Papaya
is a perennial fruit plant. It is grown for its fleshy, large and tasty fruits.
It can grow up to 30 feet. Papaya plant is grown in pair as male and female are
different and are required for fruit production. It fruits all year round in
warm conditions. Provided enough light and water you can grow this plant at
your home with ease.
Propagation
In
Pots / Container
Papaya can be grown from seeds successfully. Scoop
out black and shiny seeds from the fruit with the help of a spoon. Spread the
seeds on a paper towel and leave for drying. It may take up to 1 week for seeds
to dry completely. Once dried, remove outer coating of the seeds and store in a
cool, dry place.
Sow 3-4 seeds into each pot. Make sure they are ½ inch
deep and at least 2 inches away from each other. Water the soil thoroughly.
Seeds sprout within 3 weeks after sowing. Take out unhealthy and weak seedlings
to leave only 1 seedling per pot.
Outdoors
Choose a sunny, well drained location for planting
papaya and work with ground. Remove weeds from the place and add farm yard
manure or good quality home garden compost to it. Sprinkle seeds and water it.
If you want to grow papaya using a nursery sapling
then first dig a hole in the ground twice as deeper and wider as plant in the
container. Add farm yard manure (cow dung etc) or garden compost to it. This
will help in providing required nutrition to the plant. Cover the hole with
fine layer of soil and water it.
Soil
Papaya requires a well drained and nutrient rich
soil. Generally while growing papaya outdoors, gardeners dig a hole in ground
and add compost or manure to it. This makes soil more fertilized and enriched
with organic matters.
Water
Papaya has same watering needs as banana. Due to
its large leaves, it would require a lot of water in summer as in warm weather
amount of water evaporated will be higher.
But be careful not to over water the plant. Papaya
is susceptible to root rot. In summer water the papaya plant regularly and cut
down watering in winter to twice a week depending on how fast your soil drains.
Mulch the plant’s base with a fine layer. It helps
in retaining water and moisture around the plant.
Sun / Temperature
Papaya loves heat, sun and humidity. While growing
in partial shaded place, fruit yield and quality is not good.
Fertilizer
Feed papaya plant regularly. You can use compost
for the same. Or fertilize with commercially available fertilizer every two
weeks.
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