Abstract

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is one of the most significant fruits in the Caricaceae family. The major papaya production constraints are the lack of improved papaya varieties and the low accessibility of the existing improved varieties in Ethiopia. Although East Hararghe is very suitable for papaya production, farmers’ income generation from papaya production in the study area is still insufficient. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify adaptable, high-yielding, diseases, and pest-tolerant papaya varieties. A field experiment was conducted for four consecutive years (2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022) during the cropping season on the Boko research sub-site of the Fedis Agricultural Research Center. The treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications. The treatments consisted of two improved papaya varieties (Braz-HIS and Meki-HLI) and one local check. The result of the study showed significant differences among varieties for all traits. Among the varieties, Meki-HL1 provided about 48.43% yield advantages as compared to local check. Therefore, for sustainability and to increase papaya production and productivity in the study area, the Meki-HL1 variety was recommended and needs to be demonstrated.

Keywords: Adaptation, Fruit yield, Papaya, Varieties