EFFECT OF DIFFERENT SPACINGS ON GROWTH, YIELD AND YIELD CHARACTERS OF PAPAYA (CARICA PAPAYA L.) CV. COORG HONEY DEW

The investigation to assess the effect of different spacing on growth and yield of papaya was conducted at Allahabad Agricultural Institute-Deemed University, Allahabad during 2002-2003. The experiment comprised of five spacing as treatments viz. 2×2, 1×1, 1.5×1.5, 2.5×2.5 and 3×3 m us papaya cv. Coorg Honey Dew was taken for study. Vegetative growth characters like plant height, numbers of leaves and internodal length showed significant difference among all the treatments. Maximum plant height (261.7 cm), number of leaves (30), and internodal distance (2.60 cm) were observed with 1×1, 2.5×2.5, and 1×1, respectively. Flowering attributes and fruit set characters showed significant response with 2.5×2.5 m spacing. Maximum average fruit weight (120.305 g), length of fruit (22.45 cm), width of fruit (33.35 cm), and fruit yield (120.11 tonnes/ha) were recorded plants with a spacing of 2.5×2.5 m.