By Ibraheem Dooba
I know of a Kenyan pawpaw farmer who planted hundreds of papaya trees and discovered (when it was too late) that all his papaya trees were male. I was like this farmer.
Until very recently, I only knew how to tell a papaya female from a male when they both start flowering. I’ve done videos and have shared articles about the differences when they are already mature. So many people already know this.
But let me summarize: male papaya trees produce flowers with long strands that can be as long as the leaf stems. The female papaya, on the other hand, produces short buds that turn into fruits.
But by the time the plant starts flowering, it’s too late for a farmer – especially for someone engaged in commercial agriculture like our Kenyan farmer.
What to do?
Many nurseries sell their papayas blindly without knowing the difference. The only thing they do is to give you a few extra in case some of them turn out male.
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But a few other nurseries have figured it out but keep it as a closely guarded trade secret. I don’t blame them. But I believe that knowledge should be shared.
So, after a painstaking search and research, I also figured it out.
It’s simple really!
Male seedlings have one long root. While female seedlings have more than one root that branch to the sides.
But you have to do this sorting very early – usually when the seedlings are two weeks old, if not, it becomes more difficult to differentiate.
But a rule of thumb is when you’re planting any papaya, cut off the long middle root.
Now that you know the difference, look at the image below and tell me which is female, A or B?
