|
Exploiting
papaya for boosting agriculture economy
By
Mohammed Arifeen
 There is a great need of
exploiting the papaya fruit production for boosting especially the
agriculture economy in Pakistan. Many tropical countries have successfully
exploited this fruit crop as a commercial crop and have brought a
reasonable income to the poor farmers. This is a fruit that gives the
highest production in terms of fruit and net return next to banana.
Papaya is a native to Central
America. In the 15th century the seeds were carried to West Indies than to
Philippines, Africa and than to Indo-Pak subcontinent before 17th century.
Sufficient papayas are grown throughout the world and it is ranked 19th
among top 20 well known fruits of the world. For centuries being the home
grown crop it has risen to a profitable venture because of it quick return
throughout the year. It adjusts itself to different soil and climatic
conditions.
Papaya is a pear shaped tropical
fruit. It is sometimes called big melon. It is a tasteful and nutritious
fruit. It has rich sources of antioxidant nutrients like vitamin A, B, C,
minerals, potassium and fiber. It control indigestion and prevents
constipation. It provides relief from piles, lower cholesterol levels and
has anti- cancer properties. The regular use of papaya prevents the
formation of urinary stones and intestinal infection by parasites. It is a
satisfactory cure for dysentery and higher acidity. Pimples appearing on
the face are removed by rubbing raw papaya on the face. The regular use of
papayas maintains vigourness and good health. In some countries from
papaya leaves the malaria medicine is prepared. Some studies have revealed
that its constant use protect from ulcers.
It is an edible melon and its
juicy flesh is either golden yellow or red. The ripe fruit is usually
eaten raw without skin and raw seeds. In some of the countries like
Bangladesh and India the unripe papaya is cooked mostly in curries, salads
and stews. The extracts from papaya are used for food process,
pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.
The productive life of papaya is
of a shot span of 4 to 5 years. In this period it ensures a continuous
supply of papayas. As the papaya tree begins to mature the productivity
greatly declines. The plant begins to flower in 4 to 8 months and the
fruit develops in 4 to 6 months. It can commercially produce papaya for 3
to 4 years. It is susceptible to wind damage and sensitive to water
logging and saline condition. It is allergic to direct sunlight and the
optimum temperature required is 22 to 26 degree centigrade. It require
fertile soil and in some areas it can be grown it can be grown under
irrigation.
Papaya is attacked by various
diseases. Powdery Mildew appears on the foliage and pods. Infection first
appears on the leaves. Leaf Blight causes severe damages to leaves.
Damping-Off (Rhizoctonia Saloni) is a disease on young seedlings. Papaya
Mosaic disease attacks the papaya plants of all age groups. Leaf Curl of
Papaya, the disease is transmitted by the vector fly. Papaya Ring Spot
Virus is spread from plants to plants by aphids. (see table)
Analysing the papaya production
from the world perspective there is no reason why the papaya potential
cannot be exploited to a greater extent for boosting agriculture economy
in Pakistan. This will immensely help in raising the incomes of the poor
farmers. In this context Sindh and Punjab provinces are suitable for the
cultivation of papaya. Already, these provinces are blessed with very
small number of lush green orchards of papayas. Malir area of Karachi and
coastal areas in Sindh have been growing on commercial scale. In Malir two
kinds of papaya (Bombay and Sindhi) are grown for commercial purpose. The
climate of Sindh is appropriate. In Sindh papaya is grown as an inter crop
with mango and citrus fruits. The harvest season is from January to April
and August to November.
Currently, there are several
constraints in the immense production of quality papayas in Pakistan. The
fruit is highly perishable. Papaya production often varies from year to
year due to mainly high production cost, shortage of cold storages and
processing industries, seasonal price variation in production which is
most of the time low and not favorable to the poor growers. There is no
proper guidance from competent authorities to the growers relating to
information at the time of harvesting, grading, transportation, marketing
price and supply of produce.
If the above hurdles are removed
and better infra structural facilities especially the cold storage
facilities are provided, small and medium processing industries are
provided there are bright chances that the regular supply of papaya in the
markets will be maintained and the price variation will be controlled.
Further, in order to come to the level of leading papaya producing and
exporting countries the technical help may be sought from them and in this
context the government must play a vital role.
The world-wide leading 15 papayas
producing countries in the year 2005-06 were as follows:
Rank
Country
Production
(metric tons)
01.
Brazil
1,700,000
02.
Nigeria
751,000
03.
Mexico
498,000
04.
India
450,000
05.
Indonesia
336,068
06.
Congo
228,000
07.
Peru
164,813
08.
China
149,163
09.
Thailand
118,000
10.
Venezuela
88,486
11.
Ecuador
69,159
12.
Philippines 67,000
13.
Colombia
64,000
14.
Yemen
62,517
15.
Malaysia
51,000
World
5,082,396
|
|
