Botany and Improvement 51
The component characters, namely earliness, fruit yield, fruiting height, single
fruit weight and the height of plant were found to be important for the expression
of genetic diversity and in the selection of parents for improvement programme
(Ram and Majumder 1992).
Varieties/hybrids developed in the private sector
Taiwa n-785: This variety is cultivated for table as well as processing purposes.
The plant is dwarf in stature, producing the first fruit within 60–75 cm from
the ground level. Fruits are oblong with thick, orange-red and sweet pulp. Each
tree yields 100–125 fruits in 1 year. It has a good keeping quality and disease
tolerance.
Taiwa n-786: It is a gynodioecious variety cultivated for table as well as process-
ing purposes. The fruits are oblong with a tasty sweet pulp having few seeds. The
plant starts bearing fruits from 100 cm above the ground level. The fruit weighs
between 1.0 and 3.0 kg and has excellent keeping quality.
F 1 Red Winner: It is a high-yielding orange to red fleshed papaya hybrid. All
plants bear fruits. Female fruits are slightly rounded and hermaphrodite fruits are
oblong. Average fruit weight is approximately 1.5–2 kg. The firm flesh is orange to
red, with very strong flavour and has a high sugar content of 14%. This variety is
fairly tolerant to papaya ring spot virus (PRSV).
F 1 Aroma: This is a popular Hawaiian type papaya hybrid. Fruits are oval pear-
shaped weighing around 0.7–0.8 kg each. The papaya flesh is orange to red, has a
high sugar content and strong flavour. The fruits are suitable for export markets.
F 1 Taiwan Princess: This is a very popular Taiwan type papaya hybrid, widely
grown in USA, Mexico, Argentina, Peru, Taiwan, China, India and Australia for
export and local markets. Fruits are large with pointed blossom end and weight
around 1.2 kg each. Flesh is orange red and tender with good taste and quality.
The variety is tolerant to papaya ring spot virus (PRSV).
F 1 Carina: Carina is a dwarf high yielding variety widely adapted to various agro
climatic conditions. The proportion of hermaphrodites to female plants is 1:1. The
flesh is thick, reaching a yellow-orange skin colour when the fruit becomes ripe.
The pulp colour is red salmon, solid and sweet with 11–12° Brix. The fruit weighs
around 1.6–2.5 kg. The fruits are highly prized because of its consistency and fla-
vour. Under ideal conditions, F 1 Carina can yield around 225–250 tons/ha.
F 1 Dawn: Plants are dwarf making it easier for spraying and harvesting. F 1 Dawn
has a production potential up to 300 tons/ha. The proportion of hermaphrodites and
female plants is 1:1. The flowering period ranges from 42 to 46 days after transplant-
ing it. On an average, each plant bears around 55–60 fruits with an average weight of
3.3 kg. The flesh is reddish-orange colour, with a thickness of 3.25 cm and a sweet-
ness of 12° Brix.
F 1 Herma: This is a prolific and vigorous hybrid with red-fleshed fruits weigh-
ing 1.1–1.25 kg. Fruits set at 75 cm (30 in) from ground. It is good shipper with
hard outer shell, sweet flavoured and suitable for both table (home consumption)
and processing purposes. It produces 1:1 ratio of hermaphrodite to female plants.
Female fruits are globe shaped and hermaphrodite fruits have a pointed blossom end.
The variety is tolerant to papaya ring spot virus (PSRV).