Carica papaya
Carica papaya is a herbaceous plant of the genus Carica in the family Caricaceae. Its fruit is commonly known as papaya, papayón, fruta bomba, olocotón, papaya, mamón, lechosa or lechoza.[citation required]
Carica from the Greek “karike”, name of a fig tree. Papaya, derives from the Mayan "páapay-ya" which means marbled sapote. It belongs to the Caricaceae family. The papaya plant is an evergreen arborescent species.
Classification and description
It is a vegetable trunk generally unbranched (it only branches if said trunk is injured), cultivated it has a height between 1.9 and 2.5 m crowned by a foliage of leaves long petiolate. Even in mature individuals, it retains a succulent and turgid texture, scarcely woody, and presents numerous characteristic scars, a product of the consecutive growth and fall of the leaves. The sap has a milky consistency (hence its name «milky»), and is naturally toxic to humans, and can cause allergic irritations on contact with the skin. This milky sap contains a very useful enzyme, papain, used as a meat tenderizer: on grills or barbecues, the juice that flows when cutting the green papaya rind is used to sprinkle it on the meat, which leaves it extremely tender and juicy..
The leaves are alternate, conglomerated at the apex of the trunk and branches, patent, 25-75 cm in diameter, smooth, more or less tall, and palmate with robust, radiating median veins; the base is deeply cordate with overlapping lobes; there are 7 to 11 large lobes, each with a broad or somewhat constricted base and acuminate, acute apex, pinatenervate and irregularly pinnatilobate. Upper surface glossy dark green or yellow-green, conspicuously marked by sunken yellowish-white veins and reticulate veins; dull pale yellowish-green below with prominent and conspicuous veins and veins; the petiole is rounded, yellowish-green, tinged with light purple or violet, fistulate, fragile, 25-100 cm long and 0.5-1.5 cm thick.
Papayo bushes have three different kinds of feet; some with female flowers, others with hermaphroditic flowers and others with male flowers. The female flowers have a calyx formed by a very pronounced crown or five-pointed star that is easy to distinguish. Above this is the ovary, covered by sepals; there are five of them, yellow-white in color, and when very tender, slightly touched with violet at the tip; they are not welded. The stigmas are five, yellow, and fan-shaped. The fruits of this stem are large and globose. The hermaphroditic flowers have both sexes and the tree that bears them has three different kinds of flowers. A so-called pentandria, similar to the female flower, but when the petals are separated, five stamens can be seen and the ovary is lobed. The fruits of this flower are globose and lobed. Another type of flower is called elongata and has ten stamens, placed in two batches; the flower is elongated and cylindrical in shape, like the ovary, bearing elongated fruits. The last type of flower is intermediate or irregular, it is not a well-constituted flower, forming deformed fruits.
The male flowers grow on long peduncles of more than half a meter in length and at the ends of which there are clusters made up of 15-20 small flowers. The flowers are formed by a long tube made up of the welded petals, inside which there are 10 stamens, placed in two batches of five each. The flower has a small rudimentary pistil and is devoid of stigmas. These flowers do not bear fruit, but if they do they are elongated and of poor quality. The fruits and flowers develop in clusters just below the insertion of the stalks of the palmate leaves.
The fruits have a smooth texture and an oblong shape, and can be green, yellow, orange or pink. Being able to weigh up to 20 kg, in most cases they do not usually weigh more than 500 or 600 g, especially in a variety of dwarf plants, very productive and generally intended for export, due to their longer duration after harvest and before consumption. The size of the fruits decreases depending on the age of the plant. Berry ovoid-oblong, pyriform or nearly cylindrical, large, fleshy, juicy, longitudinally grooved on top, yellowish-green, yellow or yellow-orange when ripe, one-celled, orange or reddish inside with numerous parietal seeds and 10-25 cm or more in length and 7-15 cm or more in diameter. The seeds are black, rounded or ovoid and enclosed in a transparent, subacid aril; the cotyledons are ovoid-oblong, flattened and white.
