摘要

Introduction - The trioecious nature of papaya makes mandatory sex determination and plantlet selection. Recent advances permit determining plant sex at seedling stage with molecular markers. For the first time, a study is accomplished to compare the success of molecular sex-determining procedure (MSP) versus conventional sex-determining procedure (CSP) based on plant growth and fruit production and on economic aspects. Materials and methods - 'BH-65' plantlets selected using both methods were grown under the same conditions in a greenhouse of South-East Spain. Seedlings were sexed molecularly during early leaf emergence and the hermaphrodites transplanted individually, while in CSP four seedlings per hole were initially planted and then three of them removed at flowering. Plant growth was seasonally monitored, and fruit number and quality compared at harvesting. Results and discussion - At first flowering, MSP plants were larger than CSP plants, whereas three months later, they were similar in size. In both treatments, the distance of first fruit from ground was the same. Harvest started just one week earlier in CSP than in MSP plants. No significant differences were observed between MSP and CSP fruits in total soluble solids, titratable acidity, firmness, and skin and pulp color. MSP plants were more expensive but produced a higher yield with fruits that were also significantly larger. Commercial yield and total cost paid for establishing a papaya orchard were 49% and 39% higher with MSP, respectively. Conclusion - These results confirm the suitability of using MSP for the protected cultivation of the 'BH-65' papaya.

  • 出版日期2018-6

全文