Growing
PAPAYA for Higher profitability
From the House of;
AGRI CONSULTANTS INDIA Hajipur, Vaishali, Bihar
[email protected]
INTRODUCTION Papaya, papaw or papita ( Carica papaya L.) originated from tropical America, has become a popular fruit due to its fast growth, high yield, long fruiting period and high nutrient value as well. In addition it has been use as vegetable, fruit processing, and papain production at immature stage. It can be a highly profitable crop now. The papaya plant has male, female, hermaphrodite (bisexual flower) and some other complex forms. Male plants do not bear any fruit, normally the fruit shape from female plant is shorter, but the fruit shape from hermaphrodite (bisexual flower) plant is longer. AREA OF CULTIVATION Papaya grows well almost everywhere, except at altitudes higher than 1,500 metres. It is grown all over India and is available round the year in the country. However, Karnataka, Orissa, Assam, West Bengal and Gujarat provide ideal climatic conditions for its growth. At one time, India was a leading producer of papaya in the world. Today, it is not because its production in other countries has gone up dramatically while it rose at a much lower rate i n India. The Th e st stat ate-wi e-wis se growing belt belts s are given in the the following following : State Andhra Pradesh Assam Gujarat Jharkhand Karnataka Maharashtra Madhya Pradesh West Bengal
Growing belts Cuddapah, Medak, Kurnool, Rangareddy Nagaon, Darrang, Karbi Anglong Kheda, Ahmedabad, Jamnagar Simdega, Ranchi, Lohardaga, Hazaribagh, Chatra Bellary, Bidar, Bangalore (R& U), Mandya, Shimoga, Chitradurga, Mysore, Belgaum, Hassan Sangli, Satara, Pune, Nasik, Sholapur, Nagpur, Amravati Dhar, Khandwa, Bilaspur, Ratlam, Guna North & South 24- Parganas, Hooghly, Nadia, Midnapur
CLIMATE AND SOIL CONDITION Papaya is a tropical, plant, very sensitive to frost. Optimum temperature is 25 - 30° C and minimum 16° C. The suitable ph value is between 6 and 6.5. The well-drained or sandy loam soil with adequate organic matter is most important for the papaya cultivation. In high rainfall area, if drainage is poor and roots are continuously drenched for 24 to 48 hours, it may cause the death of the plants. Sticky and calcareous soils are not good as rain water may accumulate in the soil even only for a few hours. In this case, higher raised bed and drainage ditch are recommended. The growing field should be irrigable and kept at suitable soil moisture which is necessary for the growth of papaya plants, although dry climate at the time of ripening is good for the fruit quality. Papaya cannot tolerate low temperatures. A dry warm climate is necessary. Strong winds are highly detrimental to the trees as the hollow stems break easily. Staking and/or windbreak can decrease the damage to plants under strong s trong wind.