It is not a demanding plant in terms of soils, and can develop in any abandoned land or even in a large pot. It is one of the most productive plants in relation to its size, since it always has flowers and fruits at the same time. The development of the fruits causes the lower leaves to fall, so they are always exposed below the leaves.
Geographic distribution
It is a species native to Mesoamerica. In Mexico it is distributed by the Gulf from Tamaulipas to the Yucatan Peninsula, by the Pacific it is found from Baja California to Chiapas. At present it is cultivated in all tropical regions of America, from Mexico to Argentina, Chile and Brazil, naturalized in the tropics of the Old World.
It has been known since ancient times that plants, like any other living being, are not distributed uniformly on the earth's surface and that each of them occupies certain territories. Carica papaya en known and used in almost all of America for several centuries, although today it is cultivated in many countries on other continents, mainly in Asia and Africa. Before the arrival of the Europeans, in Mexico it was given the name chichihualtzapotl, which in Nahuatl means "nurse sapote", and it was a fruit especially related to fertility.
Currently the papaya plant is cultivated in most of the countries of the intertropical zone of the world, being the first producing countries: India, Brazil, Indonesia, Nigeria and Mexico (data from FAO, 2013).
The species is naturally dioecious, but artificial selection has produced hermaphrodite specimens from Central America (Southern Mexico). It is currently cultivated in Puerto Rico, Florida, Hawaii, the Granada coast (Spain), the Canary Islands, East Africa, South Africa, Chile, Ceylon, India, Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Paraguay, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Venezuela, Cuba, Costa Rica, Malay Archipelago, Bolivia, Panama and Australia.
Atmosphere
It can grow on hillocks and ravines, it thrives in all the hot lands in a tropical or subtropical climate, from the hottest and driest of the subhumid to the humid variant of the subhumid climate. Moisture and heat are essential conditions for its good development and fruitfulness. It grows and develops from sea level up to 1500 m s. no. m.. The average precipitation is 1,500 to 2,500 mm per year and the average annual temperature is 20 to 25 °C. It develops in different kinds of soil as long as they are fertile, soft, deep and permeable with a pH of 5.5 to 6.
This excellent fruit is grown on very different types of soil, but it is essential that they be rich in organic matter and that they contain abundant moisture. The papaya is a tropical plant, it can be cultivated from sea level to 1000 masl, but the best quality fruits and the highest yields are obtained at altitudes below 800 masl.
The most important climatic factors that decisively influence the development of this crop are analyzed below, as well as the main characteristics that a soil must have for the crop to produce successfully.
- Temperature:
Humidity and heat are the essential conditions for the proper development of papaya. It requires areas with an average rainfall of 1800 mm per year and an average annual temperature of 20 to 25 °C; Although it can resist light cold, if it does not have a sufficient amount of heat, it develops poorly and the fruits do not mature. It should not be grown in areas prone to frost or temperatures below freezing, as these will cause the death of the plant. The cool and humid nights cause the fruit to ripen slowly and be of poor quality. As for the wind, it supports it well, since its stem is very flexible and the petioles of the leaves and the peduncles of the flowers are attached to it, making it difficult for them to detach. Strong winds can damage some leaves but not flowers or fruits.
Temperature is the limiting climatic factor, which allows this fruit tree to develop, or not. The temperature range is between 22 and 30 °C, but its optimum is between 23 and 26 °C. Low temperatures inhibit its growth and high temperatures cause floral abscission and low production. Heatwaves and droughts, especially during flowering, cause its fall and the plant comes to suspend its growth.
- Humidity:
Water is the main contributor to the plant; about 85% is made up of water. The papaya, both in the germination process, in the nursery and in the first months after planting, needs a large amount of water for its growth and development, which is why weekly irrigation must be carried out in this phase. In the dry season and when the rain is not adequate, irrigation must be used to maintain the plants with a good development.
