Bumpiness problem and its remedy in Papaya (Carica Papaya)

Abstract

Papaya (pawpaw) Carica papaya L. belongs to family Caricaceae. Papaya is a very good source of fruit sugar, vitamin A, B and C. This fruit is rich in minerals and salts and makes very good food. Fiji's climate is very suitable to grow papaya and Fijian grown papaya has a big export market. Main importing countries so far are New Zealand, Japan and Canada. Another potential country for exporting papaya from Fiji is Australia. However, strict quality control and high sanitary requirements must be met to export papaya to Australia. Papaya export has gone up in last few years but unfortunately there has been no export so far to Australia. Fruit's shape, size and smoothness are important determinant factors for export market. Misshapen fruits with bumps are not acceptable in overseas market. Similarly most importing countries prefer medium sized fruits. To get good quality papaya particularly fruits without bumps, it is necessary to apply Boron in soil. Results obtained in the present investigation showed that 5.0kg Boron (applied as borax pentahydrate) per hectare was very effective in reducing bumpiness to a very minimum thus improving the quality of fruits. Boron as such showed no effect on papaya yield per plant. Three cultivars tested for average fruit weight showed acceptable fruit weight for local and export market. However, Solo Sunrise was identified as the highest average fruit yielding cultivar (tons/hectare). Improvement in quality of papaya will open up new markets for export.