The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-08-17
CULTIVATION OF PAPAYA
IN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

L
| the Farmers Institute:
| The papaya is supposed 20 be in
| digenous to Central America. From
there it has been introduced through al
most the entire tropical world. While
| it is distinctly a tropical fruit and
reaches it's greatest perfection only in
| hot climates yet it may be cultivated
| with greater or less success as far north
| as the limit of frost. Hawaii, being a
mi-tropica1 land. furnishes then only
J a moderately good home for this
luscious fruit.
| 1t fiourishes best on the lee side OF
our Islands and in sheltered positions,
| though the trees will bear an astonish-
| ing amount of wind and still do fairly
we'll especially if they are grown in
| masses.
| LOCATION AND SOIL.
| In selecting a location for papaya
grove too great care cannot be exer-
cised. The essentials to success are
| good soil, abundant of water and good
drainage.
Good soil in this case does not neces-
sarily mean soil that is entirely free
from stones. Indeed the papaya is said
| to flourish best in rocky soil. In my
own experience have found that they
| flourish wherever they can get a foot
hold among the rocks, and can thrust
out their numerous lateral roots in
search of food, either under or between
the rocks.
However rocks are not an absolute
essential to the cultivation of the pa
paya, and if your field has once been
cleared of them, a return to natural
would IA Y6lU he a6VlSa BILE.
Sandy soil is not best suited to their
growth. nor is a heavy clay soil unless
you are sure of your drainage.
Abundance of water is an essential;
and this not only about the trunks of
the trees but over the entire field For
the roots penetrate every portion of the
surface soil, and if water is not present
in sufficient quantities, the trees, and
hence the fruit. will suffer
/ Most important of all perhaps is good
drainage: for a few days of standing
under water will ruin an orchard after
one has carefully tended it for months
or years. Several cases of this kind
have come to my notice. Either de-
cided slope or a porous soil or both are
absolutely necessary.
| PREPARATION OF SOIL.
/ Preparation of soil will vary much
J according to conditions. If the field
can be plowed to a good depth so much
the better; but if the soil is fairly light
and porous, this is not absolutely nee
essary.
| A good dressing of stable manure
| thoroughly worked into the soil month
| or two before planting would undoubt-
edly bring large returns. Indeed it is
almost Impossible to make the soil too
rich as the papaya is gross feeder and
/, will amply repay any extra outlay IN
the way of fertilizer by quickness and
rankness of growth, and in the increas-
| ed number, size and quality of its fruits
| AS one Honolulu lady remarked, You
must plant cats and dogs in the same
hole with your trees if you want big
papayas." This lady had some eighteen
Founders on her trees; think the larg-
est ever grown here.
In our red soil at Kaimuki, the only
preparation have found necessary was
! to dig holes, some three feet in diane
| ter and one foot deep wherever 1 could
find sufficient space between the rocks.
Into the soil thus loosened, we have put
: a handful of high grade commercial fer
tilizer This fertilizer has been thor
oughly mixed with the soil a day or
two before transplanting to prevent
burning. The young plant responds
very quickly to this extra stimulus,
and grows with almost amazing rapid
ity.
SELECTION AND SOWING OF
l. SEED.
The selection of seed is a very inn
portant matter, and rather difficult
| one Several species of papayas have
| been brought to Hawaii, but it is al
most impossible to secure pure seed of
any of them, so liable are they to cross
| fertilization However there are lines
| of division that are as yet quite dis
! tinet among our Hawaiian grown pa
/ payas.
! One of the best species for general
planting is the so-called long papa
va, sometimes called the Mexican papa
va. This 1 believe to be in its pure
state the most highly bred of them ALL
One distinctive feature of this variety
and very important one is that there
are no male trees. Every tree is COM
pletely hermaphrodite and so fruit
bearing. A field planted to this variety
alone presents a most pleasing sight
of strong even growth, and under ia
vorable conditions, of very heavy fruit
age. Indeed 1 sometimes think this va.
riety VIII bear more neglect imam any
of the others before refusing to yield
any more fruit.
The long papaya is SO distinct from
the others that a description seems al
most needless here. The fruits are from
eight to fourteen inches long, and from
three to five in diameter. They are
blunt at the stem end. and more or
less pointed at the blossom end. It's
flesh is fine-grained. juicy and delicious
| The only objection TO this papaya as
a market sort is that it does not keep
as well as some others. Dealers also
object to it on the ground that it is
too heavy for its apparent size, being
,.arv rneatv and solid. vet there are