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Fruit growing guide
Papaya grows fast from seed and can fruit within a year in warm climates. Remove the jelly-like sac around each seed, sow shallowly in warmth, and plan for the fact that seedlings can be male, female or bisexual.
Each papaya seed sits in a gelatinous sac, the sarcotesta, which inhibits germination. Press seeds from a ripe fruit against a sieve or colander to break the sacs, rinse them clean and dry them on paper out of direct sun. Dried seed keeps for several years sealed in the refrigerator.
Not needed. Removing the sarcotesta is the only treatment required; avoid bleach to strip it, which lowered germination in a seed-science trial.
Not needed. Papaya is tropical and cold harms it.
Not needed. Commercial nurseries treat seed with a fungicide against damping off; at home a clean, sterile mix does the same job.
Warm. Keep pots in a warm, sunny place; papaya grows best at 25-30 °C (77-86 °F) and stops growing well below 16 °C (61 °F). In India, TNAU sows from June to September.
Up to 1 cm (0.4 in), covered with fine compost.
Sterile, free-draining mix; NHB uses three parts sandy loam to one part sand in bags or pots.
Keep moist but never soggy; water gently with a fine rose. Wet, cold mix causes damping off.
Germinates under its soil cover; give the pots sun or partial shade (TNAU keeps nursery bags in partial shade).
About 2-3 weeks in warmth; up to 4 weeks in cooler conditions.
Sow 2-4 seeds per pot or bag. When they are established, keep the strongest seedling and cut the others at soil level rather than pulling them.
Plant out at about 60 days old or 10-15 cm (4-6 in) tall, before the taproot circles the pot. Use pits of 45-60 cm, about 1.8 m (6 ft) apart, and set the plant at the same level as in the pot; planting too deep encourages collar rot.
Water after planting and then regularly, keeping water off the stem. Plants flower about four months after planting.
Papaya plants are male (small tubular flowers, no fruit), female (large flowers, round fruit) or bisexual (elongated fruit). Seed from dioecious varieties gives females and males; seed from gynodioecious varieties such as CO 3, CO 7 or Surya gives females and bisexual plants. Grow 2-3 plants per spot until sex shows.
Papaya grows fast; TNAU applies manure at planting and balanced NPK every two months from the third month.
Papaya fruit fly lays eggs through the skin. Bag young fruit until harvest where it is a problem.
Pick when yellow covers about a tenth to a third of the skin; the longer colour develops on the plant, the sweeter the fruit. Green fruit can be used as a vegetable.
Sow papaya seed shallowly in warmth for fruit within a year.
Usually the jelly-like sac was not removed or the pots are too cool. Clean, dried seed sown 1 cm deep in a warm spot comes up in about 2-3 weeks.
Only when it flowers, about four months after planting. Males carry long stalks of small tubular flowers; females have large single flowers close to the trunk.
Well-grown plants fruit about 7-11 months after planting out in a warm, frost-free climate.
