Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
SlideShare a Scribd company logo

Production Technology for Papaya

•Download as PPT, PDF•
•
Ravi Yadav
Ravi Yadav

Production technology for higher production in papaya, cultivation of papaya, hybrid papaya propagation in an open field, how to papaya cultivation in India, high production growing papaya, different varieties of papaya ,red lady papaya,Pusa delicious, pusa nanha,co-1,pusa gaint,sex forms,

1 of 48
Production Technology for Papaya
Papaya is an important fruit of the tropics and sub-tropics and deserves greater attention due to its high nutritive value and production potentiality. The areas and production of papaya have increased sharply in the last few decades owing to its wide range of adaptability, increased demand of fruit and papain and also for high economic returns per unit area. It is one of the few fruit crops that flowers and fruits throughout the year giving early and steady economic returns.
Importance The ripe fresh fruit of papaya is delicious and used as a table fruit. Fruits are used in preparation of jam, syrup etc. Green fruits are diuretic and mildly laxative and are used as vegetables. Papain, prepared from dried latex of immature fruits, is a proteolytic enzyme similar in action to pepsin used for manufacture of drugs, meat tenderizing, manufacture of chewing gum and in leather industry. The fruit is a rich source of carbohydrates, minerals (Ca, P, Fe), vitamins (carotene, thiamine, riboflavin) and ascorbic acid.
Area and Production India is the largest producer of papaya in the world (Chadha, 1992). The area and production of papaya have increased from 16,050 ha and 2.5 lakh tons in 1965 to 70,100 ha and 17.67 lakh tons in 2001-2002. In India, it is cultivated mainly in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, Gujrat, Jharkhand, Kerala Maharashtra, Orissa and West Bengal. The productivity is higher in Andhra Pradesh (115.3 t/ha.) followed by Karnataka (46.5 t/ha).
The fruit, which was hither cultivated as an intercrop or in a homestead garden, has emerged as a commercial fruit owing its demand for domestic requirement, export potential and processing uses. The area under papaya has shown commendable increase in the state of U.P. in the past few years.
Area, Production and Productivity of Papaya in India States Area (000ha.) Production (000tonnes) Productivity (t / ha.) Andhra Pradesh 2.9 334.3 115.3 Assam 7.5 109.3 14.6 Gujarat 4.0 154.5 38.6 Jharkhand 4.3 44.5 10.3 Karnataka 6.3 293.1 46.5 Kerala 13.2 59.7 4.5 Maharashtra 5.7 171.0 30.0 Orissa 10.7 219.7 20.5 West Bengal 6.7 220.5 32.9 Others 8.8 160.5 18.2 Total 70.1 1767.1 25.2
This is a gynodioecious line with medium tall plants and has heavy yield (58-61 kg per plant) and good quality (10-12 oBrix). Fruiting starts at the height of 70-80 cm from ground level within 260 – 270 days after planting. The fruits are medium sized (1.5 to 2.0 kg) with orange flesh, having excellent flavour. Pusa Delicious
A gynodioecious line, suitable for papain production and is comparable to CO2 for papain yield. The fruits are medium sized, round in shape and have better keeping quality. Pusa Majesty
It is a dioecious variety with dwarf plant and medium sized (1.0 – 2.0 kg) oval fruits. The plants start bearing from 25 – 30 cm above ground level. The variety is very suitable for high density planting. Pusa Dwarf
It is an ultra dwarf variety and suitable for cultivation in kitchen garden, pot and even on the roof of the house. It can produce fruits up to 3 years. Pusa Nanha
It is a dioecious variety selected from ‘Ranchi’ during 1972. The plants are dwarf and fruits are round with flattened base. Fruiting starts 60 cm from ground level. The fruit weight varies from 1.0 to 1.5 kg with a TSS of 10 – 12 oBrix. Fruits have yellow flesh with no papain odour and hence suitable as a good table variety. CO-1
It is a dioecious type developed from pure line from local type during 1979. Fruit weight varies from 1.25 to 1.5 kg and has good papain yield (4-6 g per fruit). Fruits are large in size with less cavity, yellow flesh and 11 – 12 oBrix TSS. This variety can produce 250 – 300 kg papain per hectare. CO-2
It is a hybrid between CO-2 (female parent) and Sunrise Solo (male parent). It is a gynodioecious type released during 1983 as a table variety. The fruits are medium in size, yellow to orange flesh with a TSS of 12 – 13 oBrix. The average fruit weight is 0.5 to 0.8 kg with 90 – 120 fruits/ plant/ year. The fruits are pyriform in shape. CO-3
This is a hybrid of CO-1 X Washington. Fruit flesh is thick and yellow. The plant has attractive purple colouration in all the parts. It is a dioecious type. The mean fruit weight varies from 1.0 to 1.5 kg with a TSS of 12 oBrix. The tree gives 80 to 90 fruits over a period of two years. CO-4
It is a selection from Washington during 1985 and isolated for its high papain production, which has high proteolytic activity and high protein (72%). It produces 14- 15 g dry papain/ fruit. It gives 75 – 80 fruit/ tree in two years with an average weight of 1.5 kg with a TSS of 12 – 13 oBrix. CO-5
This variety is a gynodioecious type and the hybrid was developed during 1997. It produces 100 – 110 fruits/ tree with 1.0 to 1.5 kg average fruit weight. The fruits are oblong, attractive, firm red fleshed with a TSS of 12 – 13 oBrix. CO-7
CO-6 It is a selection from variety ‘Giant’ during 1986. The variety is dioecious, dwarf and suitable for table and papain purpose. The yield is 80-90 fruit/ tree in two years with average fruit weight 1.5 to 2.0 kg and TSS of 12 – 13 oBrix. Pusa Giant Plants are vigorous, sturdy and tolerant to strong wind. It is a dioecious cultivar with big sized (2.5 – 3.0 kg) fruits, suitable for canning industry.
