PAPAYA CULTURE IN HAWAII 33 
One pound of this fertilizer was worked into the surface soil 
around each young plant twice, at intervals of six months, during 
the first year. Later applications of 2 pounds per tree were made as 
the plants grew larger. The fertilizer tends to promote vegetative 
growth, which is necessary in producing a good quality of fruit. 
THE CROP 
TIME OF MATURITY 
Papaya plants which have received good culture will begin to ripen 
their first fruit in 10 to 14 months from the time the plants are 
set in the orchard under Hawaiian conditions. The production 
is practically continuous during the several years of vigorous life 
of the plant. In the cooler months growth and maturity of the 
fruit are somewhat retarded. This results in a shortage of fruit 
on the markets and high prices for a month or two during the so- 
called winter season. Papayas attain their best qualities if they 
are allowed to remain on the plant until very nearly ripe, when they 
turn from green to yellow. Green papayas have a very limited 
use. Fruits of some plants growing at an elevation of more than 
500 feet are often ripe and of good flavor before the outside color 
has developed beyond light green. 
HARVESTING, HANDLING, AND MARKETING 
Papa} T as may be easily picked by giving them a careful twist with 
the hand. Fruit which can not be readily reached from the ground 
may be picked by means of stepladders and specially adapted long- 
handled pickers. For general marketing purposes the fruit should 
be picked as soon as it shows its first trace of yellow. The fruits 
are so large and heavy and of such delicate structure that it is 
difficult to get them to the consumer in good condition, particularly 
if they have begun to soften when picked. The greatest care should 
always be used to avoid bruising. The fruit should be transported 
on a bed of straw or some similar material in a spring conveyance. 
An abundance of packing material should be used to separate the 
tier crates from one another. In marketing investigations which 
were conducted by the station in 1907, it was found that papayas can 
be successfully shipped comparatively long distances in cold storage. 
Selected fruit was marketed in small quantities in San Francisco, 
Portland, Seattle, Tacoma, and also in Vancouver, British Columbia. 
The long-shaped fruit with the small central cavity carried best. 
(Fig. 3.) Each fruit was wrapped in paper and surrounded by 
a sleeve or cylinder of corrugated strawboard and then packed in 
single-tier crates holding four to six fruits. This experiment had 
hardly been completed when the Mediterranean fruit fly appeared 
in Hawaii and Hawaiian fruits were restricted by quarantine from 
entering coast ports. New methods are being devised for preserving 
the fruit so that it will not be subjected to quarantine, and increased 
interest is being taken in the possibilities of exporting the papaya 
to markets outside the Territory. 
