California papaya itself is a superior type of papaya with a fast maturity. Because it is an early maturing type, the California papaya can be harvested in a short time, namely it can be harvested when it is 7 months old. Because the harvest period is quite short, this type of papaya has shorter stems compared to other types of papaya. California papaya fruit has the characteristics of measuring 0.8 – 2 kg/fruit, thick skinned, oval shaped yellow ripe fruit, sweet taste, chewy and thick flesh.
In terms of productivity, California papaya has quite high productivity. As explained above, the harvest can be done when it is 7 months – 9 months old with a productive age of up to 4 years. California papaya harvest can be done four times every month. Each harvest can produce 10-20 papayas per tree. If you cultivate California papaya on 1 hectare of land, one harvest can produce 2 tons of California papaya.
Sowing California Papaya Seeds
California papaya seeds are produced from sowing seeds. Can be obtained from ripe California papaya fruit on the tree or buy at a farm shop. Following are the steps for sowing California papaya seeds:
The seeds to be used for seeds are soaked in water overnight. After checking the seeds overnight, the ones used for seeds are those that have sunk.
The selected seeds are soaked in wet newspaper/cloth for a week, for maintenance it is enough to keep the newspaper or cloth damp.
Seeds that have been soaked for 1 week are ready to be sown in polybags, the composition of the planting medium used is fine soil and compost in a ratio of 2:1
Seedlings are ready to be planted in cultivation land when they are 1-1.5 months old.
Planting California Papaya Seeds
Before planting seeds, the land must first be cleaned of weeds. The next step is to make planting holes with a distance between plants of 2.5 M x 2.5 M or 2.5 M x 2.75 M. The plant population per hectare is between 1,450 to 1,600 trees. Hole with a mixture of soil and manure.
The hole that has been made is then filled with water. And seeds can be planted directly into the plant hole. The best time to plant California papaya seeds is in the afternoon.