Sex Forms Papaya is a polygamous plant and has many sex forms. There are three basic sex types – staminate or male, hermaphrodite and pistillate or female. Of these, only female is stable whereas flowers of hermaphrodite and male vary in sex expression under different environmental conditions. Storey (1958) classified papaya flowers into eight categories (i) staminate, (ii) teratological staminate, (iii) reduced elongata, (iv) elongata, (v) carpelloid elongata, (vi) pentandria, (vii) carpelloid pentandria and (viii) pistillate.
Staminate flower is produced by male plant whereas teratological staminate flower is produced by sex reversing male. Type (iii) to (vii) are normally produced by hermaphrodite plants and type (viii) is produced by female plant. Since sex expression of male and hermaphrodite plants varies depending on environmental conditions, male plants can produce all 8 types of flowers during sex reversal, while hermaphrodite plants can produce all types except (i) and (ii). Female plant produces only pistillate type but, in very rare cases produces bisexual flowers. Generally, the change of sex of male plant is towards hermaphrodite and female and neither hermaphrodite plants produce male flower nor female plants produce hermaphrodite and male flowers.
Anthesis and stigma receptivity Stigma receptivity in all the species was maximum on the day of anthesis (Subramanyam and Iyer, 1986). Inflorescence of Washington papaya emerged 45-48 days after transplanting (Khuspe and Ugale, 1977). The period of anthesis depends upon sex forms and is at peak from 6-9 a.m. anther dehiscence completes within 18-36 hours before flowers open and stigma become receptive a day before the flowers open, remaining receptive for 6 days.
Flower Bud Development Studies The experiment on flower bud development studies in papaya cv. Pusa Delicious at this institute indicated that the length of un-open female and hermaphrodite flowers i.e. 2.9 cm and 4.1 cm, respectively were recorded. The hermaphrodite ovary is estimated to initiate at a flower length of 6.1mm while the female ovary initiates at a flower length of 3.4 mm. The observation on flower initiation to fruit set were also recorded. The results show that the average time i.e. 20 days were taken by the female flowers and 32 days by hermaphrodite flowers.
Production Technology Papaya is normally propagated by seeds. To ensure the genetic purity, seeds should be procured only from reliable sources. About, 500 g seeds will be required for planting one hectare. Raising of Seedlings The seedling can be raised by two ways: (i) The seedling can be raised in nursery beds measuring 3 meter long, 1 meter wide and 10 cm high or in polythene bags. The seeds should be sown one cm
deep in rows 10 cm apart and covered with fine compost or leaf mould. Light watering with watering can in the morning hours should be done. The nursery bed may be covered with polythene sheet or paddy straw or dry straw mulch to protect the nursery from adverse weather conditions. (ii) The seedling are raised in polythene bags of size not less than 10X20 cm. The polybags are filled to the brim with a pot mixture made of 2 parts of sand and 1 part each of soil and well decomposed farm yard manure. To control nematodes at the nursery stage, application of neem cake at 100g/ bag is recommended. Nematodes can also be easily controlled by the application of Carbofuran 3G @ 3 g/ polybag at nursery stage.
Seedling Protection against Damping Off (i) Tender seedlings should be protected against heavy rainfall. The most serious disease in the nursery is ‘damping off’. Treating the seed with 0.1% Monosan (phenyl mercury acetate) before sowing is the best preventive measure against this disease. Also the nursery bed should be treated with 10% formaldehyde solution before sowing. If this disease appears in the nursery, Bordeaux mixture (5:5:50) should be sprayed. Dusting of 5% BHC powder should be done for protection against insect pests.
