Carica papaya

Carica papaya is a fast-growing evergreen tree reaching 8 m tall with a 4 m spread. Hardy only to UK zone 10 and frost-tender. Flowers are pollinated by bees, moths, and wind; the plant is not self-fertile and is noted for attracting wildlife. It thrives in light sandy, medium loamy, or heavy clay soils with good drainage and tolerates mildly acidic to very alkaline pH. It requires full sun, prefers moist soil, and cannot tolerate wind exposure.

Description

Pawpaw is one of the very well known fruits of the tropics. The straight soft stemmed plant grows up to 3-5 metres tall and only occasionally has branches. The stem is softly woody and has scars from fallen leaves along it. At the top of the plant there are a clump of leaves. The leaves are large (50 cm wide) deeply lobed and on long leaf stalks. The leaf stalks are 90 cm long. There is a crown of leaves at the top of the trunk. Trees can be male, female or bisexual. The male flowers are small and white and on long stalks. Female and bisexual flowers are on short stalks. These have no fruit, round fruit and long fruit respectively. There are three forms of long fruit. The seeds are black.

Edible Uses

The fruit is rich in vitamins, with a firm, creamy texture and a flavour reminiscent of melon and apricot. It can be eaten raw, preserved, dried, cooked in pies, or made into jam, ice cream, jellies, and sherbets. Immature green fruit works well as a vegetable — boiled, baked, made into chutneys or jams, or added to soups. The seeds are used as a spice, particularly in salad dressings, with a pungent flavour similar to mustard and cress. Male flowers are cooked and eaten as a green vegetable, though their bitter flavour is best tempered by changing the cooking water at least once. Very young leaves can also be cooked, though they have a strong bitter flavour; older leaves contain alkaloids and should be treated with caution.

Traditional Uses

Fruit can be eaten ripe and raw. Green fruit can be cooked as a vegetable. The young leaves can be eaten cooked, but are bitter. The flowers and the middle of the stem can be eaten. Papayas contain papain which is a meat tenderiser. The dried seeds can be used as a spice.

Medicinal Uses

The skin of unripe fruit, leaves, sap, and seeds all contain the enzyme papain, which aids protein digestion and can be used internally for digestive disorders or applied externally to help heal deep or slow-healing wounds. An infusion of young, latex-filled green fruit is used as a children's vermifuge. Fruit juice is used to treat diabetes and hypertension, and the immature fruit — sometimes combined with aspirin — is used as an abortifacient. Fruit pulp mixed with fat is applied as a pomade for abscesses, and the juice is used to dissolve warts. Leaves and fruit, especially unripe, are taken internally for digestive disorders, diarrhoea, high blood pressure, and painful womb. Green leaves are cooked as a treatment for tertiary malaria and irregular bowel movement in children. Applied externally, leaves are used as wound dressings to speed healing. Leaves and seeds are used to expel threadworms and roundworms; seeds act as a gentle purgative for worms, and immature seeds are swallowed for diarrhoea. The seed is also eaten as a children's vermifuge and to increase visual acuity. Latex from the trunk is strongly purgative and sometimes used to expel worms; applied externally, it treats wounds, boils, ulcers, warts, and cancerous tumours, and is applied to the gums for toothache. Ripe fruit is a mild laxative, and a decoction of it treats persistent diarrhoea and dysentery in children. A flower infusion is drunk to induce menstruation and to treat laryngitis, bronchitis, and venereal diseases; flowers combined with milk and butter act as an appetite stimulant. The bark treats diarrhoea, and the inner bark is used for toothache. The root is aphrodisiac, astringent, and vermifuge; macerated root treats gonorrhoea; a root infusion in alcohol addresses bladder and kidney problems and is rubbed on the limbs for rickets; a decoction treats abdominal stricture, diarrhoea, malaria, and intestinal worms. The plant contains hydrocyanic acid, carpaine, terpene hydrocarbons, terpene alcohols, and cyanogenic glycosides. The latex contains the proteolytic and mucolytic enzymes papain and chymopapain.

Known Hazards

Papaya releases a latex fluid when not ripe, possibly causing irritation and an allergic reaction in some people. Because the enzyme papain acts as an allergen in sensitive individuals, meat that has been tenderized with it may induce an allergic reaction.

Distribution

It is a tropical plant. Pawpaws will grow from sea level up to about 1700 m altitude in the equatorial tropics. In cooler regions they have to be planted but in humid tropical regions are commonly self sown. Sunlight allows germination when forest is cleared. Plants cannot stand frost. A temperature of 25-30°C is suitable. They need a night temperature above 12°C. Also they cannot stand water-logging. Plants die after 48 hours in standing water. It needs a pH between 5-8. It suits hardiness zones 11-12. In XTBG Yunnan.

