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Papaya soft-stemmed, unbranched
tree, Carica papaya, of the family Caricaceae, with a crown of
palmately lobed leaves. The plant is cultivated for its melonlike fruits
that are eaten raw or cooked and when ripe. Papaya originated from Central
America and was introduced into South Asia during the later part of the
sixteenth century. The fruit juice contains the enzyme papain, which is
somewhat similar to pepsin and digestant in action.
The area and the annual production of papaya in the country are
about 6,000 ha and 40,000 m tons respectively; more than 60 percent
of the papaya produced is consumed as vegetable. It is basically
a dioecious plant in which the male and female flowers are borne
on separate plants. As the sex is controlled quantitatively by
several pairs of genes, intermediate plants having both male and
female flowers also occur. Since no method for identifying male
and female plants at the early stage is available, it is necessary
to plant 2-3 seedlings in each pit in order to ensure enough female
plants in a planting.
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Papaya tree |
[Mamun-ur Rashid] |
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