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The "Wanshou fruit" variety has evolved again! Successful selection and breeding of new varieties of papaya with high yield and storage and transportation!

The "Wanshou fruit" variety has evolved again! Successful selection and breeding of new varieties of papaya with high yield and storage and transportation!

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) occupies an important position in global agricultural food production. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the global planting area was 462,000 hectares in 2019, and the yield reached 13.735 million tons. According to the Agricultural and Food Agency Council of Agriculture. Executive Yuan, the domestic papaya cultivation area was 2,800 hectares in 109, and the output reached 138,000 metric tons. It is produced throughout the year in Taiwan. The southern part is the main producing area and is one of the important fruit industries in Taiwan.

Taiwan Seed Improvement and Propagation Station Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan showed that papaya has high utilization value and can be used as both vegetables and fruits. It is rich in vitamins A, B, C, E, K and a variety of minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, iron, potassium and other nutrients. Papaya contains vitamin A and Vitamin C is 5 times that of watermelon and banana. Papaya pulp is orange-red, because it is rich in lycopene, β-carotene and β-cryptoxanthin. The availability of lycopene in human body is 2.6 times higher than that in tomato, β- Carotene is three times as much as tomato. So papaya has strong antioxidant capacity. It is especially that papaya contains many amylases and proteases, which can help food digestion and absorption. Therefore, it has been rated as the healthiest fruit by the World Health Organization, and one of the most popular healthy fruits and vegetables in the agricultural consumption market.

Taiwan Seed Improvement and Propagation Station Council said that the main domestic cultivar Tainong No. 2 has a high yield but is not resistant to storage and transportation. The other variety Risheng has good quality, resistant to storage and transportation but the yield is lower than Tainong No.2. Therefore, in order to enhance the competitiveness of the papaya industry and breed papaya varieties with high yield, good quality and strong storage and transportation, the Taiwan Seed Improvement and Propagation Station Council finally selected three high-yield, high-quality, and storage-resistant papaya varieties "TSS_A39", "TSS_A43" and "TSS_A46" after years of experiment. "TSS_A39" is a hybrid variety. About 138 fruits are harvested per plant. The fruit’s shape is oblong. The fruits weigh is about 700 grams and the sugar is 13-15 degrees. The quality of TSS_A39 is good, and the yield is higher than the Risheng variety. "TSS_A43" is also a hybrid variety. The first fruit height is about 60 cm. A single plant can harvest about 146 fruits, the fruit weight is about 600 grams, and the average sugar content is about 13.8 degrees. The fruits shape is long pear-shaped, and the quality characteristic is higher than Risheng varieties. "TSS_A46" is a vegetative breeding line. The first fruit height is about 41 cm. A single plant can harvest about 121 fruits. The fruit weight is about 700 grams and the sugar content is about 12 degrees. The fruit shape is round and has solid flesh texture. The shelf life is longer than Risheng variety.

Taiwan Seed Improvement and Propagation Station Council hopes that these three new papaya varieties will not only solve the existing industrial problems of papaya, but also provide new cultivation options for farmers. Create a win-win situation in which consumers can enjoy high-quality agricultural products and increase farmers' income!

Fig. 1. The Papaya varietyTSS_A39(Left),TSS_A43(Middle) and TSS_A46 cultivation in the farm and fruit situation
Fig. 1. The Papaya varietyTSS_A39(Left),TSS_A43(Middle) and TSS_A46 cultivation in the farm and fruit situation

Fig. 2. The Papaya variety TSS_A39(Left),TSS_A43(Middle) and TSS_A46 fruit Shape
Fig. 2. The Papaya variety TSS_A39(Left),TSS_A43(Middle) and TSS_A46 fruit Shape