- Light:
Papaya needs abundant light due to its high photosynthetic activity. It is impossible to develop plantations with light restrictions, as the plants would be elongated and yellow, this is a symptom of malnutrition, which results in inadequate plant development.
- Wind:
Because it is a herbaceous plant with long petioles, it tends to be sensitive to the action of the winds. Therefore, if it is grown in areas where there are strong winds, windbreaks are necessary, preferably using native trees (guasima or caulote) and vegetation with properties that have the function of making a pest retention barrier such as paradise. and the neem.
- Sue:
The main characteristics that a soil must have for this crop are the following: loose and humid; with good drainage; high organic matter content; pH that fluctuates between six and seven; fertile and deep soils.
The soil can also be improved, so it is not one of the most worrying factors when planning a plantation. The papaya develops in light, fertile (rich in humus), soft, deep and permeable soils. As it has soft and spongy stems and roots, it should be grown in well-drained soils, since in soils that are too wet and compact, the roots will rot.
- Altitude:
The best productions occur between 0 and 800 masl.
Conservation status
In Mesoamerica it is found wild and cultivated, in other countries it is only present in cultivated form. It is not a species that is located in any category of the norm 059 of the SEMARNAT of Mexico.
Properties
Papaya is known as a fruit for consumption, both directly and in juices and sweets (made with the green fruit cooked with sugar), and it has magnificent properties to facilitate the digestion of foods that are difficult to assimilate, due to its high papain content. More than 10,000 tons of this enzyme, called papain, are produced worldwide every year. The utility of this derivative product is in the manufacture of beer, cosmetics and food industry.
It is eupeptic-digestive, adjuvant to healing; anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic. Seeds are vermifuge, emmenagogue. Especially interesting against hookworms, roundworms, trichuris and strongyloides.
Indicated for hyposecretory dyspepsia. Prevention of arteriosclerosis and thromboembolism. Intestinal parasites. Topically it is used for wounds and trophic ulcerations with inflammatory or necrotic remains, boils.
When handling powdered papain, the eyes should be protected, due to the possibility of producing corneal ulcerations due to its keratolytic action.
Latex is used, obtained by incision of the fruits.
Uses
It is one of the most important and most consumed fruits. Much appreciated for its nutritional properties and its delicate flavor. Ideal for diets, as it contains vitamins B1, B2 and niacin or B3, all from Complex B, which regulate the nervous system and the digestive system; strengthen the heart muscle; they protect the skin and hair and are essential for growth. It also contains vitamins A and C, it is rich in minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, iron, sulfur, silicon, sodium and potassium. On the other hand, it has low caloric value, about 40 cal/100 g of fruit. The fiber content improves digestion. It has astringent properties.
Also, its shell contains the substance papain, which has multiple uses. Papaya is also a source of lycopene, containing about 1,800 μg per 100 g.
The fruit is usually eaten raw, without its peel and seeds. The immature green fruit of the papaya can be eaten in salads and stews. It has a relatively high amount of pectin, which can be used to prepare jams.
Unripe papaya is used in Thai cooking either raw or cooked.
The black seeds have a strong flavor, but are edible. Sometimes they are ground and used as a substitute for black pepper. In some parts of Asia, the young papaya leaves are boiled and eaten like spinach. In some parts of the world the leaves are prepared as a tea to be consumed as a prevention of malaria, although there is no real scientific evidence of the effectiveness of this treatment.
In Cuba it is customary to consume it ripe (many add sugar), but since sweets are also made with it, the ripe and pintonas (neither green nor ripe) are used.
The area of the Coquimbo Region in north-central Chile (Ovalle, La Serena), is famous for its production of Chilean papayas or Chilean carica, of the variety Carica candamarcensis or Pubescens, which is characterized by being very aromatic, yellow in color, small in size, thin skin and high nutritional-functional value: papain enzyme that complements the digestion and assimilation of proteins, elimination of toxins from the digestive system, fiber for the elimination of sugar, vitamin C as an antioxidant.