Continuous cropping in the same field may result to poor growth and cause disease problem of papaya trees. Papaya does not like strong, cool, hot, dry or salty wind. It is better to grow in sheltered but full sunshine place. VARIETIES CULTIVATED State Andhra Pradesh Bihar & Jharkhand Karnataka & Kerala West Bengal Orissa
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Varieties grown Honey Dew, Coorg Honey Dew, Washington, Solo, Co-1,Co-2, Co-3, Sunrise Solo, Taiwan Ranchi selection, Honey Dew, Pusa Delicious & Pusa Nanha Coorg Honey Dew, Coorg Green, Pusa Delicious & Pusa Nanha Ranchi selection, Honey Dew, Washington, Coorg Green Pusa Delicious, Pusa P usa Nanha, N anha, Ranchi selection, Honey Dew, Washington, Coorg Green
PROPAGATION Papaya is usually propagated by seeds. Germination of seeds takes place 2-3 weeks after sowing. Seeds treated with thiourea (100-200 ppm) and gibberellic acid (GA3 at 200 ppm) germinated better. Seed germination is highest at an optimum temperature of 35°C. Storage of seeds at 10°C was found to be the best for retention of seed viability. Viability of papaya seed can be maintained for 9 months of room temperature when stored in ai r-tight containers. Patch budding has been reported to be quite successful (90%) in papaya but it is not practiced commercially. Tissue-culture technique has been standardized for papaya micro-propagation. It has been reported that plants raised through tissue-culture technique yielded more fruit in Pusa Delicious when compared with the seedlings. Young papaya seedlings form callus profusely in Murashige and Skoog medium supplemented with auxins (NAA). Callusing was obtained from stem segments, roots and leaf tissue. Callus readily differentiated into leafy shoots in medium containing high ratio of kinetin and NAA (2.0 : 0.2 mg/litre), while root formation was favoured by a low kinetin: NAA ratio (0.2 : 0.5 ml/litre). Shoot tip culture from seedlings and lateral buds from female plants of Coorg Honey Dew variety was found to be successful. The tissue-culture plantlets measuring 5.5 to 9.5 cm and hardened in plastic chamber survived better when planted in the field. The available information indicates that tissue-cultured papaya plantlets can be used with added advantage of uniformity in plant type. RAISING SEEDLINGS Seed Source: The seed must be from dependable source and sown as soon as possible. The remaining seeds must be sealed tightly and kept at cool (5 -10° C) and dry (under relative humidity 4 0%) place. Seed requirement: One gram contains about 50 - 80 seeds, mostly 65 -75 seeds. It needs 50 to 80 g seeds per hectare at one plant per hill average of 80 % seed germination and 80% successful seedlings. Growing season: The time of sowing depends upon the choice of f ruiting season and danger of rain or frost.
Seed germination: The optimum temperature is 21 - 27° C, and of radical emergence is 19 - 29 °C. it take 1 - 4 weeks from sowing to emerge depending on the temperature. The seed may be treated with Thiram (TMTD) W.P. before sowing to control the fungus diseases at y oung stage. Sowing method: It may be sown directly, but normally, it is better to be seeded to raise seedlings and transplanted. 1. Plastic bag or soft plastic pot sowing: Transparent plastic bag in 8 - 9 cm wide and 8 cm wide and 8 cm high or black soft plastic pot is used for raising seedlings. Drainage hole is required. Then fill with the mixture of sandy loam virgin soil and sand at the ratio3: 1. Sow 1 or 2 seeds each bag (pot)and cover with well fermented compost, then water fully. Cover the bags (pots) with plastic film or thatch such as straw sheets or used jute bags to keep warm and wet till emergence. Meanwhile, keep the air fresh and moist, and then remove the cover gradually for fitting the seedling under the sun shine. 2. Seedling Tray sowing: The use of plastic seedling tray is new way of seedling culture to obtain the healthy seedlings which are easily for the transporting and transplanting. The Tray size may be 74 to 82 holes at 4.5 cm each in diameter. Fill the prepare media in the holes, sow 1 to 2 seeds in each hole, and cover the layer of media. Other procedures are similar to p lastic bag (pot) sowing. For purposes of controlling aphid, viral infection, rain and wing protection, and maintaining tolerable temperature during seedling stage, it is required to use screen house,greenhouse or tunnel covered with 0.07-0.10 mm plastic film or 32 - mesh net. Black plastic net is also usually used for shading. During the seedling stage, semi-humid environment is preferred. For better aeration, the film may be covered during the cool night or heavy rain period and opened in the warm day time. The site of the bag, pot or tray should be changed if the roots of seedling penetrate into the soil. In this way, it will induce more new roots and healthy seedl ings. TRANSPLANTING A. Transplanting stage: When the seedling is 10 -15 cm tall, it should be transplanted, but 30-40 cm is also all right if it is grown in a larger container. B. Spacing: A 40-60 cm high bed is required if the soil is not well drained. Normally, the distance between rows is about 2-2.5 m, and 2 m between plants (or 3m x 3m when grown at sloping land, or 2.7 m of distance between beds for the tractor practice).The total number of plants for each hectare is about 2,000 to 2, 5000. In case of eradication of undesirable sexual or virus infected plants later, the distance between plants at beginning of planting may be 1.2-1.5 m.
