Best commercial papayas out there?

[Soren]

I'm looking for the best commercial papayas out there without the off-taste of vomit 

[K-Rimes]

Waimanolo 77 variety I hear is top tier. I'm growing this one out.

[Soren]

Thanks. I will look for seeds.

Waimanolo 77 variety I hear is top tier. I'm growing this one out.

[Steph]

Hi Soren,

I sent you some seeds and met you in Kampala maybe 15 years ago.

I have a negative view of X-77. It is relatively disease resistant in Hawaii and productive but not especially tasty. I think the flavor you object to is much less prevalent in the “red-fleshed” varieties. We grow “Eksotika”. It’s a cross between “Subang 6”, a large Malaysian papaya and the Hawaiian “Sunrise”solo. It is intermediate in size, cylindrical, has quite firm flesh, and very good eating quality. It’s disease resistant under our wet conditions. I think the Malaysian Department of Agriculture bred an “Eksotika II” but I haven’t tried that.

Perhaps you’ll want to trial these varieties, and Sunrise, Holland, Red Lady, etc, to see how they perform under your conditions and which might be favored in the marketplace.

If you’d like to try it, I can send you “Eksotika” seed when we return home next week.

Aloha,

Steph

[RodneyS]

I grow Sunrise aka Strawberry papaya.  No musk smell, and it's very sweet.  I recommend

[Soren]

Hi Steph,
Good to hear from you - yes, it's been a while, I got a beautiful hedge of your Surinam cherries at my compound How is your orchard doing? As you might remember, all the papayas in Uganda are unfortunately large, very mushy, with a large cavity and an offensive aftertaste, why none of them have commercial potential. I have tried a few different varieties from elsewhere, I remember one of the better being the broad leaf type from Mike T.

I would be happy to try out your "Eksotika"


Digging a bit on the forum I found a related old thread; https://tropicalfruitforum.com/index.php?topic=17998.0

[Soren]

I grow Sunrise aka Strawberry papaya.  No musk smell, and it's very sweet.  I recommend

I can see Oscar also enjoyed the Strawberry papaya, looks like Australia and Hawaii are the places to look for good varieties.

[Oqueel]

Thank you for bringing this up, Soren. We have year round papaya here but all my life I've always eaten them as a last resort and under duress. I'll definitely look out for these suggested varieties. Thanks again.

Nef

[lebmung]

Tainung it's very good taste as well, red, not many seeds.

[pineislander]

This one has been the best for me, but the Red Maradol has also been good. If you are growing commercial be absolutely sure to plant the professional level hybrid seeds. I believe they are specially grown so that the seeds are "Feminized". The advantage of that comes because when you plant them you never get useless male plants, plus some hybrid vigor and known fruit characteristics of size, flavor, and flesh color. As I understand it, the growers of these seeds force a female plant to make pollen which fertilizes a female flower and results in seeds produces no males. By doing this, you can reliably produce seedlings which will all make fruit when transplanted. Commercially you need to be sure there is no chance of standing water around the papaya, full sun and high fertility. Try to avoid leaning trees they bear heavy loads and can easily be lodged over or break off in wind. Pick fruit at first color stripe for shipping.

This shows a fine example of what can be achieved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6ooVX7icbY

[K-Rimes]

Hi Soren,

I sent you some seeds and met you in Kampala maybe 15 years ago.

I have a negative view of X-77. It is relatively disease resistant in Hawaii and productive but not especially tasty. I think the flavor you object to is much less prevalent in the “red-fleshed” varieties. We grow “Eksotika”. It’s a cross between “Subang 6”, a large Malaysian papaya and the Hawaiian “Sunrise”solo. It is intermediate in size, cylindrical, has quite firm flesh, and very good eating quality. It’s disease resistant under our wet conditions. I think the Malaysian Department of Agriculture bred an “Eksotika II” but I haven’t tried that.

Perhaps you’ll want to trial these varieties, and Sunrise, Holland, Red Lady, etc, to see how they perform under your conditions and which might be favored in the marketplace.

If you’d like to try it, I can send you “Eksotika” seed when we return home next week.

Aloha,

Steph

Appreciate an in depth review on the 77 and the others. I have had issues with mine dying from diseases in the cold here so this is promising for me, even if flavor is lacking a bit.

I'll check in for those other varieties when it's time to get more.

[Soren]

This one has been the best for me, but the Red Maradol has also been good. If you are growing commercial be absolutely sure to plant the professional level hybrid seeds. I believe they are specially grown so that the seeds are "Feminized". The advantage of that comes because when you plant them you never get useless male plants, plus some hybrid vigor and known fruit characteristics of size, flavor, and flesh color. As I understand it, the growers of these seeds force a female plant to make pollen which fertilizes a female flower and results in seeds produces no males. By doing this, you can reliably produce seedlings which will all make fruit when transplanted. Commercially you need to be sure there is no chance of standing water around the papaya, full sun and high fertility. Try to avoid leaning trees they bear heavy loads and can easily be lodged over or break off in wind. Pick fruit at first color stripe for shipping.