Where It Grows

Afghanistan, Africa, Amazon, American Samoa, Andaman Is., Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Aruba, Asia, Australia, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bolivia, Bougainville, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Terr., BIOT, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Caribbean, Caroline Islands, Central Africa, Central America*, Chile, China, Christmas Island, Chuuk, Colombia, Congo DR, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Africa, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, FSM, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guatemala, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hawaii, Himalayas, Honduras, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kiribati, Laos, Lesser Antilles, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mamao, Mariana Islands, Marquesas, Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Middle East, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Caledonia, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, North America, Northeastern India, Pacific, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, PNG, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Pohnpei, Puerto Rico, Rotuma, Sahel, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, SE Asia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sikkim, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South America*, South Sudan, Southern Africa, Sri Lanka, St Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadines, Suriname, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks & Caicos, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, UAE, USA, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands, Wallis and Futuna, West Africa, West Indies, West Papua, West Timor, Yap, Zambia, Zimbabwe,

Cultivation

Pawpaw seeds grow easily and plants grow quickly. Fresh seeds can be used, or if dry seeds are used they should be soaked before planting. Seeds should be planted with a temperature of 24-30°C. To produce well they need a reasonably fertile soil. Seeds can be sown directly or the seeds can be put in a nursery and the seedlings transplanted. Seeds in a nursery should be about 1-2 cm deep. Seedlings can be transplanted when they are about 20 cm high. Plants should be about 3 m apart. Continuous fruit production depends on fertility, temperature and moisture being adequate to maintain active growth. The fruit is produced year round but the growth and development rate decreases with temperature. Also the size and quality of fruit declines at lower temperatures. Pollination is by wind and insects. Normally cross and self pollination both occur. Pollination is not normally limiting. Seeds are widely dispersed by birds, bats and people. Seeds remain viable for a few months and also germinate freely.

Propagation

Sow seed as soon as ripe in a position with indirect light; germination takes 2–6 weeks at 24–30°C. Move seedlings to a sunny position about 2 weeks after germination. Can also be propagated by greenwood cuttings or grafting.

Other Uses

Papaya can be used as a shade plant and in intercropping systems. Its large leaves can shelter other crops and provide young-leaf mulch, while its deep roots help prevent soil erosion. Dried leaves beaten in water form a soap substitute. Papain, most concentrated in the latex of unripe fruit skin, is used in cosmetic skin creams, termite control, beer clarification, and degumming natural silk. A fibre from the plant can reach up to 150 cm in length, though it is of questionable utility. The wood is soft, lightweight, and fleshy with a large white pith and a hollow centre between nodes; it is not used commercially. Papaya flowers produce nectar and pollen that attract bees and other beneficial insects. The fruit is eaten by birds, bats, and other animals, and the foliage offers some cover and perching opportunities for small wildlife.

Production

Seeds emerge in 2 to 3 weeks. Vegetative growth before flowering is 4-8 months. Fruit is produced as one or more per leaf axil, about every 1-2 weeks, under good growing conditions. So with good growth 100 fruit can be produced from one plant in a year. Fruit development from pollination to maturity is about 2-3 months. On the coast in tropical equatorial regions, pawpaws start producing fruit after about 4 or 5 months but in the highlands this may not start for 12-18 months. The first fruit produced and ripe, are ready 6-11 months from planting. Practical tree life is about 2 to 3 years, although trees may live for 10-12 years.

Other Information

It is a common and cultivated fruit tree. In Papua New Guinea it occurs in all lowland areas in gardens and bush. Trees are near houses in the highlands. The fruit is popular for snacks and baby food. It is sold in local markets.

Notes

Now only one species is included and the others are put in the Vasconcellea. It possibly has anti-cancer properties. Fruit are reasonably high in folates 62-97μg/100.

Nutrition

Synonyms

Also Known As

Ai-dila, Alola, Amapaapali, Babaya, Babbaay, Baos, Barus, Barush, Bataa maal, Bhanta, Boppayi, Bulung botik, Chipapayi, Daun papaya, Delolo, Du du, Ehi, Esi, 'Esu, Falhoa, Fruta bomba, Gaslabu, Gedang, Gui su bao, Gwanda, Ibekpe, Igi bekpe, Jhoda, Jin gua biu, Kancha pepe, Kates, Kegema, Keinabbu, Keiniap, Kepaya, Ketela, Ma-la-ko, Mak-sang-hpaw, Malagoh, Malaka, Mamiyap, Mamao, Mamon, Manioko, Mbabayu, Maoli uto, Mamiap, Me mao si, Memiap, Mewa, Mophopho, Mpapai, Mulola, Oleti, Ololo, Omita schein, Paipai, Papaali, Papaeira, Papaia, Papaja, Papaye, Papeeta, Papita, Pappaiya, Pappali, Pappayam, Parangi-mara, Pepaya, Pepol, Pai-pai, Pepe, Ran falho, Rangu falho, Ru gua, Sanghpaw, Te mwemweara, Thinbaw, Thingfanghma, Veyo falho, Voampazalahy, Wapai, Wapaya, Weleti, Yapeertora

References (187)

• AAK, 1980, Bertanam Pohon Buah-buahan. Penerbitan Yayasan Kanisius, Jogyakarta. p 48
• Abbiw, D.K., 1990, Useful Plants of Ghana. West African uses of wild and cultivated plants. Intermediate Technology Publications and the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. p 41
• Acipa, A. et al, 2013, Nutritional Profile of some Selected Food Plants of Otwal and Ngai Counties, Oyam District, Northern Uganda. African Journal or Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development. 13(2)
• Ali, A. M. S., 2005, Homegardens in Smallholder Farming Systems: Examples from Bangladesh. Human Ecology, Vol. 33, No. 2 pp. 245-270
• Ambasta S.P. (Ed.), 2000, The Useful Plants of India. CSIR India. p 105

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