C. Pollinator Plants: Minimum10-20% hermaphrodite hermaphrodite plants are required for pollination. D. Planting method:
(A) Black-and-white plastic mulching film on the beds can be used to: (a) Reduce the loss of water and fertilizer nutrient (b) Control weed (c) Repel the winged aphids (d) Decrease virus infection at young stage (e) Decrease bed soil erosion.
(B) Drill the planting hole about 45 cm in diameter and 30 cm in depth. The soil in the hole is mixed with compost for planting. Then transplant the Seedlings (seedlings should be fully watered one day before transplanting) On a cloudy day or late afternoon to minimize transplanting shock.Take shock.Take care Not to plant p lant too deep, otherwise collar-rot disease may affect the buried part Of the stem. Then water im mediately after planting.
(C) Intercrop with the newly-planted long term fruit trees such as orange. Low-growing vegetables of short duration may be taken as inter-crops. An occasional thinning of fruits is necessary to prevent overcrowding. Papaya may itself be grown as a `filler’ or in plantations plantations of other crops where spacing is wide enough.
(D) To retard growth, lower the fruit - setting site, resist the wind facilitate Management and harvesting, slant planting is considered as follows: Plant the seedlings at the angel of 45° C between the stem and surface of Soil and then later cut the leaves, which touch the soil. Fix with rope at two thirds of the stem from the base and adjust the site up when the plant grows higher to prevent the ste m from being upright. Above procedures may be modified to fix the plant with plastic rope down to the side(s) of bed about 1-2 months after transplanting (about (about 36-40 cm height he ight of the plant).
(E) Screen house cultivation: For reducing virus infection during growing Period, the following cultivation is recommended: Use 3.0 - 3.6 m long of bamboo stems or concrete stakes as supporters at a distance of 4.5 5m, and connect with No.12 iron wire. Then tightly surround with 32- mesh white net, which contains anti-ultra violet material. After the construction is completed, the protected healthy seedlings are planted and planted and the virus-infected plants destroyed and buried immediately once found. Note that hand pollination for female trees is required (the central flower of the cluster on the bisexual plants can be taken as pollen supplier) and control the powdery mildew and mites well. The net may be taken off before the fruit is mature. High Density Planting A closer spacing of 1.2 x 1.2 m. for cv. Pusha Nanha is adopted for high density planting, accommodating 6,400 plants/ha.
Fertilization The plant needs continuous fertilization, as fruiting is continuous continuous upon maturity. Nine kg of farmyard manure per pit is applied at the time of planting followed by 35 to 45 kg of it every six months, once at the beginning of the monsoon and again in winter. A fertilizer mixture to supply 25 to 50 kg of N, 50 to 100 kg of P and 50 to 100 kg of K per hectare may be given in two equal doses every six months. According to the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, ICAR, Government of India, in 1999-2000, solo papaya recorded good growth and higher accumulation of boron. Fruit set increased by 20% either by soil application or foliar spraying. Application of boron increased Ca in fruits which are an important element to increase the shelf-life of papaya. Apply 0.25 - 0.5 kg borax per 100 plants right before dry season in which is boron-deficient. For the young trees, apply compound fertilizers in the trench (10 cm deep and 15 cm wide) around the outer of tree crown, then fill back the soil, or top dress at furrows after irrigation. Papaya plants receiving inorganic nutrients alone (200 g each of N, P2O5 K2O/plant/year) recorded highest yield, but inclusion of organic source of nutrient (farmyard manure/neem cake) produced better quality fruits. Drenching with Ridomil (0.2%) was most effective method to control root-rot. Weed control Weeds should be removed at the young stage frequently and lightly, but never do deep tillage to the soil since the plant has shallow roots. Growers