Developing local seed production systems for 'Fiji Red' papaya
2016
Stice, K. N. | Tora, L. | Iranacolaivalu, M. | Waqainabete, T.
Over the past decade, papaya has emerged as a key lead commodity for horticulture development in the Fiji Islands. Currently Fiji exports an average of 800 t of papaya annually to New Zealand, Australia and Hong Kong. The Fiji papaya industry was founded on the sweet red-fleshed 'Solo Sunrise' cultivar developed by the University of Hawaii (UH) Seed Lab. It was introduced to Fiji in the 1980's along with the protocols to produce seed and maintain the inbred line through 'selfing'. Despite the relative simplicity of seed production of an inbred line, the Fiji industry has continued to rely on the UH for its supply of seeds. For a variety of reasons the UH is no longer a reliable and acceptable supplier of 'Solo Sunrise' seed and thus it became imperative that the Fiji industry establish a sustainable local seed production system. Past efforts where the public sector has tried to produce papaya seed for the industry have not been satisfactory. In response, an industry led initiative in close collaboration with the Fiji Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) began in 2009 to establish a local seed production scheme and to begin the formal branding of this inbred line as 'Fiji Red'. The scheme is designed to ensure a steady supply of seed by encouraging enterprises to take up the role of seed producers. The MOA's role is in area is through certification and training. This paper examines the success and challenges of establishing a local seed production scheme.
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