Growing Papaya

Introduction

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is in the Caricaceae family of flowering plants in the order Brassicales.

In Hawaii you will find papaya trees everywhere; the bird and rodent populations eat the fruit along with the sweet inner pulp and distribute the seed stock, complete with starter fertilizer, to all locations on the Islands.

Types

Hawaii boasts many delicious papaya varieties; The following four being most commonly available:

1.) Sunrise Papaya - the classic Solo pink flesh papaya you see growing almost everywhere. Producing large fruit in the 16-20 ounce range.

2.) Sunset Papaya - Solo pink flesh papaya which is about 15% smaller than the Sunrise Papaya, with fruit weighing about 14-20 ounces each. The lesser volume lends a firmer texture and enjoys a longer shelf life.

3.) Waimanalo Low Bearing - This is a yellow flesh solo papaya which bears low to the ground initially. It is larger than the Sunrise, weighing 22-32 ounces.

4.) Rainbow Papaya (GMO) - The Rainbow variety is a transgenic solo papaya resistant to the Papaya Ring Spot Virus. It is a hybrid variety crossed between the SunUp papaya and the Kapoho to create a yellow flesh variety. Fruits weigh between 16-32 ounces.

Germination & Propagation

The seeds germinate in about fourteen days. Seeds are best stored in the refrigerator and can be purchased directly from us via our Seed Store. We get our seed stock directly from the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (C/T/A/H/R), University of Hawaii at Mānoa.

Plant one or two seeds per starter pot in a quarter inch hole and cover lightly with soil. Keep watered and moist until the seeds form seedlings. Thin the pots to just one sprout per container.

Papaya plants come in male, female and hermaphrodite.

The female flowers are what eventually turn into fruit once pollenated by a male. You need only a few males in your garden and can thin out the rest to make way for the girls.

In Hawaii we have so many papaya plants (on account of this being a favorite bird food) that one rarely has to worry about your female plants being pollenated.

Planting

Traditionally transplanted directly into the soil once seedlings about 10-12 inches tall, it is recommended that one keep trees 4-5 feet apart in rows that are separated by approximately 15-20 feet.

Papaya grows well on many types of soil, but they must be adequately drained. Restricted soil drainage promotes root diseases.

Surprisingly, for it's size and copious yields, papaya does quite well when grown in a pot.

The planter does help stunt the vertical growth somewhat but the yield remains impressive.

Papaya grows best in warm areas below 500 ft (152 m) elevation.

Fruit production and quality decline at higher elevations, where the cooler temperatures account for a decrease in flower production as well as deformations like cat-faced (carpelloidic) fruits. Carpelloidy is the abnormal development of stamens into fleshy structures.

Papaya can tolerate moderate winds if well rooted.

Sun and Water

Papaya crave warmth and love abundant sunshine. Place the plants in a very sunny location. In fact, too much shade will lead to the fruit not sweetening.

Given that the trees sport large fleshy leaves that have higher transpiration rates they need to be watered fairly often.

Forty to sixty inches of rainfall evenly distributed throughout the year is adequate for growth. With higher rainfall, soils should be porous and well drained. Planting on slopes or on raised hills helps to prevent waterlogging.

Fertilizing

Given that the goal of growing papaya is the production of fruit, fertilizing the plants is key. They need small amounts of plant food fairly often. This, obviously, increases as the plant gets larger. Using a phosphorous dominant fertilizer will result in more and bigger yields.

Trees that are in the ground should be fed every fourteen days and potted plants every ten days for a 5-6 gallon pot.

Harvesting

Plants mature in six to nine months in warmer growing regions, and in 9 to 11 months in cooler regions. A mature papaya plant can produce as many as 100 fruits per growing season.

Mature papaya plants naturally flower in the early spring and produce mature fruit in the summer or fall.

Harvest fruit any time after it starts to turn color from dark green to a lighter orange-yellow. You'll want to avoid picking green papaya as their enzyme content is too high and need to be cooked before being eaten. Just grab hold of the fruit and twist off the stem. Once the plant becomes too tall to reach the papayas, a fruit picker or hoe may be used to pull down the fruit.