Papaya Seeds from around the World

AW92 Honeydew ( Carica )
A popular papaya variety from India, with medium to large sized fruits that can reach 3-4 pounds. Semi-dwarf, gynodioecious. Hardy to 32F or a bit lower, generally likes warm weather for optimal growth. Best grown in zone 9b and higher, or in a warm greenhouse.
 750mg pack (about 50 ) seeds $4.95
D2205 Mountain Papaya ( Carica pubescens )
A hardy papaya from the mountains that will stand cold and disease better than Golden Papaya. Very attractive foliage.
  Package of 5 seeds $2.95
  Package of 25 seeds $8.95
SF259 Red Maradol Improved Hybrid Papaya ( Carica )
A large fruited variety, Improved Red Maradol has a sweet red flesh and an average fruit size of 2 kg. Plant has a heavy leaf canopy and fruit has a sturdy outer shell for improved shipping.
Improved Red Maradol is adaptable to many environments with 66% hermaphrodite / 33% female.
  10 seeds $3.95
SF087 Tainung No. 2 Papaya ( Carica )
A very heavy producer of fruits. Easily grown in tubs in a warm greenhouse or as a patio plant. An evergreen tree growing to 18 feet with a spread of 10 feet. The stem is erect, palm-like, soft, spongy and hollow; the leaves are light green, large, and palmate, the fruit are large, oblong to round, with somewhat reddish flesh, delicious flavor and average weight is 1.6kg. Both fruit and leaves may be used as a meat tenderiser.
  10 seeds $3.95
FA100 Sunset Papaya ( Carica pubescens )
This solo variety is similar to the Sunrise but with the pulp more pink in color. Solo type papaya are much smaller than the large 8 pound fruits of some species. The average weight of this variety is 1 pound. Mature hgt. 15'.
  Package of 10 seeds $2.95
  Package of 25 seeds $5.95
D2291 Waimanolo Papaya ( Carica waimanolo )
A compact variety that can bear fruit when only 4 ft. tall . Has sweet flavored orange/yellow fruits. The flowers are small white and very fragrant. The average fruit is 2 lb. The best variety for growing inside.
  Package of 6 seeds $2.95
3464 Bella F1 Hybrid ( Carica hybrid Bella )
The Bella Hybrid features medium sized fruit with delicious red/pink flesh. Good sweetness and an average fruit weight of 3-5 pounds. Vigorous plant with, high yield and strong uniformity. Good shipper. Tolerant to PRSV
  25 seeds $7.95
D2289 Hawaiian Solo Papaya ( Carica )
A very desirable sweet strain of papaya that has a sweet firm pulp of pink/orange color. The Solo name is derived from one fruit being a meal in itself. An average fruit will weigh up to 1 1/2 lbs. Best grown outside in warm climates, but can be raised inside.
  Package of 6 seeds $2.95
AW86 Red Nemesis F1 Papaya
We love the delicious aroma and sweet flavor of this red papaya. This Hybrid Papaya is a Semi dwarf type with a height around 7 feet, Fruit has deep red flesh. This papaya is comparable to Red Lady 786.
Fruit sets at 70 cm and is good for transportation. Very high yield potential with very aromatic, sweet fruit. 50% hermaphrodite/ 50% female. TSS 19 – 21%. Average Fruit size . size 3 to 5 pounds with high tolerance to PRSV.
 500mg pack ( about 30-35 seeds ) $8.95
IP041 Red Lady Papaya ( Carica )
An early and productive fruiter, Red Lady is an excellent papaya for southern gardens or as a tropical container fruiting plant in the north. The dwarf tree starts to flower and set fruit during its second year when the plant reaches 4' tall. It can fruit the first year, if grown in high light with an extended growing season. Red Lady is a self-fertile hybrid whose fruits often weigh 3-5 pounds. Two-pound fruits are more common for container grown plants. The oblong papaya is orange-red, sweet and juicy when ripe. Rich in vitamins A, C and other nutrients, it also contains papain, an enzyme that aids in the digestion of protein. Harvest the fruit when the skin yields slightly to the touch and changes from green to yellow. You will notice a sweet, delicious aroma when it is fully ripe. Green papayas are sometimes shredded and used in salads or stews. Grow in full sun and well-drained soil.
Hardy to Zone 10 and higher for outdoors.
Full sun, grows to 8' in container, minimum temperature 50°F, blooms in spring. Germination about 75%.
  10 seeds $3.95
 Bulk Pack 700mg ( about 70-75 seeds ) $24.95

Jim's Plant Growth Stimulator

Please note that this is not a plant food or fertilize, this is a combination of natural ingredients intended to improve plant growth. Many greenhouse growers and commercial farms use a combination of these ingredients in their growing process. We have been using this formula in our gardens, fields and greenhouses since 1992, and we use it on everything we grow. We would not make this available to our customers if we did not firmly believe that it does enhance the growth and health of plants that it is applied to.
To see the results for yourself, we advise using it on some plants and not on others and see the difference.

