Determination of the Best Planting Season for the Protected Cultivation of Papaya

Abstract

Papaya is a tropical crop increasingly cultivated in the greenhouses of subtropical regions such as South East Spain, where the determination of the best planting season is important to ensure a stable fruit production and quality during the year. In this work, we studied plant growth, yield, and fruit quality, comparing spring and autumn planting seasons in ‘Intenzza’ cultivar. The results showed that planting in spring favors plant growth, leading to an earlier entry into production. Total yield and fruit quality were similar in both planting seasons, although the spring cycle provided higher profits due to greater commercial yield and lower discards. Our results confirm that adverse environmental conditions affect the crop in a similar way regardless of the planting season, so different growing cycles are not very useful for filling the production gaps and fighting against seasonality in our region, unless unfavorable climate conditions are avoided inside the greenhouse.

Sex determination of papaya var. ‘Maradol’ reveals hermaphrodite-to-male sex reversal under greenhouse conditions

“…However, 'BH-5' and 'Red Lady' were the worst adapted to the growing conditions due to the high incidence of pentandric, carpelloid, and male flowers, which gave fruits without commercial value. In the same context, Salinas et al (2022) reported up to 100% of male flowers from hermaphrodite plants of the 'Intenzza' cultivar in autumn (November) and predominantly in all seasons except in May (spring), recording a maximum temperature of 36.6 °C in July in a greenhouse with natural ventilation. Based on these findings, they recommend transplanting in February or March to achieve good yields.…”

Spatial and Compositional Variations in Fruit Characteristics of Papaya (Carica papaya cv. Tainung No. 2) during Ripening

“…The fruit was harvested in July 2018, owing to a short juvenile phase [ 5 ], and was categorized into 3 ripening stages based on weeks after anthesis (WAA), according to Zuhair, Aminah, Sahilah, and Eqbal [ 11 ]: (1) unripe at 16 WAA, (2) half-ripe at 18 WAA, and (3) full-ripe at 20 WAA. At each stage, a total of nine fruits were harvested in three biological replicates.…”

“…Papaya originated from the lowland of Mexico to Panama and is found primarily in tropical regions between 23° N and S latitudes because the cultivation requires high temperatures year-round [ 2 ]. Subtropical regions, including Mediterranean countries, can also cultivate papaya; some of these regions have to use protected facilities, including a greenhouse, because low temperatures during winter affect fruit set, growth, and production [ 3 , 4 , 5 ]. Recently, due to the increasing demand for papaya and the changing climate, the cultivation has expanded to temperate regions such as Far East Asia [ 6 , 7 , 8 ].…”

Spatial and compositional variations in fruit characteristics of papaya (Carica papayacv. Tainung No. 2) during ripening

“…Papaya originated from the lowland of Mexico to Panama and is found primarily in tropical regions between 23 °N and S latitudes because the cultivation requires high temperatures year-round (Daagema et al ., 2020). Subtropical regions, including Mediterranean countries, can also cultivate papaya; some of these regions have to use protected facilities, including a greenhouse because low temperatures during winter affect fruit set, growth, and production (Gunes and Gübbük, 2012; Salinas et al ., 2019; Salinas et al .,2022). Recently, papaya cultivation has expanded from subtropical and tropical regions to temperate regions, including Japan and the Republic of Korea, owing to increasing average temperature and consumer needs (Jeon et al ., 2022; Jeong et al ., 2020; Ogata et al ., 2016).…”