Tropical and Subtropical Fruits - Horticulture: Plants for People and Places - page 132

Fig. 5.2 Papaya fruit
Ignacio-Peter-RioMotagua area of Central America (Nakasone and Paull 1998 ). The
long viability of the papaya seed explains the rapid spread of this crop throughout
the tropics following the routes open by Spanish and Portuguese sailors soon after
the discovery of America. It was already present in the sixteenth century in Brazil,
West Africa, Madagascar, India and the Philippines (Lassoudiere 1968 ), but it was
not introduced to Hawaii, where this crop later reached its most successful horti-
cultural development, until the early 1800s by Don Francisco de Paula y Marin, an
Spanish explorer and horticulturist (Yee 1970 ). Papaya is currently cultivated in
most tropical countries and also in many subtropical areas of the world. The fruits
show excellent taste and nutraceutical properties which make papaya production a
great commercial opportunity.
Edaphoclimatic Requirements for Production
Soil Requirements
The most important soil physical factors for papaya cultivation are permeability and
good drainage, since even short periods of flooding (> 8 h) may cause root rot and
plant death. Papayas prefer sandy deep, well drained soils, of pH 5.0-7.0 that con-
tain large amounts of organic matter. Papayas have been also successfully cultivated
in peat soils, with yields of more than 100 t/ha, but, as in acid soils, applications
of high rates of lime (6-8 t/ha), peat and micronutrients, like boron (B) and cop-
per (Cu), are required for best production. Papaya is moderately salt sensitive with
seed germination and early seedling growth as the most critical stages (Chan 2009 ;
Lopes de Siqueira and Botrel 1986 ).