Note: We only ship this product to addresses inside the USA. The following ingredients are used in making Jim's Plant Growth Stimulator:

Gibberellic Acid

Gibberellic Acid is a member of a type of plant hormone called Gibberellins, which regulate the growth rate of plants. It was first discovered in Japan, in 1935 as a result of the study of a condition common in rice plants called "foolish seedling" disease, which caused the plants to grow much taller than normal. The effects of gibberellins weren't widely understood until years later.
Gibberellic Acid is EPA approved, and is commercially used to grow most fruits and vegetables we eat.

B1 Vitamins and Plant Hormones

We add a blend of plant vitamins and hormones to stimulate plant growth and allow the plant to absorb food from the soil quicker and also assimilate micronutrients that they may not normally be able to absorb due to various soil conditions.

Micronutrients

All plants benefit from micronutrients, so we've added a humic acid base with Boron (B), Copper (Cu), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Molybdenum (Mo), Sulfur (S) and Zinc (Zn) in our solution.

Other ingredients

We also add a natural detergent additive that causes the sprayed on solution to "stick" to the plant leaves until the solution is absorbed by the plant, this detergent also discourages insects from feeding on the leaves for a short time after the solution is applied.

Each 8 ounce bottle of JPG01 Plant Growth Stimulator makes 16 gallons spray-on solution, you can also use a drench and pour it around the base of the plant if you prefer. The bottle comes with a 1/2 ounce measuring spoon, simply mix a half ounce of plant growth stimulator with a gallon of water and spray onto the plants, or drench the soil around the plant. :

Spray plants weekly, best to apply in early morning/late evening. Start spraying when plants are young. Can be sprayed onto vegetable plants upto harvest. Mix 1/2 ounce stimulator with one gallon of water.
JPG01 Plant Growth Stimulator
  $15.95
Sowing instructions
Soil:
Ordinarily papaya flourishes on all type of well drained soils, even at a height of 3,000 ft above sea level. However for commercial purpose, light sandy loam and loam well drained alkaline soil is ideal. Papaya can be grown on raised rows in low lying areas. Seed rate: figure about 2,000 seeds per acre to acount for transplant loss and to aquire a spacing of mature plants 8 ft. apart.

Seed treatment: Prior to planting, make a weak solution of fungide/water ( any brand of gardening fungide will do ) and soak seeds in it for 5 minutes.

For small scale use:
Start seeds in trays using good grade potting soil. Treat soil with fungicide before planting. Transplant seedlings in late afternoon to avoid shock.

Nursery Practice:
Prepare nursery beds of 15 ft. x 3 ft. Apply and work in a lot of well decomposed cow manure 20 days before sowing. Make ½" deep furrows at distance of 1½" apart. Sow seeds giving a spacing of ½". Fill the furrows with1:1 mixture of dry crumbled leaves and soil. Cover the beds with black polythene sheet or straw. Spray water regularly to maintain the top bed moisture, remove top cover; and lightly irrigate to maintain constant moisture. One or two times spray with mild fungicide solution. When the seedligs grow to a height of 2", transplant them to a separate bed at a distance of 6"x6" or transfer into small perforated polythene bags filled with 1:1 seived soil and cow dung ensuring that the plant depth does not exceed 1½". When the plant attains 4-6" height, it will be ready to transfer into actual field.
Caution: Transplanting into polythene should be done under shady conditions and be kept for at least two days under shade.

INFO ON GROWING PAPAYA

HOME FRUIT PRODUCTION--PAPAYA
Julian W. Sauls
Extension Horticulturist
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/homefruit/papaya/papaya.html

Papaya is native to Central America and is grown in tropical and warmer subtropical areas worldwide. It is a large herbaceous plant, usually with a single, straight trunk which can reach to 30 feet. The leaves are large (up to 3 feet in diameter) and deeply lobed, borne on hollow petioles 2 feet or more in length. The older leaves abscise as new leaves emerge, producing a palm-like form to the plant. The flowers and fruit arise from buds on the trunk at the base of the leaves.

Because of its tropical appearance and abundant fruit, papaya is in considerable demand for use in protected landscape settings throughout coastal and southern Texas.

Climate

Papaya thrives best under warm, humid conditions. It is generally intolerant of strong winds and cold weather. Temperatures just below freezing can kill small plants to the ground--larger plants that are not killed outright will normally produce suckers to regenerate the plant and bear fruit within a year.

Limited commercial plantings in the lower Rio Grande Valley rarely survive more than a few years because of freezing temperatures.

Soil and Site Selection

Papayas are adapted to practically any well drained soil. The plant is shallow rooted and will not tolerate excessive wetness or standing water. Raised beds can partly overcome drainage problems.

Although papayas thrive best in full sun, some concession can be made to protection from wind or cold weather. Close to the south or southeast side of the house is the warmest location in most residential sites. Some wind protection provided by other plantings or structures is helpful.

Varieties

Papayas are generally grown from seed so there are few true varieties. The Hawaiian Solo, Blue Solo and more recent types are fairly uniform and are closest to varietal status. Consequently, most papayas are types rather than varieties, so fruiting characteristics are better considered in groups.

