Studies on papaya cultivation in hilly Tripura: improved socio-economical status and their problems and prospects
2014
Das, S.C. | Dinesh, M.R. | Das, A (Apurba) | Suresh, C.P.
Papaya (Carica papaya) is regarded as the wonder fruit of the tropics and subtropics. It has got great importance due to its high nutritive value and production potentiality. Owing to the increasing demand for fruits, the area and production have increased during the last few years in the state. Tripura is a hilly and land locked state, with total geographical area of about 10,491 km2 of which 60% is hill with dense forest and 27% is under cultivation. Agro-climatic conditions (humid subtropical), fertile and acidic soil with good depth and abundant rainfall favour the cultivation of papaya. Systematic and accurate estimate of area and production are not available in the state. But still papaya is the most important fruit crop in the state and is cultivated in about 1,334 ha with an annual production of 18,455.00 t with a productivity of 13.83 t ha-1, which is far below the national productivity of 31.69 t ha-1. The few genotypes evaluated are ‘Coorg Honey Dew’, ‘Pusa Dwarf’, ‘Pusa Majesty’, ‘Pusa Nanha’, ‘Washington’, ‘Surya’ and local types. The ‘Coorg Honey Dew’, ‘Pusa Majesty’ and local type are performing good with respect to yield and quality parameters. Since, it has been grown for the last several years in backyard gardens, many mixed populations have developed, which need sanitization and also have scope to choose a superior clone. Low productivity recorded in the state is due to improper management. Most of the orchards are having the problem of water stress from December to March leading to severe moisture stress and heavy rain from April to October causes heavy soil erosion, nutrition loss from top soil and it also offers a favorable climate for attracting many diseases and insects. The serious problem at seedling stage (damping off), mosaic, Papaya ring spot virus, leaf curl, mealy bug and mites are very destructive at different stages of plant growth. Frost during December-January in the state is also creating problems for papaya cultivation. The soil across the state is acidic in nature, which hampers the availability of the important nutrients to the plants and affects the yield. Depletion of nutrients by washing of rich top soil and leaching losses are causing nutritional deficiencies. The proper management practices like GAP, with moisture conservation methods during stress period (December to March) and efficient and timely management of diseases and pests through environmental friendly approaches will boost the production and productivity of papaya.
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