In northeastern Argentina and southern Paraguay it is very common to eat papaya or "Mamón" (as it is called in the area) raw, with a little sugar or prepared in syrup, in a process of boiling with sugar and bicarbonate for several hours. The final product is exquisite and is accompanied with some cheese for dessert. It should be noted that this product is also consumed in Venezuela (where it is given the name dulce de lechosa) mostly at Christmas time. Sugar is replaced by panela (papelón) and cloves are added. Also in this last country the ripe fruit is consumed as fruit, in smoothies or "shakes" and in shakes with milk or "merengadas".
Traditional Medicine
In some parts of the world, papaya leaves are made into tea as a treatment for malaria, but the mechanism is not known; and, no treatment method based on such results has been scientifically proven.
There are already several serious scientific studies that demonstrate and verify several of the properties of papaya leaves, which; Prepared in infusion, they help fight malaria. According to a study carried out in 2016 by Oche Okpe et al. from the Department of Biochemistry at the University of Agriculture in Makurdi, Nigeria, the findings demonstrated that after interperitoneal inoculation of red cells parasitized with Plasmodium berghei to a group of mice and subsequent administration of papaya leaf extracts, there was a reduction in parasite load and recovery of liver cells from black pigmentation congestion was induced. Therefore, this study highlighted the importance of using the plant in traditional medicine as a remedy against malaria infection.
Allergies and side effects
Papaya release latex fluid when unripe, which can cause irritation and allergic reactions in some people. Because of its whitish color it is called milky in countries like Venezuela and the Dominican Republic.
Production
| Country | Production (2019) (thousands of tons) |
|---|---|
 India
| 4457 |
Brazil Brazil
| 1854 |
Indonesia Indonesia
| 958 |
Dominican Republic Dominican Republic
| 891 |
Mexico Mexico
| 836 |
Nigeria Nigeria
| 760 |
Honduras Honduras
| 634 |
Panama Panama
| 720 |
Peru Peru
| 480 |
Democratic Republic of the Congo Democratic Republic of the Congo
| 280 |
 Thailand
| 212 |
Guatemala Guatemala
| 205 |
Philippines Philippines
| 157 |
Colombia Colombia
| 105 |
 Argentina
| 80 |
Chile Chile
| 20 |
Cuba Cuba
| 115 |
Propagation
Vegetative Propagation
It is done using cuttings obtained artificially from the ramifications of the little tree, since the papaya does not branch until it is three or four years old. Old trees will suffer the operation of topping or removal of the head or top of the tree, thus causing the production of branches or lateral tops.
The cuttings will be the 25-30cm shoots that are cut and cauterized with hot water at around 50°C. These cuttings are planted in pots that are placed in places protected from the sun's rays and with humidity until the roots are emitted.
Propagation by seed
It is the cheapest and easiest way to propagate papaya. Different results will be obtained, depending on whether seeds from female trees fertilized with male papayas or seeds from female and hermaphrodite trees are used.
The germination power of papaya seeds is usually short, so they should be planted as close as possible to the harvest season. This sowing can be direct on the ground or previous in the seedbed. Seedbed sowing will be done using peat and black plastic pots 10 cm in diameter and 15 cm deep.
The soil in the seedbed should be kept moist, when the plants are about 10-15 cm (about two months after sowing) in height they will be transplanted to the cultivation ground.
Taxonomy
Carica papaya was described by Carlos Linnaeus and published in Species Plantarum 2: 1036. 1753.
Common names
This fruit receives different names in America like this:
- In the Taino language: mapja
- In kalina language: kabaya
- In Arabic language: Papaya
- In maipure language: mapya
- In Ottoman language: Papal
- In Cuba: fruit bomb (papapaya refers vulgarly to female genitals)
- In Mexico, Colombia, Peru, Panama, Bolivia, Chile, Spain, Uruguay and Puerto Rico: Papaya
- In the Caribbean: abahai
- In the Argentine coast and Paraguay: Mammon
- In Venezuela, and Dominican Republic: yummy, yummy
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