Best Tips For Growing Papaya ( Papita )

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.