Volume 30 Number 4 Article 3 Pages: 105-107
Year 1976 Month 10
Title: Papaya Production in Hawaii
Author: P.J. Ito
Citation
Abstract:
Despite the fact that
the papaya (Carica papaya L.) has
long been important to the tropics, it
was only in the last 20 years that the
papaya has become one of the important
fruit crops in Hawaii.
In the
late 1950's there were 750 acres of
papaya in the State while in 1973,
an average of 1,430 acres produced
32.8 million pounds.
The principle
producing area is in the Puna district
on the island of Hawaii.
The papaya is a herbaceous plant
native to tropical America belonging
to the family Caricaceae and noted
for its special flavor and continuous
fruiting habit.
The plant is rapid
growing, producing ripe fruits in
10-12 months of age under favorable
environmental conditions.
Being a
short-lived perennial, a commercial
field is usually kept for three years,
at which time the trees are too tall
for hand harvesting.
Most of the papayas are cultivated
on broken "a'a" lava rocks with little
weathering of the parent basalt material.
Rainfall of about 100 inches
is well distributed throughout the
year in this area.
The remaining acreage
of papaya are being grown in low
humic latosols on all the islands where
rainfall ranges from 20-60 inches annually.
Most soils where papaya is
grown are acidic, ranging in pH of
4.5 to 6.0.
The temperature in the papayagrowing
areas is considered warm,
ranging from a mean maximum temperature
of 79 degrees F to a mean
minimum of 68 degrees F. The elevation
where most of the papaya is
grown ranges from sea level to 500 feet.
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