- Botanical name: Carica papaya L.
- Family: Caricaceae
- Chromosome number: 2n=2x=18
- Papaya is an ideal fruit crop for growing in kitchen garden, backyards of home as well as orchards, especially those places nearer to cities or big town. It is also grown as a filler plant in orchard. The ripe fruits of papaya are consumed throughout the tropics and subtropics. Fruits are also used in preparation of jam, soft drinks, ice cream flavor, crystallized fruits and syrups. Unripe fruits are commonly used as vegetables. Papain is prepared from the latex of immature fruits. It is a proteolytic enzyme used for tenderizing the meat as well as in leather tanning and cosmetics etc.
- The ripe fresh fruit is a rich source of vitamin A (2020 I.U), vitamin C (40-60mg/100g) carbohydrates and minerals. Papaya, on account of producing fruit in a short period after planting has attracted the attention of fruit growers for large scale cultivation in the country. to its nutritional, industrial and export demand, papaya is recognized the most potential fruit crop for commercial cultivation. The variable sex forms, susceptibility to frost and water logging, fungal and viral diseases are well identified problems in its cultivation. Economically the productive life span of papaya is 3 years and every time new plantation has to be raised.
Centre of diversity
- Papaya is native to Tropical America. The South America and Costa Rica are the micro centre of origin of papaya. It is a close relative of Carica peltata. In India, it was introduced in the early part of the 16th century from Philippines through Malaysia. It was widely spread in different parts of the country particularly tropical and sub-tropical zones. India is the largest producer of papaya in the world. It is also cultivated in Brazil, Mexico, Australia, Hawaii, Malaysia, Taiwan, Peru, Florida, Gold Coast, South Africa and Bangladesh. In India it is widely cultivated in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh.
Germplasm resources
- The family Caricaceae consist of six genera and 35 species. Carica and Vasconcellea are the important generas. The genus Carica has only one species, Carica papaya the cultivated species. Vasconcellea contain 21 species, which are considered as the wild relatives of papaya. Their diversity is common in South America. Variations with respect to plant stature, sex types, fruit shape and size, seed content are observed in papaya. Presently, germplasm is being maintained at TNAU, Coimbatore, IIHR, Bangalore, IARI Regional Station, Pusa, Bihar, CHES, Ranchi, CHES, Bhubaneshwar and CISH, Lucknow for further characterization and evaluation.
Important wild relatives of papaya
- Some Vasconcellea species are used in interspecific hybridization for resistance breeding e.g. Vasconcellea Carica cauliflora is resistant to viruses. Vasconcellea candamarcensis and Vasconcellea pentagona are resistant to frost. Based on the crossability and compatibility it has been observed that Vasconcellea monoica, Vasconcellea cauliflora and Vasconcellea candamarcensis are easily crossable with each other and producing viable seeds. But inter-generic hybridization of these species with Carica papaya did not produce mature seeds. However, by using embryo culture technique, immature embryo can be developed into mature embryo. Further, cross between Carica papaya and Vasconcellea goudotiana was found to be a failure. The species, Vasconcellea cauliflora, Vasconcellea pubescens, Vasconcellea stipulata and Vasconcellea candicans are resistant to papaya Ring Spot Virus (Capoor and Verma, 1961)
Objectives
- To develop dwarf statured and early bearing varieties
- To evolve varieties with high yield and good quality fruits
- To develop varieties with low cavity index and more pulp thickness
- To breed varieties having good keeping quality and suitable for export
- Breeding for high latex yield with high proteolytic enzyme activity
- To develop varieties resistant to biotic and a biotic stresses (virus, frost, water logging etc)
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Participants