Problems and Prospects of Papaya Cultivation in Northeastern States of India

Systematic and accurate estimate of area and production of different horticultural crops in the northeastern region are not available. But still papaya is the fourth important fruit crop next to citrus, banana and pineapple in the region and is cultivated in about 12,700 ha with an annual production of 158,900 mt with a productivity of 12.51 t ha(-1) which is far below the national productivity of 31.69 t ha(-1). Papaya has good potential in the tropical and subtropical areas of the region, which is mostly in Assam, Tripura, Arunchal Pradesh, Meghalaya and Nagaland. Since, it has been grown for the last several years in backyard garden, large mixed population has resulted, which needs purification and also offers scope to select a superior clone. Low productivity recorded in northeastern states is due to cultivation of local varieties. Majority of the orchards are having the problem of drought stress from December to March leads moisture stress, heavy rainfall from April to October causes heavy soil erosion and nutrients loss and it also offers congenial environment for the attack of so many insect-pest and diseases. The collar rot is very serious problem at seedling stage and mosaic, leaf curl and mites are very destructive at flowering stage of plants. The new improved varieties of dwarfing nature are more susceptible to the leaf curl in compare to local and tall. Frost during December-January in some part of the region is another limiting factor for papaya cultivation. The soil of all the papaya growing area is acidic in nature, which hampered the availability of the important macro and micro nutrients to the plant and adversely affect on yield. The farmers of the region seldom use any soil amendments like lime in their orchards. Depletion of nutrients by washing of rich surface soil and leaching by heavy rains are causing nutritional deficiencies in certain areas. For increasing the productivity of papaya in the region introduction of area specific cultivars like 'Zinta' and 'Surya' in Mizoram, 'Pusa Delecious' and 'Ambasa Local' in Tripura, 'Pusa Nanaha' and 'Pusa Dwarf' in Assam may perform better than local genotypes. Being calciferous crop, papaya requires heavy amount of fertilizers specially calcium and potassium. Proper orchard management practices like INM, GAP (Good Agricultural practices), good irrigation management with adequate moisture conservation methods during acute dry period (December to March) and effective and timely control of pest and diseases through eco-friendly approaches (during rainy season) may boost the production and productivity of papaya in the region. Extraction of papain from local existing population can be taken up on commercial scale to obtain additional income.