Papaya Honey dew - 0.5 kg Seeds

Papaya, Carica papaya (the sweet Honey Dew type), is a fast-growing, soft-stemmed tropical fruit tree grown throughout the warmer parts of India for its large, melting orange-fleshed fruit. Botanically a giant herb with a single hollow stem topped by a crown of large palmate leaves, it begins fruiting within the first year, making it one of the quickest returns among fruit crops. Besides the fruit, the green papaya, latex and leaves are sources of the enzyme papain and feature in traditional and home remedies.

• Family: Caricaceae
• Native region: Tropical Central America (grown across tropical India)
• Mature height: 3–8 m
• Growth rate: Very fast

For quicker, more uniform germination, rub off the gelatinous sac (sarcotesta) around each seed and soak the cleaned seeds in water overnight. Sow them about 1 cm deep in pro-trays or polybags of light, well-drained nursery mix kept warm and moist; seedlings usually emerge in two to three weeks. Because papaya resents root disturbance, raise plants in individual containers and transplant them gently while young, spacing them in full sun in well-drained soil.