Transfer of Seedlings When the seedlings are growing densely, they can be transferred to next nursery bed or polythene bags to avoid overcrowding and further check of growth of the seedlings. Generally, the seedlings become ready to transplant in about two months when it is 15-25 cm high.
Planting Season The season of planting has a great influence on the growth and fruiting. Seedling planted during the monsoon, grow taller and bear fruits at higher level on trunk than those planted in other seasons (Madhava Rao, 1974), thereby increasing the cost of production. In Deccan, planting in the cold weather induces the fruiting at the lower height of the trunk. Viruses play havoc in papaya cultivation. Since, there is no effective control measure, only alternative left is to avoid the infestation by checking the vector population during the active growth stage of plant.
The experiment on planting season of papaya cv. Pusa Delicious was conducted at this institute, the results shows that among the different months of planting cv. Pusa Delicious was found to produce highest yield (58 kg/plant) with better fruit quality i.e. heavier mean fruit weight (1.68 kg), maximum TSS (11.2 oBrix), vitamin C (74 mg/100g) and total carotenoid content (1152 µg/100g) when planted in September.
Plant Spacing The plant density in papaya plays a vital role in productivity per unit area. Similar to other fruit crops, yield per unit area of papaya fruits can also be increased by increasing plant density. The planting distance in papaya varies from variety to variety. The experiments on this aspect conducted at this institute show that planting of papaya variety Pusa Delicious at 2.0m X 1.8m spacing produced maximum yield, better light interception and fruit quality.
In case of dioecious varieties of papaya, three seedlings should be planted in each pit in a triangular fashion followed by light irrigation. Only one seedling may be planted with pure gynodioecious varieties.
Aftercare Proper care should be taken to save the planted seedlings in the field especially against the insect pests and heavy rainfall in the beginning. In the frost prone areas these should be protected with thatches. Some extra seedlings should also be reserved in the nursery for gap filling. Intercropping In the beginning sufficient space is available therefore, a leguminous crop can be taken. In north and eastern parts of India where planting is done in October- November, a number of crops like onion, maize, potato, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach etc. are taken in the first rabi season.
Weeding and Hoeing The weeds grow luxuriantly in the papaya orchard and exhaust most of the nutrients applied to it. In the beginning they also compete for light, air, water and nutrients, which results in poor fruit production. Therefore, weeding should be done as and when required specially around the plant. Deep hoeing is recommended in the first year to discourage the weed growth. In no case hoeing should be done in rainy season or after fruit set as papaya is a shallow rooted crop.
Sex Expression and Removal of Unwanted Plants It is necessary to keep 5 per cent male plants in the orchard for good pollination where dioecious variety is cultivated. As soon as the plants flower, the extra male plants should be uprooted. The hermaphrodite plants produce good quality fruit, which should not be confused with male plants while removing them from orchard. While removing other plants i.e. female or hermaphrodite only weaker, diseased and dense plants should be uprooted.
Topdressing / Fertilizer Application Apart from the organic manures given in the pits i.e. compost – 20 kg, neem cake – 1 kg and bone meal or fish-meal – 1 kg, topdressing of chemical fertilizers is also required as papaya is a heavy feeder. The following dose of fertilizers per fruiting plant has been standardized after experimentation. Nitrogen : 250g Phosphorus : 250g Potassium : 500g The above chemical fertilizers should be applied in five split doses at two-month interval except December and January months under north Indian conditions.
Irrigation Irrigation in papaya is empirical and not based on soil plant water relationship. It depends upon the soil and climatic conditions of the specific region. In north Indian condition of the country papaya requires irrigation at 5-7 days interval during summer and 15 days interval in winter. The results of experiment conducted at this institute shows that the basin method of irrigation is more efficient as compared to other methods.
Drainage Papaya plants are very much susceptible to water logging. Even 24 hours stagnation of water may kill the well-established orchard. Therefore, it is essential to make few furrows or trenches for quick and complete drainage of water during rainy season. Productive Life The profitable productive life of papaya is two and a half years under north Indian condition provided the crop is well managed.
Harvesting and Packing A good crop may fail if harvesting of fruits is not done properly due to perishable nature of fruits. The fruits should be left on the tree until they fully mature, but picked before it begins to get soft, it is difficult to protect it from birds and to market it without spoilage. On ripening some varieties turn to yellow but some of them even remain green. When the latex ceases to be milky and become watery, the fruit may be considered suitable for harvesting. While picking the fruits from the tree, care must be taken to see that the fruit is not scratched and is free from any blemishes. Since papaya fruits are easily perishable, care should be taken to wrap individual fruit in paper before packing in wooden/ plastic crates surrounded by soft cushioning material like saw dust or straw.
Yield The fruit yield of papaya varies widely according to varieties, soil, climate and management of orchard. On an average yield i.e. 50 to 55 kg per plant can be obtained for a period of two and a half year crop cycle.
