Attack of the mutant papaya

[Tropicdude]

Just ordered some papaya seeds ( Impulse purchase )  of these two varieties:

Surya

and

Pusa Nanha


I did find some information on these two cultivars,   Surya is a very productive hybrid,  ( around 100 lbs ) and has very high brix for a papaya 11-13%

The weird one though is the Pusa Nanha, its a mutant , created using gamma rays, Hmmm anyone else thinking Hulk? anyway, this variety is a super dwarf, supposedly can handle standing water,  avg Brix around 8%, and is a good producer.   this variety was created for high density planting and is perfect for container growers.

I was wondering is anyone has tried growing any of these? or has tried them ?

I think these should do very well in 10 gal. fabric pots i have.

[Mike T]

http://www.papayaseed.com.au/redorganicpapayaseed.htm

William standard commercial types are 11 to 16 brix and a bit higher in the tropics.Backyard types should be a couple of brix higher as they don't need to be as hard for transport.The ones in this link are really for 20 to 28 latitude and I prefer the sweeter tropicals.Look at the yellows as well.

I have never heard of such a thing as gamma created dwarfs.Don't make it angry, you wouldn't like it when its angry.It might go green and rip up the garden.Gamma is a fraternity isn't it?

[Tropicdude]

http://www.papayaseed.com.au/redorganicpapayaseed.htm

William standard commercial types are 11 to 16 brix and a bit higher in the tropics.Backyard types should be a couple of brix higher as they don't need to be as hard for transport.The ones in this link are really for 20 to 28 latitude and I prefer the sweeter tropicals.Look at the yellows as well.

I have never heard of such a thing as gamma created dwarfs.Don't make it angry, you wouldn't like it when its angry.It might go green and rip up the garden.Gamma is a fraternity isn't it?

Thanks for the link,  papayas are like weeds here in the DR, I just wanted to "play around" with some off the wall varieties for fun.  as for brix measurements, its difficult to gauge the real brix on fruits, I have noticed with mangoes of the same variety that "stations" have a very big variance in the  measurements, i think this has to do with ripeness,  some places will measure the fruit when harvested, others at maximum ripeness to the point of almost being spoiled.

I know that Sun gold, and Red Lady are the sweetest commercial varieties available around these parts, and these are rated at 12-14%. they really are good. my wife makes us papaya shakes, at least twice a week.   I tried sun gold last year, and for folks that do not care for the musky Papaya aroma, you will love these because they have little of that and were delicious.  I really need to get me a refractometer.

[luc]

To Tropicdude : You are not gonna believe this but I have been looking for the Red Lady for a while , no luck ....
I have several great papayas growing , no name , if my mexican wife likes them then they must be good , I am still kinda struggling with the taste after 28 years in Mexico even though I know they are excellent for your health. 

[siafu]

Hi Luc,

You can get Red Lady papaya seeds from Aloha, but they are a bit
expensive, especially the postage and handling...

http://www.alohaseed.com/MediumFruit.htm

[Hollywood]

My Red Lady seedling just started producing some really lovely fruit. I kept this one seedling among the volunteers that came up from my original Red Lady hybrid because it has been completely resistant to disease and pests. The other seedlings had the normal problems with pests and disease but this seedling is untouchable. The fruit is a golden peach and has a mild papaya flavor without the murkiness, almost like a honeydew melon. I am too busy to ship seeds but anyone around here who wants seeds can PM if they want to pick up some.

[Tropicdude]

Aloha is where i got my Red Lady seeds previously, their shipping is kind of flat rate, so if your only buying a single 10 seed pack, at 2.50, the s&h is 5.00 bucks,  but if you buy a few packs, or buying large size , then its worth it.

The real bad news is, Red Lady is sold out, I just checked.   Red Lady is the most popular variety,  and for good reason.   I would recommend the Sun Gold, as an alternative.  also very sweet, PRSV tolerant, and big fruit. I only started like 3 of these last years, and gave them away because of lack of room, and my friends told me they were very good, I got to try one, and my wife liked them because it did not have that musky papaya smell.  and was very sweet.

after researching more on the two new Indian varieties I purchased, I think the Pusa Nanha will probably be best for shakes and drying, and the Surya will be good for eating straight as its much sweeter. hopefully the seeds will sprout, I will keep folks up to date on these.  Pusa would be great for those with little space, and northern growers.

[Mike T]

Those who were asking if the broadleaf papaya has good disease resistance the answer is yes in the tropics.The fruit is supposed to taste very nice but I can't confirm this myself until my one fruits.



The red veins and broad leaves develop early.




I suspect they will be widespread before long but at the moment it is only one farm in Australia.

[siafu]

Aloha is where i got my Red Lady seeds previously, their shipping is kind of flat rate, so if your only buying a single 10 seed pack, at 2.50, the s&h is 5.00 bucks,  but if you buy a few packs, or buying large size , then its worth it.

S&H increases considerably for international orders.

I payed 18 dollars s&h for a 20 dollar order. A bit expensive if you ask me, for such a small
and lightweight seed packets.

[Tropicdude]

@ Siafu  yeah that sounds expensive, I have a US mail service that forwards my mail to me, so pay US rates.  I think there are people on Ebay selling Red Lady once in a while at the moment nothing listed , but as they say, buyer beware as I do not believe seeds taken from a red lady fruit will be pure.

@Mike,  love the way those papaya trees look, who knows may be they are even resistant to PRSV  I would like to try these someday.

[siafu]

@ Siafu  yeah that sounds expensive, I have a US mail service that forwards my mail to me, so pay US rates.  I think there are people on Ebay selling Red Lady once in a while at the moment nothing listed , but as they say, buyer beware as I do not believe seeds taken from a red lady fruit will be pure.

@Mike,  love the way those papaya trees look, who knows may be they are even resistant to PRSV  I would like to try these someday.

Red Lady are hybrid and will not produce true to type seeds.

[Hollywood]

Red Lady is a hybrid and thus is not a clone of the parent. Many times the seedlings are inferior but I am pretty happy with the seedling I have. (And just to clear up any confusion, I wrote earlier that it is not as musky as most papaya, but iPad changed the word to "murky.")

ECHO sells papaya seeds of a few varieties. I think you can order online, can't you?

[Tropicdude]

@ Siafu  yeah that sounds expensive, I have a US mail service that forwards my mail to me, so pay US rates.  I think there are people on Ebay selling Red Lady once in a while at the moment nothing listed , but as they say, buyer beware as I do not believe seeds taken from a red lady fruit will be pure.

@Mike,  love the way those papaya trees look, who knows may be they are even resistant to PRSV  I would like to try these someday.

Red Lady are hybrid and will not produce true to type seeds.

Yep this is what I meant,  regarding the ebay sellers,  some may be selling seeds from fruit they have eaten and one should be careful , but other sellers may have bought big orders from reliable sources like Aloha, and re-pack the seeds to sell to the public for a profit.  so buyer should ask seller in these cases to make sure.  for example, a 1000 seed pack costs 75.50  vs 2.50 for a 10 seed pack.   so some entrepreneur may buy a big 1000 seed pack and break it up.   

On another note, I once purchased some papaya seeds from simply-thai  website,  these were factory sealed retail sale seed packages,  and they did not sprout for me.  they may have been old seeds, or damaged in some way in shipping (excessive heat, cold, microwaves? )  I also did not plant them right away, had them for about 2 months.   other seeds I ordered from this site, did grow though.
http://67-20-109-184.bluehost.com/Thai-Market-exotic-thai-fruit-seeds-index.htm