and Magazine of the Ceylon Agricultural Society.— March, 1912. 



267 



FRUIT GROWING IN THE TROPICS. 



The Papaya or Papaw. 



There are, we regret to say, few enough tro- 

 pical frails that are really good, that can be 

 described as delicious, appetising and satis- 

 fying ; but it is more to be regretted that so 

 little attention is paid in Ceylon to fruit growing 

 and so little effort made to produce fruits worth 

 buying and eating of the varieties that are 

 grown here — we say "grown," because so little 

 care is bestowed on the fruit trees that to call 

 it " fruit cultivation " would be an exaggerated 

 misnomer ! 



How many of our readers are there who can say 

 that they succeed in obtaining in Colombo, or 

 elsewhere in Ceylon, a regular supply of good local 

 fruit, fruit worth eating. Occasionally we get 

 in the height of the particular season, a few 

 good pines, some good mangoes, an occasional 

 decent papaw, and at rare intervals a few 

 oranges worth eating, and with difficulty bananas 

 it to eat— and that's about all. Yet how many 

 of our readers are not prepared to pay a fair 

 price for really good local fruit ? 



The Papaya or Papaw. 



Certainly one of the best of the lowcountry 

 Ceylon fruits is the papaw or papaya— Carica 

 panaya; and being easy to grow there is really no 

 reason why everyone who has a garden should 

 not grow a regular supply of these fruits for 

 himself and if proper attention is given real 

 good fruit can be produced. And a good papaw 

 taken fresh out of the ice chest, cut in slices, 

 and sprinkled with the juice of a fresh-cut lime, 

 is a fruit worth eating of an early morning and 

 one of the best fruits obtainable in Ceylon. 



There is little need to describe the plant 

 which is so well-known with its cylindrical 

 tapering truuk and of umbrella-shaped crown 

 of handsome, deeply-cut, fan leaves at the ends 

 of long stalks, so we will start straight away 

 with the 



CULTURAL DIRECTIONS. 



The Papaya prefers a rich porous soil, but will 

 thrive in any good garden soil if supplied with 

 manure; but there is one important point, it 

 does not like " wet feet," dislikes water stand- 

 ing around its roots, so should be planted in 

 well-drained sod. 



If a regular plantation is to be made for them, 

 the ground must be deeply dug up and the soil 

 well broken up, and between the rows of Papa- 

 yas other crops can be grown such as Brinjals, 

 Tomatoes, etc. If only a few plants are wanted 

 grown here and there in the garden just to 

 give a supply of nice fruits for the bungalow 

 table, the holes for the plants can be dug out 

 and filled in with good sod. As the Papaya is a 

 handsome tree, it may readily be planted about 

 the garden. The holes should be cut deep, and 

 large, say 3 feet across and 3 feet deep - the 

 larger the better ; and filled in with good garden 

 soil, leaf mould if obtainable, and well-rotted, 

 old cattle manure. 



Selection or Seed Fruits. 



The plants are propagated from seeds, and 

 care bhould be taken to select the seed from the 

 best fruit off' good, free bearing trees. The 

 varieties, which are not known by name, differ 

 in the size and shape of the fruit, and in their 

 flavour and quality, so that it is best to select 

 by actual knowledge of the fruit. Do not select 

 only for size of fruit, consider the sweetness^ind 

 flavour as well, and also select fruit with a small 

 seed cavity or hollow and few seeds. Some 

 Papayas produce far more seeds than others, 

 and few seeds are preferable. 



As regards shape in selecting seed fruits, give 

 preference to oblong f ruit over roundish ones. 

 There is a reason for this which we will t;ive. Pa- 

 payas are both male and female trees, while some 

 produce flowers with both stamens and pistils 

 in the same flower; these latter are generally, if 

 not always oblong fruit, and the flowers being 

 self- fertilised are more likely to reproduce the 

 same sort of fruit; while the roundish, melon- 

 shaped fruits generally grow on the female trees. 



Propagating and the Seed Bed. 



A seed bed in the open should be prepared 

 and the soil well broken up and made fine on 

 the surface ; or the young plants may be raised 

 in wooden seed boxes. Sow the seed thinly, 

 and juet cover the seeds with a thin layer of 

 fine soil, and water well. In the hot weather 

 the seeds should have some light shade over 

 them, and at other times protection from heavy 

 rain. 



The little plants soon appear and grow apace, 

 and when a few inches high may be trans- 

 planted to their permanent quarters. Before 

 transplanting see that the seed bed is fairly 

 moist, and lift the young seedling plant with as 

 large a ball of earth around the roots as pos- 

 sible to avoid cutting or damaging their little 

 roots. When transplanting, especially in 

 sunny weather it is not a bad plan to trim off a 

 few of the leaf blades, as this lessens the eva- 

 poration of water from the seedlings and keeps 

 them fresher and encourages their re-establish- 

 ment in their new quarters. The planting hole 

 should not bo quite tilled in, and the young 

 seedling must not be put deeper into the soil 

 than it grew originally in the nursery bed or 

 seed box. Plant it firmly, however, and water 

 it. If sunny, shade for a day or two, until the 

 plant appears to be establishing itself. 

 Plantation Crowing. 



The above is for garden work ; if Papayas are 

 to be grown on a larger scale for supplying the 

 market with fruit, or for obtaining papain (the 

 curdled juice of the fruit) on a commercial 

 scale, we cannot do better than quote the 

 following hint from an expert on the subject : — 



"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. It is well to set out three 

 plants to each and as the plants grow up 

 and fruit, to dig out the males or the two 

 poorest fruiting plants. If the plants cannot 

 be set out in the field at the time indicated 

 (at a height of about 7 to 10 centimetres), 

 transplant them from the seed bed to a nursery 