Extraction of Papain Papaya yields papain which is a milky latex. It oozes out from green fruits when lanced and it contains a protein–hydrolyzing enzyme (Protease or proteolytic enzyme). For extraction of papain, the milky latex is tapped from 70-90 days (from fruit set) mature fruits. It is collected in the morning up to 10 a.m. on the selected fruits. Four longitudinal incisions are given using a razor blade attached to a bamboo splinter. The depth of cut should be 2-3 mm with cuts running down the length of the fruit about 3 cm apart. The tapping is repeated four times on the same fruit at an interval of four days. The latex is collected in aluminium trays and is shade dried.
The dried latex is then powdered and packed in polythene bags. Before drying, potassium meta-bi- sulphite (KMS) 0.05% is added to the latex for better colour and keeping quality. The latex can also be dried in oven at a temperature of 45-500 C. The average yield of papain is about 200-350 kg per hectare of plantation up to two and a half year of age. Yield of papain is generally low in dry weather, however during monsoon (July–September) better yield can be obtained. It can be stored in good condition for a period of six months by packing in airtight containers. The varieties suitable for papain extraction are CO2, CO5, CO6 and Pusa Majesty.
Disease and Pest Management Viruses Three distinct types of viruses i.e. mosaic/ PRV, leaf curl and distortion ring spot are found to severely damage the papaya crop. Since, there is no effective control measure, only alternative left i.e. to avoid the infestation by checking the vector population (aphid) during the active growth stage of plant and use of insecticides for control of vectors.
Stem and Root Rot On infection, the stem and roots start rotting and the plants ultimately falls down. As soon as stem rotting is noticed, the infected portion should be scrapped and cleaned and then treated with Bordeaux paste (5:5:20). Incorporation of one kg lime and 100 g copper sulphate in the pits is an effective measure to prevent the crop against root rot.
Anthracnose The southerly and westerly exposed areas of the plant and fruits are affected due to hot sun. The affected parts of the fruit show yellow patch, which slowly softens, turns brown and extends to half portion of the fruit. Later on black spots and pinkish pustules appear on the enlarged affected area. The trunk and stem also get scorched on the side exposed to the sun. Since the disease is associated with the exposure to the scorching sun, therefore, the control measures include close planting, judicious irrigation and covering fruits with gunny bags. Precautionary spray of Dithane M-45 or Dithane Z-78 at the rate of 0.25% can be given to control this malady.
Bud and Fruit Stalk Rot This fungal disease affects the dropping of flower buds and newly born fruits. The pathogen causes the rot of the stalk and as a result the flowers and new fruits drop. Spray of Bordeaux mixture (5:5:50) or Dithane M-45 or Dithane Z-78 at the rate of 0.2 to 0.25% can be given to control this disease in the beginning.
Fruit Rot Fruit rot fungus causes the fruits to rot. The control of the disease lies in spray of Bordeaux mixture (5:5:50) and providing good drainage. Red Spider Mite Red spider mite attacks the leaf and the fruit. In severe cases the new leaf becomes distorted, which is often confused with the virus. This can be controlled by dusting with sulphur dust or spraying of 0.1 % Kelthane.
Nematodes The reniform nematode (Rotylenchulus reniformis) is a serious pest of papaya. This results in stunted plants and reduced fruit production. In severe cases the leaves become yellow, dry and fall down. The nematode may be detected on well-washed root as a tiny grain of sand like body attached to its surface. The soil application of ethylene dibromide at the rate of 3 quintals per hectare can control this problem effectively. To control nematodes at the nursery stage, application of neem cake at 100g/ bag is recommended. Nematodes can also be easily controlled by the application of Carbofuran 3G @ 3 g/ polybag at nursery stage.
Seed Production Non-availability of sufficient quantity of pure seed has been a major constraint in commercial production of papaya. In open pollination, production of pure seed is not possible because of its high isolation distance requirements. The papaya growers should pay adequate attention for need to maintain the genetic purity of seeds. The pure seed should either be produced under controlled condition or in isolation. Under controlled condition, sib mating should be followed. In this process the flowers of female plant should be crossed with the pollen of male flower of the same dioecious variety. Under isolation condition, a single variety should be grown at a distance of 400 to 1000 m depending on local conditions and the activity of vectors. If the suitable isolation distance is not available, seed production may be done inside any tall growing orchard like mango, litchi, cashew, sapota and ber. These tall fruit trees act as a physical barrier against contamination by foreign pollen.
Papaya Products Considering the importance of papaya it can be utilized in different ways viz. petha, papaya jam, papaya jelly, papaya kheer, papaya halwa, papaya burfee, papaya rayata, papaya pickle, papaya squash and papaya nectar. Thus the surplus produce can be preserved and brought to daily use.
