- Avocado
- Banana
- Breadfruit
- Coconut
- Coffee
- Custardapple
- Dragonfruit
- Durian
- Guava
- Jackfruit
- Jujube
- Langsat
- Longan
- Longkong
- Lychee
- Mafai
- Mango
- Mangosteen
- Maprang
- Papaya
- Passionfruit
- Pineapple
- Pomegranate
- Pomelo
- Pumpkin
- Rambutan
- Roseapple
- Soursop
- Starapple
- Starfruit
- Sugarapple
- Tamarind
- Tangerine
- Watermelon
Papaya is cultivated throughout the tropics for its fruits which make a delicious breakfast or dessert. Here is some basic information, a recipe and some photos of papaya.
| Scientific name: | Carica papaya L. |
| Family: | Caricaceae |
| Order: | Brassicales |
| Common names: | Papaya, Pawpaw, Papaw, Tree melon |
| Origin: | Southern Mexico, Central America, Northern South America |
| Distribution: | Most tropical countries |
| Evergreen or deciduous: | Evergreen |
| Flowers: | Papaya has pleasant smelling flowers with five cream-white to yellow-orange petals of 2 to 5 cm length. The stigmatic surfaces are pale green in color. The stamens are bright yellow. |
| Leaves: | The spirally arranged leaves are on the top of the trunk. The lower part of the trunk shows the scars from earlier leaves and fruits. The large leaves are about 50-70 cm in diameter, they are deeply lobed with 7 lobes. |
| Fruits: | Smooth skinned fruits. Papaya fruits vary a lot in size and shape, depending on the variety and type of plant (round, oval, pear-shaped, etc.). Fruits can be small ( afew hundred grams) to big (several kilos). Usually the fruits contain many seeds surrounded by the smooth yellow to orange-red flesh which usually has a sweet taste. |
| Climate and weather: | Papaya needs a warm tropical climate. |
| Pollination: | Based on flower type there are three types of papaya plants: female, hermaphrodite, and male. Hermaphrodite flowers are usually self-pollinating. Female flowers are probably pollinated by wind or by insects (thrips, moths). Hand pollination can be used for better fruit setting. |
| Height: | 5 to 10 meter |
| Light: | Papayas need a lot of sunlight. |
| Type of soil: | Papayas prefer light, well-drained soils. They do not like very wet soil. |
| Spacing (close range) | 1.5 meter |
| Spacing (wide range) | 3 meter |
| Propagation: | Papayas are usually propagated by seed. |
| Insect pests: | Mealybugs, thrips, mites, white flies, fruit spotting bugs, fruit flies. |
| Diseases: | Virus diseases, mildew, anthracnose, root rot. |
| Harvesting: | Harvest by hand when most of the skin is yellow-green. Then keep the fruit for ripening at room temperature for several days. The fruit is ripe when it feels soft and its skin has attained an amber to orange color. |
| Uses: | Eat papaya as a fresh fruit. Peel the skin, then slice the content and remove the seeds. To enhance the taste squeeze some lemon juice over it. Papaya can be mixed in fruit salads. |
