Papayas fruits
trees grow in tropical and subtropical climates and the plants do not tolerate
freezing temperatures. Papayas fruits are delicious and grow throughout the year.
These fruits are eaten alone or in salad without the skin. The papaws fruits
are low in calories and high in potassium, vitamin A and c. Papayas enzymes
promote digestion easing constipation and it is efficient in controlling colon
infections and colon cancer. The plants are
short living perennial trees whose economic life is about 4 years, although the
plants have a lifespan of up to 10 years. This means that papaws need to be
renewed every 4-5 years for maintenance of an economic orchard. There are three
groups of papayas distinguishable by their flowers namely:-
- Female plants –These
fruit trees grows female flowers only
- Male plants –These grows
male flowers only.
- Hermaphrodites trees –These
grows both male and female flowers. Therefore allow 4 plants per hole and
later thin out to single trees when flowers appear. You may need to
consult your gardening advisor for identification of the flowers.
Papayas
require warm to hot climates for growth, and an altitude below 2100m above sea
level, with annual rainfall of about 1000mm which is well distributed. The
growing soils should be deep, well drained wit adequate moisture, but not
waterlogged.
Growing
of Papayas
is by seed which are extracted from sound papaw fruits and healthy trees. Seeds
of Papayas may be direct sown or grown in a nursery first.
Papayas
can be directly sown at 6 seeds per hole, and then thinned to four plants per hole
after germination and reducing the plants to only one per hole after flowering.
In plants where male and female flowers are born on different trees, male trees
are allowed at the rate of 25:100 females as pollinators.
Prepare
raised beds measuring 1m wide and any convenient length. Papaw seeds are sown
at a depth of 1 cm in rows which are 15cm apart. Water the beds heavily before
sowing the papaw seed and regularly thereafter. Young plants are ready for transferring
to the field at a height of 10-15cm.plants are sown at a spacing of 3m
x 3m in holes measuring 60cm wide and 60cm deep. Mix 18 kg of well decomposed
manure with 60 grams of double super phosphate fertilizer and fill the hole
with this mixture plus the top soil, and sow four papaw seedlings per
hole which will be thinned out to one per hole at flowering. Firm the soil
around the trees seedlings, then Top- dress with 40 grams of CAN fertilizer per
hole.
Apply
200g of CAN or ASN on individual papaws once a year at the beginning of rains.
The Average
yields of papaw trees are 30-40 tons of marketable fruits per hectare.
The
papayas are ready for harvesting when a yellow tinge grows on the blossom end
of the fruits. Handle the papaw fruits with care as dropping or bruising lowers
the keeping quality.
Value addition
Papaya Jam Making
Ingredients
1kg
papayas pulp
½ cup
lemon juice
1kg sugar
Procedure
Test for readiness by Placing 1 teaspoon of Papayas jam onto a cold plate, once cooled push with a finger; if jam wrinkles setting point has been reached.
Pack the papaw fruits jam into hot sterilized jars then seal and cool the jam
Label the fruits jam and market
Growing papaw plants is a worthwhile trees farming activity
Pawpaw/tissue culture banana farming e-manual is now available.The two fruits are perfect companions in salads and require similar climatic conditions for growth. email-yagrein@gmail.com to order your copy.