This shows a fine example of what can be achieved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6ooVX7icbY

The main problem of growing fruits on a commercial scale in most African countries is getting quality propagation material. I have been collecting since 2003, and most need to be carried into Uganda by hand. So hybrid seeds will - at least in the beginning - be a one-time off, after which we need to propagate, select and try to stabilize a lineage, which we can use. Results will obviously not be optimal, but compared to the current situation - a big step up.

[pineislander]

This one has been the best for me, but the Red Maradol has also been good. If you are growing commercial be absolutely sure to plant the professional level hybrid seeds. I believe they are specially grown so that the seeds are "Feminized". The advantage of that comes because when you plant them you never get useless male plants, plus some hybrid vigor and known fruit characteristics of size, flavor, and flesh color. As I understand it, the growers of these seeds force a female plant to make pollen which fertilizes a female flower and results in seeds produces no males. By doing this, you can reliably produce seedlings which will all make fruit when transplanted. Commercially you need to be sure there is no chance of standing water around the papaya, full sun and high fertility. Try to avoid leaning trees they bear heavy loads and can easily be lodged over or break off in wind. Pick fruit at first color stripe for shipping.

This shows a fine example of what can be achieved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6ooVX7icbY

The main problem of growing fruits on a commercial scale in most African countries is getting quality propagation material. I have been collecting since 2003, and most need to be carried into Uganda by hand. So hybrid seeds will - at least in the beginning - be a one-time off, after which we need to propagate, select and try to stabilize a lineage, which we can use. Results will obviously not be optimal, but compared to the current situation - a big step up.

Unless you learn to feminize the seeds you will waste half of the acreage growing male trees. Wasting half of the planting can't be commercialized. That is why no commercial farmer would plant open pollinated papaya seeds.

[Julie]

I got a Red Lady papaya from PIN and I'm growing out two seedlings now.  Hopefully one is a female plant!  Red Lady is very good.  I also bought Sunrise papaya seeds from University of Hawaii for 1.50 per packet and no shipping.  Just wanted to let you know about this amazing deal.

[Soren]

This one has been the best for me, but the Red Maradol has also been good. If you are growing commercial be absolutely sure to plant the professional level hybrid seeds. I believe they are specially grown so that the seeds are "Feminized". The advantage of that comes because when you plant them you never get useless male plants, plus some hybrid vigor and known fruit characteristics of size, flavor, and flesh color. As I understand it, the growers of these seeds force a female plant to make pollen which fertilizes a female flower and results in seeds produces no males. By doing this, you can reliably produce seedlings which will all make fruit when transplanted. Commercially you need to be sure there is no chance of standing water around the papaya, full sun and high fertility. Try to avoid leaning trees they bear heavy loads and can easily be lodged over or break off in wind. Pick fruit at first color stripe for shipping.

This shows a fine example of what can be achieved:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6ooVX7icbY

The main problem of growing fruits on a commercial scale in most African countries is getting quality propagation material. I have been collecting since 2003, and most need to be carried into Uganda by hand. So hybrid seeds will - at least in the beginning - be a one-time off, after which we need to propagate, select and try to stabilize a lineage, which we can use. Results will obviously not be optimal, but compared to the current situation - a big step up.

Unless you learn to feminize the seeds you will waste half of the acreage growing male trees. Wasting half of the planting can't be commercialized. That is why no commercial farmer would plant open pollinated papaya seeds.

I am in an African setting remember, not in Hawaii or tropical Australia. We have to work with what's possible here. Nobody is interested in using open-pollinated seeds for the next generation, but that can be controlled too.

[Julie]

Hi Soren,

I sent you some seeds and met you in Kampala maybe 15 years ago.

I have a negative view of X-77. It is relatively disease resistant in Hawaii and productive but not especially tasty. I think the flavor you object to is much less prevalent in the “red-fleshed” varieties. We grow “Eksotika”. It’s a cross between “Subang 6”, a large Malaysian papaya and the Hawaiian “Sunrise”solo. It is intermediate in size, cylindrical, has quite firm flesh, and very good eating quality. It’s disease resistant under our wet conditions. I think the Malaysian Department of Agriculture bred an “Eksotika II” but I haven’t tried that.

Perhaps you’ll want to trial these varieties, and Sunrise, Holland, Red Lady, etc, to see how they perform under your conditions and which might be favored in the marketplace.

If you’d like to try it, I can send you “Eksotika” seed when we return home next week.

Aloha,

Steph

What is meant by "solo papaya"?  Thanks for the education

[ben mango]

Solo is a orange fleshed variety grown commercially in Hawaii