Papaya germplasm conservation through superior varieties assembly in Indonesia

Abstract

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is well adapted in tropical regions, including Indonesia, thus papaya genetic variability in this country is diverse. Indonesian papaya genetic variability is mainly observed on fruit quality characters, such as fruit size, flesh color, sweet taste, fruit texture, and flesh thickness. Papaya genetic resources conservation was conducted by employing them on papaya new superior variety improvement. Conventional papaya breeding was conducted through hybridization, selection, evaluation, and adaptation tests. Indonesian papaya hybridization and selection which are handled by the Indonesian Tropical Fruit Research Institute have been selected hybrids. The adaptation test of those selected genotypes has been carried out on several development regions. Overall, the papaya breeding activities have been delivered papaya varieties Merah Delima, Agri Solinda, Carvita Agrihorti, and a number of superior varieties candidate. The papaya superior varieties released with sweet taste, small to medium fruit size, thick flesh, high edible portion, high vitamin C content, red orange flesh color, and high productivity.