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Papaya
Botanical Name – Carica Papaya L.
Family – Caricaceae

Importance

• It is a tropical fruit which is native to Mexico. It belongs to “Caricaceae” family and “Carica” genus.
• It is a fast growth plant which has long fruiting period and contains high nutritional value.
• India is known as the largest producer of papaya.
• It can be grown in pots, greenhouse, polyhouse and containers.
• It also has health benefits such as it helps to relieve constipation, cancer, helps in lowering cholesterol, and helps in fighting with cancer cells.
• It is a rich source of Vitamin A and C.
• In India, Maharashtra, Karnataka, west Bengal, Orissa, Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, U.K, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are major states doing papaya farming.

Varieties

1)Red Lady:

• Released in 2013.
• Plants show vigorous growth and are self-fruitful.
• It attains the height of 238cm and the plants start bearing fruit when it attains the height of 86cm.
• Fruits are medium in size, oblong to oval in shape and has reddish orange color flesh having excellent flavor and taste.
• The plant matures after 10 months and gives an average yield of 50kg.
• The variety is resistant to pests and diseases.

2) Punjab Sweet: 

• Released in 1993.
• Dioecious variety which attains the height of 190 cm and the plants start bearing fruit when it attains the height of 100 cm.
• Fruits are large in size, oblong in shape and has deep yellowish color flesh.
• It contains 9.0-10.5% T.S.S. content and gives an average yield of 50kg/plant. The plant is less susceptible to citrus mites.

3) Pusa Delicious: 

• Released in 1992.
• Hermaphrodite variety which attains the height of 210 cm and the plants start bearing fruit when it attains the height of 110cm.
• Fruits are medium to large in size, oblong to oval in shape and has deep orange color flesh having excellent flavor and taste.
• It contains 8-10% T.S.S. content and gives an average yield of 46kg / plant.

4) Pusa Dwarf: 

• Released in 1992.
• Dioecious and dwarf variety which attains the height of 165 cm and the plants start bearing fruit when it attains the height of 100 cm.
• Fruits are medium in size, oval in shape and has orange color flesh.
• It contains 8-10% T.S.S. content and gives an average yield of 35kg / plant.
  
  5) Honey Dew:
• Released in 1975. It is also known as Madhu Bindu.
• The plant is of medium height.
• Fruits are large in size, elongated in shape and contain few seeds.
• Fruits have extra fine flesh which is sweet and contains pleasant flavor.

Other state varieties:

1)Washington: less seeds, big size fruits, yellow color flesh, sweet in taste, male plants are smaller than female plants, plant is comparatively smaller in size.

2) Coorg Honey: Very less seeds, big size fruit, less sweet than honey dew variety and plants are having high height, male and female flowers bear on same tree.

3) CO.2:  Large size fruits and plant has medium height.

CO.1, CO.3, Solo, Pusa Nanha, Ranchi Selection, Coorg Green Sunrise Solo, Taiwan and Coorg Green are suitable varieties grown in different states.

 
Soil and Climate

Soil –

• Sandy loam soil, well fertile & well drained is best Adequate drainage & aeration are two important factors for successful cultivation.
• 45 cm deep soil is adequate. Can not stand water logging.
• If drainage is not adequate, collar – rot disease may occur

Climate- 

• It is a tropical fruit and grows well. Summer temperature ranges from 35o C – 38o C.
• Tolerates frost and comes up to an elevation of 1200 m
•  Night temperature below 12°-14°C for  several hours during winter season  affects its growth and production  severely.
• It is very much sensitive to frost, strong winds and water  stagnation .Can not tolerate very hot or frost.
• Dry, warm climate increase  sweetness. 

Sowing

Seeds are sown in second week of July to third week of September and transplanting is done from first week of September to mid-October.

Seed

Seed rate:
Use 150-200gm seeds for per acre land.

Seed treatment:
Before seed sowing, treat the seeds with Captan@3gm to protect the plant from soil borne diseases.
 

Nursery Management and Transplanting

• The seedlings are prepared in the polythene bags having dimensions of 25 X 10 cm. In these polythene’s, 8-10 holes are done having 1 mm diameter on lower part for proper drainage of water.
• Polythene bags are filled with equal proportions of FYM, soil and sand.
• Mainly seeds are sown in polythene bags in 2nd week of July to 3rd week for September.
• Before sowing treat the seeds with Captan@3gm per kg seeds.
• Drenching is done with [email protected]% when seedlings emerge out to protect them from damping off disease.
• Transplanting of seedlings is done in September-October month.

Preparation of Land

• For papaya farming, well prepared land is required.
• To bring the soil to fine tilth leveling is required.
• At the time of last ploughing, apply FYM (Farm Yard Manure).

Spacing

Spacing:
Use plant to plant spacing of 1.5 X 1.5m.
Sowing depth:
1 cm deep seeds are sown.

Method of sowing:
Propagation method is used. 

Irrigation

• Irrigate copiously after planting.
• Irrigate the field once in a week.
•  Sensitive to water logging.
• Double  basin system is best to prevent collar-rot.
• Winter 10-12 & summer 6-8 days  interval.

Application of Fertilizer

• Apply FYM 10 kg / plant as basal. Apply 50 g in each of N, P and K per plant at bimonthly intervals from the third month of planting after removing unwanted sex forms.
• Apply Arbuscular mycorrhizae (50 g/plant), phosphate solubilising bacteria (25 g/plant), Azospirillum (50 g/plant) and Trichoderma harzianum (50 g/plant) at the time of planting.
• Apply 20 g in each of Azospirillum and Phosphobacteria again six months after planting.

