Studies on improvement of papaya through introduction and selection

Six varieties introduced from the different papaya growing areas alongwith PAU Selection-86 were tested. The PAU Selection-86 was found to be promising. The plants of this Selection-86 were of medium height and started bearing fruits at a height of 103.3 cm from the ground level. Its fruits were large in size, oblong shaped with pointed tip. The flesh was deep yellow with melting texture. It gave an average yield of 50 kg per plant. The TSS of this selection ranged from 9–10.5 per cent which was significantly higher than all the varieties tested.