Growers in the Axarquía have shown increased interest in the cultivation of papayas, especially after the results of greenhouse tests conducted in 2012 by Cajamar at the Experimental Station of Las Palmerillas in partnership with the University of Almeria, which demonstrated not only that their cultivation is technically feasible, but also highly promising in terms of production and quality. This has already led to several producers in the eastern region of Malaga to accept papayas as a foundation block for Malaga's tropical sector. The big challenge is to produce fruit with sufficient sugar levels to compete in terms of quality with that from other origins, consequently taking advantage of the proximity to the European market and the chance to ripen the fruit on the tree itself.
Currently, the acreage in Malaga is small, only about five hectares. According to initial experiences in the area, the papaya is a crop with a rapid vegetative growth. The tree begins to produce eight or nine months after the planting, long before most other fruits, like avocados, which become productive in the fourth, fifth or sixth year after the planting.
According to the tests conducted in Las Palmerillas, in terms of growth and performance it is more comparable to vegetables than to fruit, with much lower production costs and a very interesting profitability. All this begins to seduce some producers seeking alternatives for their greenhouses.
Papaya cultivation has already been successfully introduced to the Canary Islands, where about 500 hectares are grown, and it is now slowly starting to spread to the Axarquia, Granada's Tropical Coast, Almeria, Murcia and even in Alicante as an alternative to traditional greenhouse crops.
Tests carried out by the company BioAlgarrobo have shown that organic papaya exports reach a price at origin of around three Euro per kilo, which certainly makes the fruit's cultivation a very interesting option.
Source: diariosur.es