Production Technology for Papaya

More Related Content

Production Technology for Papaya

  • 2. Papaya is an important fruit of the tropics and sub-tropics and deserves greater attention due to its high nutritive value and production potentiality. The areas and production of papaya have increased sharply in the last few decades owing to its wide range of adaptability, increased demand of fruit and papain and also for high economic returns per unit area. It is one of the few fruit crops that flowers and fruits throughout the year giving early and steady economic returns.
  • 3. Importance The ripe fresh fruit of papaya is delicious and used as a table fruit. Fruits are used in preparation of jam, syrup etc. Green fruits are diuretic and mildly laxative and are used as vegetables. Papain, prepared from dried latex of immature fruits, is a proteolytic enzyme similar in action to pepsin used for manufacture of drugs, meat tenderizing, manufacture of chewing gum and in leather industry. The fruit is a rich source of carbohydrates, minerals (Ca, P, Fe), vitamins (carotene, thiamine, riboflavin) and ascorbic acid.
  • 4. Area and Production India is the largest producer of papaya in the world (Chadha, 1992). The area and production of papaya have increased from 16,050 ha and 2.5 lakh tons in 1965 to 70,100 ha and 17.67 lakh tons in 2001-2002. In India, it is cultivated mainly in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, Gujrat, Jharkhand, Kerala Maharashtra, Orissa and West Bengal. The productivity is higher in Andhra Pradesh (115.3 t/ha.) followed by Karnataka (46.5 t/ha).
  • 5. The fruit, which was hither cultivated as an intercrop or in a homestead garden, has emerged as a commercial fruit owing its demand for domestic requirement, export potential and processing uses. The area under papaya has shown commendable increase in the state of U.P. in the past few years.
  • 6. Area, Production and Productivity of Papaya in India States Area (000ha.) Production (000tonnes) Productivity (t / ha.) Andhra Pradesh 2.9 334.3 115.3 Assam 7.5 109.3 14.6 Gujarat 4.0 154.5 38.6 Jharkhand 4.3 44.5 10.3 Karnataka 6.3 293.1 46.5 Kerala 13.2 59.7 4.5 Maharashtra 5.7 171.0 30.0 Orissa 10.7 219.7 20.5 West Bengal 6.7 220.5 32.9 Others 8.8 160.5 18.2 Total 70.1 1767.1 25.2
  • 7. This is a gynodioecious line with medium tall plants and has heavy yield (58-61 kg per plant) and good quality (10-12 oBrix). Fruiting starts at the height of 70-80 cm from ground level within 260 – 270 days after planting. The fruits are medium sized (1.5 to 2.0 kg) with orange flesh, having excellent flavour. Pusa Delicious
  • 8. A gynodioecious line, suitable for papain production and is comparable to CO2 for papain yield. The fruits are medium sized, round in shape and have better keeping quality. Pusa Majesty
  • 9. It is a dioecious variety with dwarf plant and medium sized (1.0 – 2.0 kg) oval fruits. The plants start bearing from 25 – 30 cm above ground level. The variety is very suitable for high density planting. Pusa Dwarf
  • 10. It is an ultra dwarf variety and suitable for cultivation in kitchen garden, pot and even on the roof of the house. It can produce fruits up to 3 years. Pusa Nanha
  • 11. It is a dioecious variety selected from ‘Ranchi’ during 1972. The plants are dwarf and fruits are round with flattened base. Fruiting starts 60 cm from ground level. The fruit weight varies from 1.0 to 1.5 kg with a TSS of 10 – 12 oBrix. Fruits have yellow flesh with no papain odour and hence suitable as a good table variety. CO-1
  • 12. It is a dioecious type developed from pure line from local type during 1979. Fruit weight varies from 1.25 to 1.5 kg and has good papain yield (4-6 g per fruit). Fruits are large in size with less cavity, yellow flesh and 11 – 12 oBrix TSS. This variety can produce 250 – 300 kg papain per hectare. CO-2
  • 13. It is a hybrid between CO-2 (female parent) and Sunrise Solo (male parent). It is a gynodioecious type released during 1983 as a table variety. The fruits are medium in size, yellow to orange flesh with a TSS of 12 – 13 oBrix. The average fruit weight is 0.5 to 0.8 kg with 90 – 120 fruits/ plant/ year. The fruits are pyriform in shape. CO-3
  • 14. This is a hybrid of CO-1 X Washington. Fruit flesh is thick and yellow. The plant has attractive purple colouration in all the parts. It is a dioecious type. The mean fruit weight varies from 1.0 to 1.5 kg with a TSS of 12 oBrix. The tree gives 80 to 90 fruits over a period of two years. CO-4
  • 15. It is a selection from Washington during 1985 and isolated for its high papain production, which has high proteolytic activity and high protein (72%). It produces 14- 15 g dry papain/ fruit. It gives 75 – 80 fruit/ tree in two years with an average weight of 1.5 kg with a TSS of 12 – 13 oBrix. CO-5
  • 16. This variety is a gynodioecious type and the hybrid was developed during 1997. It produces 100 – 110 fruits/ tree with 1.0 to 1.5 kg average fruit weight. The fruits are oblong, attractive, firm red fleshed with a TSS of 12 – 13 oBrix. CO-7
  • 17. CO-6 It is a selection from variety ‘Giant’ during 1986. The variety is dioecious, dwarf and suitable for table and papain purpose. The yield is 80-90 fruit/ tree in two years with average fruit weight 1.5 to 2.0 kg and TSS of 12 – 13 oBrix. Pusa Giant Plants are vigorous, sturdy and tolerant to strong wind. It is a dioecious cultivar with big sized (2.5 – 3.0 kg) fruits, suitable for canning industry.