Papaya is polygamous, with three primary sex types: female, male and bisexual. There are some cases where plants produce more than one kind of flower at the same time. Bisexuals are usually preferred for home plantings, but most types available in Texas are male or female. Because sex determination prior to flowering is practically impossible, two to four seedling plants are grown together until flowering to assure females for fruit production and males for pollination.

Fruit types range from small to medium round and medium to large oblong. Flesh color is mostly yellow, although there are some orange to red types.

Female flowers are borne along the trunk and can be identified by that location and the presence of a miniature papaya fruit inside the base of the flower petals. Male flowers are borne in long sprays that originate along the trunk. Each spray is much-branched with inch-long, trumpet-shaped, male flowers. Bisexual types are practically identical to the females, but have male stamens surrounding the miniature fruit inside the flower petals.

Propagation and Planting

Most papayas are grown from seed because of the impracticality of vegetative propagation methods in nursery production. Seeds are extracted from fully ripe fruit, washed to remove gelatinous material and planted several per pot of soil or potting medium.

Germination is accomplished in approximately two weeks under full sunlight. The plants can be set out as soon as they are large enough (about 1 foot tall) to survive with minimal care. The pots of plants should be spaced 8 to 10 feet apart. Papaya seedlings should begin flowering in five to six months, at which time they can be thinned to a single female or bisexual plant at each site. In the absence of bisexual plants, one male plant is needed for every eight to ten females.

Cuttings may be rooted to preserve a particularly desirable selection. However, branching must be induced by girdling or decapitation in order to provide the suckers for rooting.

Seed can be obtained from papaya fruit purchased at the local supermarket. If the fruit is from Hawaii, the chances are good that the resulting seedlings will be mostly bisexual. For nursery production of papaya seedlings with a high percentage of female or bisexual flowers, controlled pollination between desirable parents is essential.

Pollination

Pollination is accomplished by covering an unopened flower (female or bisexual) with a small paper bag until it opens, then transferring pollen from a bisexual (or male) flower onto the protected stigma, and re-covering the pollinated flower for several days. The resultant fruit should be marked so that its seed can be collected at maturity.

In colder areas where overwinter survival is questionable, seedlings can be developed in late fall and carried through the winter in greenhouses. After frost danger passes in spring, these seedlings can be planted outdoors to provide fruit until the next killing frost.

Culture

Weed and grass control within 3 to 4 feet of the papaya is essential for optimum growth and fruiting. Cultivation for weed control should be quite shallow, as the papaya's roots are concentrated near the soil surface. The use of organic mulches is highly recommended. Fertilizer at the rate of one-quarter pound of ammonium sulfate (21-0-0) per plant should be applied monthly after planting, increasing to one half pound six months after establishment.

Irrigation should be applied to thoroughly wet the soil periodically as needed through the year. Avoid standing water following irrigation. A fluctuating irrigation regime may retard growth and cause poor fruit set.

Because papayas rapidly reach 10 to 15 feet or more, cold protection of the top is difficult. Protection of the lower portion of the trunk may permit the plant to regrow from sprouts in the event of freeze damage.

Production, Maturity and Use

Well-tended papayas should produce fruit within a year of planting, with mature plants capable of producing 100 to 200 pounds of papayas per year. Fruit can be ripened off the plant after appearance of a yellow tinge at the apical end, but the fruit attains best quality if harvest is delayed until the fruit is completely yellow.

The most common use of papaya is fresh in slices or chunks and in fruit compotes. A thick juice can be prepared by blending diced papaya with a little water. Papaya can also be sliced and dried. Green papaya is sometimes cooked and eaten like squash. Papaya is a prime source of papain enzyme (meat tenderizer), so green fruit chunks and leaves can be wrapped around meat or fowl before cooking to enhance tenderness and flavor.

Disease and Insect Pests

Root rots can cause rapid death of papaya plants. The only solution is to set new plants in a better location with better drainage or use raised beds. Watering must be done with care.

Virus diseases are quite common and uncontrollable. They normally cause vein-clearing and yellow mottling of the leaves. Other symptoms include distortion of leaf growth accompanied by stunting, poor set and the presence of various greasy-appearing or yellow rings on leaves and fruit. Infected plants should be removed and destroyed.

Anthracnose appears on the fruit as irregular, water-soaked spots that later enlarge, darken and become sunken in the rind. Copper sprays have been of limited effect in severe situations, but would not be expected to be of much use under normal conditions in Texas.

Common whitefly is about the only insect pest which has affected papaya in Texas, leading to sooty mold on the foliage and fruit. Sweetpotato whitefly also is reported to favor papaya. The safest control is through spraying with a soapy water solution.

Tip burn and marginal necrosis (browning) of the leaves is caused by saline soil and water conditions common in much of Texas. Symptoms are usually more severe on older leaves and during the summer.

The information given herein is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names is made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and that no endorsement by the Cooperative Extension Service is implied.

Educational programs conducted by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service serve people of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level, race, color, sex, religion, handicap or national origin.