Micronutrients

Spray 0.5% Zinc sulphate and 0.1% Boric acid at 4th and 8th MAP to improve growth
and yield.

Plant Protection

1.White fly: Bemisia tabaci 

• Management
• Field sanitation
• Removal of host plants
• Installation of yellow sticky traps
• Spray application of imidacloprid 200 SL at 0.01% or triazophos 40 EC at 0.06% during heavy infestation.
• Spray neem oil 3 % or NSKE 5%
• Release of predators viz., Coccinellid predator, Cryptolaemus montrouzieri
• Release of parasitoids viz., Encarsia haitierrsis and E.guadeloupae

2.Fruit fly: Bactrocera (Dacus) dorsalis

Management

• Collect fallen infested fruits and dispose them by dumping in a pit and covering with soil.
• Provide summer ploughing to expose the pupa
• Monitor the activity of flies with methyl eugenol sex lure traps.
• Heavy application of dust and sprays of pyrethrum or BHC
• Spray fenthion 100 EC 2 ml/ lit or malathion 50 EC 2ml/lit.
• Field release of natural enemies Opius compensates and Spalangia philippines

Note

• Prepare bait with methyl eugenol 1% solution mixed with malathion 0.1%.
• Take 10 ml of this mixture per trap and keep them in 25 different places in one hectare between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m.
• 250 ml capacity wide mouthed bottle fitted with hanging device at its neck.
• Change the solution at fortnightly interval from March to July.

3.Ash weevils: Myllocerus spp

Management

• Collect and destroy the adults
• Spray carbaryl 50 WP at 2g/lit

4.Green peach aphid: Myzus persicae

Management

• Remove and destroy damaged plant parts
• Spray dimethoate 0.03% or methyl demeton 0.025%
• Field release of parasitoid Aphelinus mali and predators ,Coccinella septumpunctata

Nutritional Deficiency

Diseases

Management

• Raise papaya seedlings under insect-proof conditions.
• Plant disease free seedlings.
• Raise sorghum / maize as barrier crop before planting papaya.
• Rogue out affected plants immediately on noticing symptoms.
• Donot raise cucurbits around the field.

  
Crop Duration

24 – 30 months.

Harvest

• Harvesting is mainly done when fruit attains the full size and is light green in color with a tinge of yellow at apical end.
• First picking can be done after 14-15 months of planting. 4-5 harvestings can be done per season.

Yield

The average yield is as follows
CO 2 : 200 – 250 t / ha
CO 3 : 100 – 120 t / ha
CO 5 : 200 – 250 t / ha
CO 6 : 120 – 160 t / ha
CO 7: 200 – 225 t / ha
CO 8: 220 – 230 t / ha

Papain Extraction

• Papain has several industrial uses, the important one being in brewing industries.
• It is used as ―meat tenderiser ‖ and in textile and leather ―sanforization ‖ processes and drugs.
• The method of extraction of papain from papaya fruits is simple.
• The latex should be tapped from immature papaya fruits.
• Select 75 to 90 days old fruits. On the selected fruit, give incisions (cut) with a razor blade or stainless steel knife.
• The cuts should be given from stalk to tip of the fruit.
• The depth of the cut should not be more than 0.3 cm. Four such cuts are given spaced equally on the fruit surface.
• Tap the latex early in the morning and complete the tapping before 10.00 A.M.
• Repeat the tapping four times on the same fruit at an interval of three days.
• The cut should be given on the fruit surface in places not covered by previous cuts.
• The latex collected from all the plants in a day should be pooled, shade dried in an aluminium pan or tray and passed through a 50 mesh sieve to remove all foreign matter.
• In large plantations, vacuum driers can be adopted with advantage. Papain produced by artificial heating will have better colour and high quality. Add Potassium meta-bi-sulphite (KMS) at 0.5 % for better colour and keeping quality.
• The latex should be dried very rapidly at temperatures of 50 to 55oC.
• Stop drying when the dried product comes off as flakes having a porous texture.
• Powder the dried papain by means of wooden mallets or in electrically operated granulators and sieve the powder through 10 mesh sieve.
• Pack the powder in polythene bags in convenient quantities and seal them. Put the sealed bags in a tin container and seal it after evacuating air.
• Exposure to air deteriorates the quality of papain and vacuum sealing is therefore necessary.
• For large scale manufacture of papain, vacuum sealing machine and a granulator will be useful.
• The green papaya fruits after extraction of papain can be used for pectin manufacture and ―tuity fruity ‖ or they can be allowed to ripen and made into other products.
• The CO 2, CO 5 and CO 8 varieties of papaya released by Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore are ideal for papain production. 

Yield

The yield of crude papain is as follows: CO 2: 600 kg / ha, CO 5 & CO 8: 800 kg / haAccordion Content

Seed Technology

Germination improvement

• Store the seeds in airtight containers.
• Soak the seeds in 100 ppm GA3 for 16 hours or in 2% fresh leaf extract of arappu or 1% pungam leaf extract or pellet the seeds with arappu leaf powder.

Optimum depth of sowing
Sow seeds at 1 cm depth for better germination and seedling growth.

Grading
BSS 6 wire mesh sieve.
Storage
Dry seeds to 8-10% moisture and treat with halogen mixture containing CaOCl2, CaCO3 and arappu leaf powder (at 5:4:1 ratio) @ 3 g / kg and pack in cloth bag to maintain viability upto 5 months.

Invigoration of old seeds
Stored seeds can be invigorated by soaking them in dilute solution of disodium
phosphate (10-4 M) adopting 1:8 seed to solution ratio for 4 hours, followed by drying back to original moisture content