276 



THE AGRICULTUllAL NEWS. 



August 29, 1914. 



WEST INDIAN FRUIT. 



THE CULTIVATION OF THE PAPAYA. 



In the Philippines increased attention is being 

 directed to the pniduction of papaws, and the following 

 are some of the directions issued in connexum with this 

 cultivation in the Philippine Agricultural Reriew 

 for June 1914:— 



From the grower's point of view there are three kinds of 

 papaya; The hermaphrodite papaya, the tlowers of which are 

 perfect: the pistillate, or, as it is coiiiiuoiily called, the female 

 papaj'a; and the staniiniite, or male, papaya. Of the two 

 following kinds, the hermaphrodite is preferable to the female 

 since it is usually sweeter and l>etter flavoured: a very great 

 point in its favour is the fact that it is more apt to reproduce 

 itself true to seed than the female. 



The hermaphrodite papaya is distinguished by its more 

 or less oblong or pear-shaped form, sometimes, in its best 

 types, approaching the shape of a cucumber. The female 

 papaya is recognized by its more roundish shape, prominent 

 'nose", and a large seed ca\ity that freipientlj^ is tilled 

 with seed. 



PEOPAciATioN. The seed bed should be prepared liy 

 thoroughly pulverizing the soil by spading or hoeing the 

 ground well and clearing away all weeds and trash. The 

 seed should be sowed thinly, about 1 to 2 centimetres apart, 

 and covered not more than 1 centimetre deep with soil, and 

 the bed then watered thf)rouglily. In the dry season it is 

 well to make the seed beil where it is shaded from the hot 

 midday rays of the sun, for example, under a tree; or, ic may 

 be shaded by the erection of a small bamboo frame covered 

 with grass or palm leaves. If the seed is sown during the 

 rainy season a shed should always be put up over the seed 

 bed to protect the seed from being beaten down by the rains. 



Transplanting the seedlings in the seed bed, setting 

 them about 7 to 10 centimetres apart, when two or three 

 true leaves have appeared, will very materially aid in the 

 successful transfer of the seedlings to the field. 



TEASspLANTlNi; TO THE FIELD. Whcu the plants have 

 attained a height of about 7 to 10 centimetres, they are 

 ready for transplanting to their permanent places in the 

 garden or the orchard. 



l.'niess the transplanting has been preceded by a good 

 rain, the plants should be thoroughly watered before they 

 are removed from the seed bed. In order to reduce the 

 evaporation of water from the plants until they are well 

 established in their new (piarters, about three-fourths of the 

 leaf blades should 1)C trimmed ofl'. 



In transplanting, take up the plants with a large ball 

 of earth so that as few roots as jjossible are cut or disturbed. 

 Do not set the young plant deeper in the new place than it 

 grew in the nursery; tirni the soil well around the roots, 

 making a slight depression around the plant to hold water, 

 and then give it a lilieral watering. 



In order to protect the tender plant from the sun until 

 it is established, it is well to place around it a few leafy 

 twigs at the time of planting. I'liless the seed is of unusually 

 good strain it is also a good plan to set out two or three 

 plants to each 'hill'. This j;ives the grower a better oppor- 

 tunity to discard male and undesirable female plants without 

 des-troyiug the 'stand,' than if only one plant is set out in 

 each place. 



If the j)lants cannot l)e set out in tlif field at the time 

 indicated, transi>lant thcni frnni the seed bc<l to the nursery. 



setting the plants 30 to 40 centimetres apart in rows [-2 

 metres apart, or more, to suit the convenience of the planter. 

 While the best plan is to set out the plants in the held 

 before they are more than 30 centimetres tall, the plants 

 may be transj)lanted from the nursery to the field with 

 safety even after ha\ing attained a height of 2 metres, 

 provided that all except the i/oninj and tt'tider leaf hlades 'ire 

 leiiioved, leaving the entire petiole or teaf-st'ilk iiltriihed 

 to the plant, and provided that in those regions where 

 the rains are excessive during the wet season the work 

 is performed during the dry season. If the entire leaf- 

 stalk is left on the plant it withers and drojjs, and 

 a good leaf scar has formed lief ore the fungi have had time 

 to work their way from the leaf-stalk into the stem of the 

 plant. As the tis.sue of the papaya plant is exceptionally 

 favouralile for the rapid develoj)ment and spread of fungi, if 

 the leaf-stalk is cut off close to the stem the fungi invade the 

 stem from the remaining short petioles, and the plant dies. 



Papayas should lie planted 4 metres apart each way, on 

 land of average fertility: on very rich land it may lie desirable 

 to set out the plants 4'5 metres apart. 



cuLTUKE. While the plants are small the intervening 

 space may be planted to some upright-growing cover crop, 

 siu'h as mangos or cowpeas, liut when the papayas come into 

 fruiting the best plan is to keep the land clean cultivated 

 during tlie dry season. For the best success it is essential 

 that the plants are irrigated whenever the leaves show signs 

 of wilting, and lieing of exceedingly rapid growth, the pajiaya 

 recjuires more water than most plants. In order to reduce 

 evaporation and irrigation expense, the land should be culti- 

 vated as soon as it is in condition for cultivation after the 

 flooding. The harrowing may be repeated once or twice 

 before the held is again irrigated. 



During the rainy season, special attention should be 

 given to see that there is no stagnant water in any part of the 

 papaya plantation, and that all surface water drains otf rapidly. 



KE.IUVENATION OF OLD PLANTS. When a pLiiit has 

 grown so tall that it is tlffficult to gather the fruit, which 

 also at this stage grows small, cut off the trunk about 0~') to 

 1 metre above the ground. A nundier of luids will then 

 sprout from the stump and in a surprisingly short time the 

 old stump will have been tran.sformed into a papaya plant in 

 full bearing. These sprouts, except two or three, should be 

 cut off, f<jr if all are permitted to grow the fruit ]3roilu('ed 

 will be undersized. 



SEED SELECTION. Seed should be saved from file best 

 fruits only. By this is meant not so much a large fruit as 

 one that is sweet and ti'ell flavoured, with a small seed cavity 

 and few seeds. Oblong should be preferred to round fruits 

 in saving seed, since they grow on plants having both stamens 

 and pistils in the same flower, and these being very 

 largely self-pollinated, the seeds produced from such flcjwers 

 are more likely to reproduce their kind than the seed from 

 round or melon-shaped fruits, which grow mostly on female 

 plants. 



All male plants should be i)rom)jtly destroyetl wherever 

 they appear, as not only are they unproductive, but l)y tiieir 

 pollen Ijeing carried to others ^^•hich are fruiting they tend to 

 produce degenerate plants when these are grown from th(> 

 seed obtained fioni plants growing in the vicinity of the male 

 jdants. There is no need to fear that the others will not 

 fruit if the male plants are destroyed, for the reason that 

 there arc always plants near liy having perfect flowers which 

 provide sufHcicnt pollen for the polUnation of the females. 