  • 18. Sex Forms Papaya is a polygamous plant and has many sex forms. There are three basic sex types – staminate or male, hermaphrodite and pistillate or female. Of these, only female is stable whereas flowers of hermaphrodite and male vary in sex expression under different environmental conditions. Storey (1958) classified papaya flowers into eight categories (i) staminate, (ii) teratological staminate, (iii) reduced elongata, (iv) elongata, (v) carpelloid elongata, (vi) pentandria, (vii) carpelloid pentandria and (viii) pistillate.
  • 19. Staminate flower is produced by male plant whereas teratological staminate flower is produced by sex reversing male. Type (iii) to (vii) are normally produced by hermaphrodite plants and type (viii) is produced by female plant. Since sex expression of male and hermaphrodite plants varies depending on environmental conditions, male plants can produce all 8 types of flowers during sex reversal, while hermaphrodite plants can produce all types except (i) and (ii). Female plant produces only pistillate type but, in very rare cases produces bisexual flowers. Generally, the change of sex of male plant is towards hermaphrodite and female and neither hermaphrodite plants produce male flower nor female plants produce hermaphrodite and male flowers.
  • 20. Anthesis and stigma receptivity Stigma receptivity in all the species was maximum on the day of anthesis (Subramanyam and Iyer, 1986). Inflorescence of Washington papaya emerged 45-48 days after transplanting (Khuspe and Ugale, 1977). The period of anthesis depends upon sex forms and is at peak from 6-9 a.m. anther dehiscence completes within 18-36 hours before flowers open and stigma become receptive a day before the flowers open, remaining receptive for 6 days.
  • 21. Flower Bud Development Studies The experiment on flower bud development studies in papaya cv. Pusa Delicious at this institute indicated that the length of un-open female and hermaphrodite flowers i.e. 2.9 cm and 4.1 cm, respectively were recorded. The hermaphrodite ovary is estimated to initiate at a flower length of 6.1mm while the female ovary initiates at a flower length of 3.4 mm. The observation on flower initiation to fruit set were also recorded. The results show that the average time i.e. 20 days were taken by the female flowers and 32 days by hermaphrodite flowers.
  • 22. Production Technology Papaya is normally propagated by seeds. To ensure the genetic purity, seeds should be procured only from reliable sources. About, 500 g seeds will be required for planting one hectare. Raising of Seedlings The seedling can be raised by two ways: (i) The seedling can be raised in nursery beds measuring 3 meter long, 1 meter wide and 10 cm high or in polythene bags. The seeds should be sown one cm
  • 23. deep in rows 10 cm apart and covered with fine compost or leaf mould. Light watering with watering can in the morning hours should be done. The nursery bed may be covered with polythene sheet or paddy straw or dry straw mulch to protect the nursery from adverse weather conditions. (ii) The seedling are raised in polythene bags of size not less than 10X20 cm. The polybags are filled to the brim with a pot mixture made of 2 parts of sand and 1 part each of soil and well decomposed farm yard manure. To control nematodes at the nursery stage, application of neem cake at 100g/ bag is recommended. Nematodes can also be easily controlled by the application of Carbofuran 3G @ 3 g/ polybag at nursery stage.
  • 24. Seedling Protection against Damping Off (i) Tender seedlings should be protected against heavy rainfall. The most serious disease in the nursery is ‘damping off’. Treating the seed with 0.1% Monosan (phenyl mercury acetate) before sowing is the best preventive measure against this disease. Also the nursery bed should be treated with 10% formaldehyde solution before sowing. If this disease appears in the nursery, Bordeaux mixture (5:5:50) should be sprayed. Dusting of 5% BHC powder should be done for protection against insect pests.
  • 25. Transfer of Seedlings When the seedlings are growing densely, they can be transferred to next nursery bed or polythene bags to avoid overcrowding and further check of growth of the seedlings. Generally, the seedlings become ready to transplant in about two months when it is 15-25 cm high.
