50 Papaya
It produces medium to large size fruits (1.0–2.0 kg each) of good quality with
high yield potential of 30–35 fruits per plant. It is tolerant to both frost and water
logging.
Pant Papaya-3: The plants are of medium height (225–250 cm) in the first year,
bearing first flower at a height of 115–130 cm from the ground on strong stem. Fruits
are of small to medium size (0.5–0.9 kg each) with excellent quality. It bears large
number of fruits per plant (45–60) although of small size and the plants are tolerant
to frost and water logging. Due to small size of fruits, it can be grown for distant and
other export markets.
Washington: Trees are fairly vigorous, tall stem with purple rings, dark purple
petiole growing darker towards the lamina, yellow deep flowers, medium to large
size fruits (1.0–1.5 kg each) of ovate to oblong shape having distinct purple colour
ring at its top connected with the fruit stalk. Fruit pulp is yellowish red, very sweet
with agreeable flavour of fine consistency, few seeds and has better keeping quality.
The flesh is free from the disagreeable papain, making it most popular variety.
Coorg Honeydew: Popularly known as ‘Madhubindu’, it is cultivated for table
as well as processing purpose. Due to its excellent fruit quality, it fetches good
market value. As a gynodioecious type, it produces both andromonoecious (male
and bisexual flowers in a tree) and pistillate plants. It is a selection from Honeydew
bred by ear-to-row method of selection and developed at Chetalli Research
Station, Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Bangalore, Karnataka. Since
every plant bears fruits, planting of more than one seedling per pit is not required.
Its trees are of medium height and bear fruit heavily low on the trunk in the
first year. The fruits are medium to large (1.25–2.5 kg), oblong to long, smooth
skinned, slightly beaked and prominently ridged at the apex, orange fleshed, soft,
moderately juicy and have good taste. The fruits have big central cavity and are
of moderate keeping quality.
HPSC-3: This is a selection from the cross Tripura Local × Honeydew. This
hybrid produces higher yield (197.7 t/ha) compared to both the parents, performs
well for papain production (5 g/fruit)and shows resistance to papaya mosaic.
Surya: This is a selection from the cross, Sunrise Solo × Pink Flesh Sweet devel-
oped at the Indian Institute of Horticulture Research (IIHR), Bangalore (Karnataka).
It is a gynodioecious hybrid. Plants are dwarfer than Sunrise Solo. Fruits are medium
sized, weighing on an average 600–800 geach. The pulp is red with a thickness of
about 3.0–3.5 cm. Fruits are sweet in taste with a TSS of 13.5–15.0° Brix.
Ranchi: It is a variety from Jharkhand and popular in south India. The fruits are
oblong with dark yellow pulp and sweet taste.
IIHR 39 and IIHR 54: These varieties were developed at IIHR, Bangalore and
bear medium-sized sweet fruits with high TSS (14.5° Brix) with better shelf life.
Pink-flesh Sweet: Medium-sized pink-fleshed fruits of this variety possess TSS
ranging from 12° to 14° Brix.
Punjab Sweet: It is a selection made at PAU, Ludhiana. The plants are dioecious
and frost resistant. Fruits are large and oblong, weighing more than 1.0 kg each and
yield is 50 kg/plant.
Ram and Majumder (1984) and Ram et al. (1985a) collected more than 125
genotypes of papaya and Carica species at Pusa, Bihar, from 1966 to 1992.