may apply herbicide once before emergency with 43% lasso E.C. at 1:200 or 80% Kamex W.P. at at 1:400; or mulch the bed with the plastic film before transplanting or with rice / sugarcane straws before or within a few days after transplanting transplanting to control the weeds, soil erosion and water loss. Irrigation Papaya is susceptible to waterlogging and the orchard should have good drainage system, particularly in heavy soils experiencing high rainfall. Total water requirement of CO.2 variety of papaya is estimated to be of 1,800-1,900 mm and irrigation at 60-80% available soil moisture (ASM) depletion was found optimum for papaya. Plants receiving frequent irrigation with 100% evaporation replenishment maintained higher transpiration rate, lower diffusive resistance but gave significantly higher yields as compared to 50 and 25% evaporation replenishment. Evapotranspiration Evapotranspiration decreased with decreasing frequency of irrigation. Generally irrigation to grown-up plants at 7-10-day interval during hot summer months is recommended, but practice varies according to soil, climatic conditions, and irrigation methods. Among various systems of irrigation, ring of furrow system of irrigation is preferred over the bed system. Bed system allows direct contact of irrigation water with the plant and thus predisposes plants to collar rot disease. Irrigation in widely spaced furrows of 100 cm resulted in significantly higher fruit yield as compared to basin and flood methods of irrigation under Bangalore condition. Drip system of irrigation helps in saving 50-60% water, and water use efficiency under drip is much higher. However, be sure to prevent the water from coming in contact with the stem. Irrigation may prevent the plants from the damage of frost.
Other Management A. Remove the side shoots of the stem as soon as possible. B. Cut the old, dry, or disease leaves and petioles. C. Thin the fruits, which are poorly pollinated, malformed or pest- infected. Nevertheless, avoid transmitting the virus mechanically from infected plant to others through the above practices. D. Support the plant with stakes, which should tide with the rope, especially when bearing heavy fruits and during storm season. E. Pollinate by hand to increase the fruit setting a nd the percentage of large and normal fruits, especially when growing net house. F. Management after storm 1. Drain the plantation well. 2. Apply the fungicide to control phytophthora blight. 3. Spray 0.5% urea or side dress the fertilizers. 4. Support the fallen trees to keep them from the surface of the soil. 5. Cover the fruits with paper to avoid the sun scald. 6. Thin the small fruits if the trees are severely damaged. Insect Pests The insect pests mostly observed are fruit flies ( Bactrocera cucurbitae), ak grasshopper (Poekilocerus pictus), aphids (Aphis gossypii), red spider mite (Tetranychus cinnabarinus), stem borer (Dasyses rugosellus) and grey weevil ( Myllocerus viridans). In all cases the infected parts need to be destroyed along with application of prophylactic sprays of Dimethoate (0.3%) or methyl demeton (0.05%). Diseases The main diseases reported are powdery mildew ( Oidium caricae), anthracnose ( Colletotrichum gloeosporioides ), damping off and stem rot. Application of wettable sulphur (1 g./l.) carbendazim/thiophanate methyl (1 g./l.) and Kavach/Mancozeb (2 g./l.) has been found to be effective in controlling the diseases. Harvest In general, papaya takes six months to flower and another five for harvesting; but it may vary according the climate conditions and management. Fruits are harvested when they are of full size, light green in colour with tinge of yellow at apical end. On ripening, fruits of certain varieties turn yellow while some of them remain green. When the latex ceases to be milky and become watery, the fruits are suitable for harvesting. The economic life of of papaya plant plant is only 3 to 4 years. The yield varies widely widely according according to variety, soil, climate and management of the orchard. The yield of 75-100 tonnes /ha. is obtained in a season from a papaya orchard depending on spacing and cultural practices.