  • 26. Planting Season The season of planting has a great influence on the growth and fruiting. Seedling planted during the monsoon, grow taller and bear fruits at higher level on trunk than those planted in other seasons (Madhava Rao, 1974), thereby increasing the cost of production. In Deccan, planting in the cold weather induces the fruiting at the lower height of the trunk. Viruses play havoc in papaya cultivation. Since, there is no effective control measure, only alternative left is to avoid the infestation by checking the vector population during the active growth stage of plant.
  • 27. The experiment on planting season of papaya cv. Pusa Delicious was conducted at this institute, the results shows that among the different months of planting cv. Pusa Delicious was found to produce highest yield (58 kg/plant) with better fruit quality i.e. heavier mean fruit weight (1.68 kg), maximum TSS (11.2 oBrix), vitamin C (74 mg/100g) and total carotenoid content (1152 µg/100g) when planted in September.
  • 28. Plant Spacing The plant density in papaya plays a vital role in productivity per unit area. Similar to other fruit crops, yield per unit area of papaya fruits can also be increased by increasing plant density. The planting distance in papaya varies from variety to variety. The experiments on this aspect conducted at this institute show that planting of papaya variety Pusa Delicious at 2.0m X 1.8m spacing produced maximum yield, better light interception and fruit quality.
  • 29. In case of dioecious varieties of papaya, three seedlings should be planted in each pit in a triangular fashion followed by light irrigation. Only one seedling may be planted with pure gynodioecious varieties.
  • 30. Aftercare Proper care should be taken to save the planted seedlings in the field especially against the insect pests and heavy rainfall in the beginning. In the frost prone areas these should be protected with thatches. Some extra seedlings should also be reserved in the nursery for gap filling. Intercropping In the beginning sufficient space is available therefore, a leguminous crop can be taken. In north and eastern parts of India where planting is done in October- November, a number of crops like onion, maize, potato, cauliflower, cabbage, spinach etc. are taken in the first rabi season.
  • 31. Weeding and Hoeing The weeds grow luxuriantly in the papaya orchard and exhaust most of the nutrients applied to it. In the beginning they also compete for light, air, water and nutrients, which results in poor fruit production. Therefore, weeding should be done as and when required specially around the plant. Deep hoeing is recommended in the first year to discourage the weed growth. In no case hoeing should be done in rainy season or after fruit set as papaya is a shallow rooted crop.
  • 32. Sex Expression and Removal of Unwanted Plants It is necessary to keep 5 per cent male plants in the orchard for good pollination where dioecious variety is cultivated. As soon as the plants flower, the extra male plants should be uprooted. The hermaphrodite plants produce good quality fruit, which should not be confused with male plants while removing them from orchard. While removing other plants i.e. female or hermaphrodite only weaker, diseased and dense plants should be uprooted.
  • 33. Topdressing / Fertilizer Application Apart from the organic manures given in the pits i.e. compost – 20 kg, neem cake – 1 kg and bone meal or fish-meal – 1 kg, topdressing of chemical fertilizers is also required as papaya is a heavy feeder. The following dose of fertilizers per fruiting plant has been standardized after experimentation. Nitrogen : 250g Phosphorus : 250g Potassium : 500g The above chemical fertilizers should be applied in five split doses at two-month interval except December and January months under north Indian conditions.
  • 34. Irrigation Irrigation in papaya is empirical and not based on soil plant water relationship. It depends upon the soil and climatic conditions of the specific region. In north Indian condition of the country papaya requires irrigation at 5-7 days interval during summer and 15 days interval in winter. The results of experiment conducted at this institute shows that the basin method of irrigation is more efficient as compared to other methods.
  • 35. Drainage Papaya plants are very much susceptible to water logging. Even 24 hours stagnation of water may kill the well-established orchard. Therefore, it is essential to make few furrows or trenches for quick and complete drainage of water during rainy season. Productive Life The profitable productive life of papaya is two and a half years under north Indian condition provided the crop is well managed.
  • 36. Harvesting and Packing A good crop may fail if harvesting of fruits is not done properly due to perishable nature of fruits. The fruits should be left on the tree until they fully mature, but picked before it begins to get soft, it is difficult to protect it from birds and to market it without spoilage. On ripening some varieties turn to yellow but some of them even remain green. When the latex ceases to be milky and become watery, the fruit may be considered suitable for harvesting. While picking the fruits from the tree, care must be taken to see that the fruit is not scratched and is free from any blemishes. Since papaya fruits are easily perishable, care should be taken to wrap individual fruit in paper before packing in wooden/ plastic crates surrounded by soft cushioning material like saw dust or straw.
  • 37. Yield The fruit yield of papaya varies widely according to varieties, soil, climate and management of orchard. On an average yield i.e. 50 to 55 kg per plant can be obtained for a period of two and a half year crop cycle.
