How to grow papaya for high yield? A detailed explanation of practical cultivation techniques
How can papaya be grown for high yield? Please advise. Papaya is a plant of the genus Chaenomeles in the Rosaceae family; its fruit is nutritious and has high medicinal value. The key points of high-yield papaya cultivation techniques in the field are described below: Papaya is suitable for close planting. On poor mountainous and hilly land, the plant spacing is generally 1.5-2 m x 3 m...
How can papaya be grown for high yield? Please advise
Papaya is a plant of the genus Chaenomeles in the Rosaceae family; its fruit is nutritious and has high medicinal value. The key points of high-yield papaya cultivation techniques in the field are described below:
Planting
Papaya is suitable for close planting. On poor mountainous and hilly land, the plant spacing is generally 1.5-2 m x 3 m; on flat land with good fertilizer and water conditions, a plant spacing of 2-3 m x 4-5 m is appropriate; when intercropped with grain or vegetables, a plant spacing of 3-5 m x 5-6 m is appropriate. Papaya can be planted in spring or autumn. After planting, the trunk can be headed at 70-80 cm above ground. During bud break, promptly remove root suckers and sprouts within 50 cm of the base of the main trunk, and appropriately thin out overly dense new shoots.
Soil, fertilizer and water management
Papaya has strong adaptability, is not strict about site soil, tolerates poor soil, is relatively tolerant of saline-alkali soil, and is not tolerant of waterlogging. In papaya orchards, base fertilizer is mostly applied in autumn, and the amount of base fertilizer applied accounts for about 70% of the total annual application. Topdressing should be carried out according to the growth and fruiting status of the papaya tree, during the period of maximum fertilizer efficiency. Trees in full fruiting stage should be promptly topdressed with pre-flowering fertilizer, post-flowering fertilizer and fruit-swelling fertilizer. Before flowering, apply 0.2-0.3 kg of special fruit tree fertilizer per tree. At ordinary times, spray 0.2% urea and 0.2% potassium dihydrogen phosphate in combination with pest and disease control. During the fruit-swelling stage, mainly apply phosphorus and potassium fertilizers. When applying base fertilizer in autumn, apply 10-15 kg of organic fertilizer per fruiting tree, mixed with 0.5-1.0 kg of ternary compound fertilizer; the fertilizer amount for young trees should be reduced accordingly. After fertilizing, irrigate thoroughly once, and pay attention to controlling water during the flowering period. In arid areas, after planting, the tree disk should be covered with plastic film or straw to preserve soil moisture.
Training and pruning
Grafted papaya trees have a relatively upright central leader, and after slight pruning they can be trained into a cup shape, cylindrical shape or slender spindle shape, mainly the slender spindle shape. The tree height is 2.1-2.3 m, the crown diameter is 1.2-1.8 m, and the trunk height is 0.5-0.6 m. The main trunk bears 8-12 alternately arranged main branches, with 20-30 cm between adjacent main branches, and each main branch bears 1-3 fruiting branch groups. Main branches should be left unpruned to encourage the growth of medium and short branches. Pruning is mainly thinning. During the growing season, pay attention to removing competing shoots on the central leader, upright water sprouts within the crown, overly dense branches, thin and weak branches, and diseased and pest-damaged branches. At positions lacking branches, cut back heavily leaving 1-2 buds to encourage branching. Aged fruiting branch groups should be retracted and renewed in a timely manner.
Pest and disease control
The main pests and diseases of papaya are: leaf spot, ring rot, anthracnose, dry rot, aphids, red spiders, papaya stem borer, peach fruit borer, pear psylla, slug moths, etc. Control methods: in early March, spray 3000-fold imidacloprid emulsifiable concentrate; in late May to early June and in early July, spray once each a mixture of 500-fold 30% Taoxiaoling emulsifiable concentrate and 600-800-fold 50% carbendazim wettable powder to control papaya stem borer, slug moths, peach fruit borer and leaf spot, etc.; from late July until leaf fall, at intervals of 20-25 days, alternately spray 800-fold 70% mancozeb solution, 600-800-fold 50% carbendazim wettable powder, equal-amount Bordeaux mixture and other fungicides, for a total of 3-4 sprays. At the same time, pay attention to controlling various caterpillars, pear psylla and other pests. After winter begins, clean up the orchard, sweep up fallen leaves, mummified fruit, and diseased and pest-damaged branches, and burn them in a centralized manner.
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