For shipping to the distant markets the fruits should be harvested when the apical and starts turning yellow and the latex is no longer milky. During the cold months the fruits can be left on the tree to develop deeper color and obtain better flavor. Fruits are graded on the basis of their weight, size and colour. Fruits are highly perishable in nature. They can be stored for a period of 1-3 weeks at a temperature of 10-130 C and 85-90% relative humidity. Bamboo baskets with banana leaves as lining material are used for carrying the produce from farm to local market. Road transport by trucks/lorries is the most convenient mode of transport due to easy approach from orchards to the market. The farmers usually dispose off their produce to the wholesalers and middlemen at the farm gate.
Step ladder or plumber‘s helper with long bamboo pole is usually used by the small growers to pick the fruits if the trees grows too tall. The bin attached to the tractor is used for harvesting in large plantation. The fruits can matcher well by treatment of calcium carbide or ethylene gas. ECONOMICS OF A ONE ACRE MODEL High quality commercial cultivation of crop by using improved variety seedlings as planting material and drip irrigation leads to multiple benefits viz. • Synchronized growth, flowering and harvesting; • Improved fruit quality; • Increases average productivity by more than 60%. • Economy and increased efficiency in use of irrigation water with drip irrigation. Costs & Returns A one acre plantation plantation of the crop is a highly viable proposition. proposition. A summary is given in the figure below. The project cost works works out to Rs. 1.25 lakhs. lakhs. Project Cost: (Unit – One Acre) (Amount in Rs.) Sl. No. 1.
2.
3. 4.
Component Cultivation Expenses (i) Cost of planting material (ii) Manures & fertilizers (iii) Insecticides & pesticides (iv) Cost of Labour (v) Others, if any, (Power Charges) Total Irrigation (i) Tube-well/submersible pump (ii) Cost of Pipeline (iii) Others, if any Total Cost of Drip/Irrigation including fertigation Infrastructure (i) Labour Shed (ii) Farm Implementation
Proposed Expenditure 3400 6600 500 8400 3600 22,500 45000 45,000 25,000 5000 3500
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6.
Total Land Development (i) Land leveling & layout (ii) Fencing Total Land (if newly purchased)* Grand Total
8,500 4000 20000 24,000 1,25,000
*Cost of newly purchased la nd will be limited l imited to one-tenth of the total project cost
The major components of the model are: Land Development: (Rs.4.0 thousand): thousand): This is the labour cost cost of shaping shaping and dressing the land site. Fencing (Rs.20.0 thousand): thousand): It is necessary to guard the orchard orchard by barbed wire fencing to safeguard the valuable produce produce from animals and prevent prevent poaching. This is part cost of fencing taken in first year. Irrigation Infra-structure Infra-structure (Rs.45 thousand): For effective working working with drip irrigation irrigation system, it is necessary to install a bore well with diesel/electric pumpset and motor. This is part cost of tube-well. Drip Irrigation & Fertigation Fertigation System (Rs.25 thousand): thousand): This is average cost of of one acre drip system for papaya papaya inclusive of of the cost of fertigation fertigation equipment. The actual cost will vary depending on location, plant population and plot geometry. Equipment/Implements (Rs.3.5 thousand): For investment on improved improved manually manually operated essential implements a provision of another Rs.3.5 thousand is included. Building and Storage (Rs.5.0 thousand): A one acre orchard would require minimally a labour shed. Cost of Cultivation (Rs.22.5 (Rs.22.5 thousand): thousand): Land preparation preparation and planting operations operations will involve tractor hiring and 100 days of manual labour, the cost of which will come to Rs.7.00 thousand. thousand. The cost of planting planting material (1700 (1700 plants per acre acre at 1.5 x 1.5 m) works out to Rs.3.4 thousand i.e. 1700 plants @ Rs. 2.0 per plant. Labour cost has been put at an average average of Rs.70 per man-day. The actual cost will vary from location to location depending upon minimum wage levels or prevailing wage levels for skilled and unskilled labour.
