Papaya1.
Q: Do you have any info about babaco cultivation? I have a 15 month old tree and I believe I should now cut it off about 12inches from the ground to enable it to reshoot. (it is about 3 ft high and has produced one crop of fruit.A: Babaco is actually a papaya (paw-paw, papaya) in the Carica Genus. C. pentagoma (babaco) is more cold tolerant than tropical papaya and is commerically cultivated in New Zealand. A number of other species such as the mountain papaya (C. candamanensis) and the Oak-leaved papaya also have commercial potential in simular warm temperate zones. In tropical and frost-free subtropical zones grow these plants in fertile, well drained and well aerated loam soils (plantis in water logged soils die with a few days. Plants are killed or badly damaged at temperatures below 0o C and due to their susceptibility to wind scorch should be grown in sheltered locations. Although babaco papaya will tolerate lower temperatures than many tropical subjects, growth is reduced and fruit flavor much impaired ; a sunny climate, with an optimum temperature range is required for production of high-quality fruit. Keep young trees weed-free for their first few months, preferably by hand-weeding since the surface feeder roots are easily damaged. Use an organic mulch. In commercial orchards, they are often grown with a cover crop. Trees are male and female; in the commercial situation all males are removed from orchards of bisexual trees and the orchard of female trees has only 5 % of males required for pollination. Just follow cultural information for a papaya and you will be very successful.
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