttings may be rooted to preserve a particularly desirable selection. However,
branching must be induced by girdling or decapitation in order to provide the suckers
for rooting.

Seed can be obtained from papaya fruit purchased at the local supermarket. If the
fruit is from Hawaii, the chances are good that the resulting seedlings will be mostly
bisexual. For nursery production of papaya seedlings with a high percentage of
female or bisexual flowers, controlled pollination between desirable parents is
essential.

Pollination

Pollination is accomplished by covering an unopened flower (female or bisexual) with
a small paper bag until it opens, then transferring pollen from a bisexual (or male)
flower onto the protected stigma, and re-covering the pollinated flower for several
days. The resultant fruit should be marked so that its seed can be collected at
maturity.

In colder areas where overwinter survival is questionable, seedlings can be
developed in late fall and carried through the winter in greenhouses. After frost
danger passes in spring, these seedlings can be planted outdoors to provide fruit until
the next killing frost.

Culture

Weed and grass control within 3 to 4 feet of the papaya is essential for optimum
growth and fruiting. Cultivation for weed control should be quite shallow, as the
papaya’s roots are concentrated near the soil surface. The use of organic mulches is
highly recommended.
Fertilizer at the rate of one-quarter pound of ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) per plant
should be applied monthly after planting, increasing to one half pound six months after
establishment.

Irrigation should be applied to thoroughly wet the soil periodically as needed through
the year. Avoid standing water following irrigation. A fluctuating irrigation regime may
retard growth and cause poor fruit set.

Because papayas rapidly reach 10 to 15 feet or more, cold protection of the top is
difficult. Protection of the lower portion of the trunk may permit the plant to regrow
from sprouts in the event of freeze damage.

Production, Maturity and Use

Well-tended papayas should produce fruit within a year of planting, with mature plants
capable of producing 100 to 200 pounds of papayas per year. Fruit can be ripened off
the plant after appearance of a yellow tinge at the apical end, but the fruit attains best
quality if harvest is delayed until the fruit is completely yellow.

The most common use of papaya is fresh in slices or chunks and in fruit compotes. A
thick juice can be prepared by blending diced papaya with a little water. Papaya can
also be sliced and dried. Green papaya is sometimes cooked and eaten like squash.
Papaya is a prime source of papain enzyme (meat tenderizer), so green fruit chunks
and leaves can be wrapped around meat or fowl before cooking to enhance
tenderness and flavor.

Disease and Insect Pests

Root rots can cause rapid death of papaya plants. The only solution is to set new
plants in a better location with better drainage or use raised beds. Watering must be
done with care.

Virus diseases are quite common and uncontrollable. They normally cause
vein-clearing and yellow mottling of the leaves. Other symptoms include distortion of
leaf growth accompanied by stunting, poor set and the presence of various
greasy-appearing or yellow rings on leaves and fruit. Infected plants should be
removed and destroyed.

Anthracnose appears on the fruit as irregular, water-soaked spots that later enlarge,
darken and become sunken in the rind. Copper sprays have been of limited effect in
severe situations, but would not be expected to be of much use under normal
conditions in Texas.

Common whitefly is about the only insect pest which has affected papaya in Texas,
leading to sooty mold on the foliage and fruit. Sweetpotato whitefly also is reported to
favor papaya. The safest control is through spraying with a soapy water solution.

Tip burn and marginal necrosis (browning) of the leaves is caused by saline soil and
water conditions common in much of Texas. Symptoms are usually more severe on
older leaves and during the summer.

The information given herein is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial
products or trade
names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and that no
endorsement by the
Cooperative Extension Service is implied.

Educational programs conducted by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service serve
people of all ages
regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, handicap or national origin.