How to produce papaya tree by vegetative propagation?
Answers
Propagation of the papaya for commercial production is normally by seed; as a consequence, wide variability in sex expression and fruit characters is usually observed among the individuals in the population of even small plantings. This variability poses problems in breeding and selection as it limits the repeatability with precision of particular crosses with resulting restriction of progenies of pre-determined parentage. In addition, the multiplication of selections must be left to chance when seedlings only are used.
Various workers have reproduced the papaya plant by adoption of procedures used in vegetative propagation but no mention has been found anywhere of the practice of any of these for other than experimental purposes. At the University of the West Indies, work was undertaken to devise a means of producing genetically uniform populations of papaya plants for a breeding programme with the hope that it may prove applicable in commercial practice.
Two budding techniques - forkert and chip - were sufficiently successful in the trials to merit consideration for development of their use in commercial nurseries. Rootstocks consisting of free seedlings and also seedlings of a recognised cultivar were satisfactory with scions taken from plants expressing themselves as male, hermaphrodite and female. Provision of suitable scions in quantity presented little difficulty; selected plants were induced to produce side-shoots by heading back and these shoots were removed for use when they attained a diameter of about 1.5 cm.