  • 38. Extraction of Papain Papaya yields papain which is a milky latex. It oozes out from green fruits when lanced and it contains a protein–hydrolyzing enzyme (Protease or proteolytic enzyme). For extraction of papain, the milky latex is tapped from 70-90 days (from fruit set) mature fruits. It is collected in the morning up to 10 a.m. on the selected fruits. Four longitudinal incisions are given using a razor blade attached to a bamboo splinter. The depth of cut should be 2-3 mm with cuts running down the length of the fruit about 3 cm apart. The tapping is repeated four times on the same fruit at an interval of four days. The latex is collected in aluminium trays and is shade dried.
  • 39. The dried latex is then powdered and packed in polythene bags. Before drying, potassium meta-bi- sulphite (KMS) 0.05% is added to the latex for better colour and keeping quality. The latex can also be dried in oven at a temperature of 45-500 C. The average yield of papain is about 200-350 kg per hectare of plantation up to two and a half year of age. Yield of papain is generally low in dry weather, however during monsoon (July–September) better yield can be obtained. It can be stored in good condition for a period of six months by packing in airtight containers. The varieties suitable for papain extraction are CO2, CO5, CO6 and Pusa Majesty.
  • 40. Disease and Pest Management Viruses Three distinct types of viruses i.e. mosaic/ PRV, leaf curl and distortion ring spot are found to severely damage the papaya crop. Since, there is no effective control measure, only alternative left i.e. to avoid the infestation by checking the vector population (aphid) during the active growth stage of plant and use of insecticides for control of vectors.
  • 41. Stem and Root Rot On infection, the stem and roots start rotting and the plants ultimately falls down. As soon as stem rotting is noticed, the infected portion should be scrapped and cleaned and then treated with Bordeaux paste (5:5:20). Incorporation of one kg lime and 100 g copper sulphate in the pits is an effective measure to prevent the crop against root rot.
  • 42. Anthracnose The southerly and westerly exposed areas of the plant and fruits are affected due to hot sun. The affected parts of the fruit show yellow patch, which slowly softens, turns brown and extends to half portion of the fruit. Later on black spots and pinkish pustules appear on the enlarged affected area. The trunk and stem also get scorched on the side exposed to the sun. Since the disease is associated with the exposure to the scorching sun, therefore, the control measures include close planting, judicious irrigation and covering fruits with gunny bags. Precautionary spray of Dithane M-45 or Dithane Z-78 at the rate of 0.25% can be given to control this malady.
  • 43. Bud and Fruit Stalk Rot This fungal disease affects the dropping of flower buds and newly born fruits. The pathogen causes the rot of the stalk and as a result the flowers and new fruits drop. Spray of Bordeaux mixture (5:5:50) or Dithane M-45 or Dithane Z-78 at the rate of 0.2 to 0.25% can be given to control this disease in the beginning.
  • 44. Fruit Rot Fruit rot fungus causes the fruits to rot. The control of the disease lies in spray of Bordeaux mixture (5:5:50) and providing good drainage. Red Spider Mite Red spider mite attacks the leaf and the fruit. In severe cases the new leaf becomes distorted, which is often confused with the virus. This can be controlled by dusting with sulphur dust or spraying of 0.1 % Kelthane.
  • 45. Nematodes The reniform nematode (Rotylenchulus reniformis) is a serious pest of papaya. This results in stunted plants and reduced fruit production. In severe cases the leaves become yellow, dry and fall down. The nematode may be detected on well-washed root as a tiny grain of sand like body attached to its surface. The soil application of ethylene dibromide at the rate of 3 quintals per hectare can control this problem effectively. To control nematodes at the nursery stage, application of neem cake at 100g/ bag is recommended. Nematodes can also be easily controlled by the application of Carbofuran 3G @ 3 g/ polybag at nursery stage.
  • 46. Seed Production Non-availability of sufficient quantity of pure seed has been a major constraint in commercial production of papaya. In open pollination, production of pure seed is not possible because of its high isolation distance requirements. The papaya growers should pay adequate attention for need to maintain the genetic purity of seeds. The pure seed should either be produced under controlled condition or in isolation. Under controlled condition, sib mating should be followed. In this process the flowers of female plant should be crossed with the pollen of male flower of the same dioecious variety. Under isolation condition, a single variety should be grown at a distance of 400 to 1000 m depending on local conditions and the activity of vectors. If the suitable isolation distance is not available, seed production may be done inside any tall growing orchard like mango, litchi, cashew, sapota and ber. These tall fruit trees act as a physical barrier against contamination by foreign pollen.
  • 47. Papaya Products Considering the importance of papaya it can be utilized in different ways viz. petha, papaya jam, papaya jelly, papaya kheer, papaya halwa, papaya burfee, papaya rayata, papaya pickle, papaya squash and papaya nectar. Thus the surplus produce can be preserved and brought to daily use.