Description
Papaya (Carica papaya) is a perennial fruit tree widely cultivated in tropical and subtropical climates for its nutritive and medicinal values. It is very popular globally where it is grown for both local and export markets.
Propagation is done majorly through two ways;
- By seeds
- Vegetative i.e. by tissue culture
Growing papaya from seeds is the easiest, cheap and most successful method. Plants raised from seeds produce fruits of varied shapes, sizes, taste, colour, etc.
Vegetative propagation of pawpaw using tissue culture can result into superior plants with certain traits, e.g., resistant to pathogen attack, production of high yields etc. However, this method is rarely used because it is expensive.
- Ecological requirements are;
- Rainfall– papaya cannot withstand prolonged drought. An even distributed annual rainfall of above 1000mm is suitable. Irrigation should be done in low rainfall regions.
- Soils– the crop does well in light, well drained soils with PH 6-6.5 and rich in nutrients. Roots are very sensitive to waterlogging.
- Temperature– papaya thrives in warm to hot regions of temperature range of 20-35 degrees centigrade. Fruit is sweeter when grown during warm sunny season.
