Malaysian Carica papaya L. var. Eksotika: Current Research Strategies Fronting Challenges

Abstract

Carica papaya L. or commonly known as papaya, is a major tropical crop consumed worldwide either as a vegetable or fresh fruit or processed products. In Malaysia, papaya was initially planted as a smallholder crop throughout the country. Eventually after 15 years of breeding and selection, a new variety, named C. papaya L. var. Eksotika, was released by the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI) in 1987. This event changed the outlook of papaya planting from a smallholder crop to a plantation crop. Despite the blooming papaya business, the industry faced various disease issues that jeopardize its future. The most devastating was the papaya dieback disease, which affected approximately 800 hectares of plantation, destroyed approximately 1 million trees nationwide with total losses estimated at US$ 58 million. Even though Eksotika is a favored commercial variety with good eating and aesthetic quality fruit, its potential for more lucrative distant markets is tarnished with its short-shelf life fruits. Several strategies had been reported to address the challenges faced by Eksotika specifically against the dieback disease and the fruit’s short shelf-life. This review focuses on C. papaya L. var. Eksotika particularly on the strategies to address the challenges faced in order to sustain the economic value of this crop plant, which had contributed significantly to the Malaysian economy.

Diversity of Colletotrichum Species Associated with Anthracnose Disease in Tropical Fruit Crops—A Review

“…Among viral diseases, papaya ringspot caused by the Papaya ringspot virus (PRSV) is the most serious and has been detected in many papaya producing countries in the tropics, as well as in subtropical areas. As for bacterial diseases, papaya dieback is a very destructive disease; and 100% yield losses have been recorded in Malaysia due to this pathogen [125].…”

Dengue Fever: Therapeutic Potential of Carica papaya L. Leaves

“…The papaya tree is fast-growing, semi-woody, produces latex, and is usually short-lived. The cultivars are distinguished on the basis of the number of leaf main veins, types of stomata, color of the leaf petiole, number of lobes at the leaf margins, leaf shape, and structure of the wax on the leaf surface ( da Silva et al, 2007 ; Sekeli et al, 2018 ). Carica papaya L. is mostly cultivated in tropical and subtropical lowland regions such as Hawaii, Australia, and South-East Asia.…”

“…India, Mexico, Indonesia, Thailand, and Nigeria are the largest papaya growing countries among the developing countries ( Reddy et al, 2009 ; Lopes et al, 2019 ). Historically, papaya was found to be distributed from Mexico to the Panama, and spread to the Caribbean and Philippines during the exploration of the Spanish explorer, Don Francisco Marine, in the 16th century, and later on spread to Malaysia, India, and other Asean countries from the Philippines ( Nakasone and Paull, 1998 ; Fitch, 2005 ; Sekeli et al, 2018 ). Carica papaya L. belongs to the Caricaceae family.…”

“…Papaya is consumed worldwide either as a vegetable or fresh fruit or in processed products like jam, preserved and canned ( Sekeli et al, 2018 ). Traditionally, different parts of the plant are used in the treatment of various diseases.…”

“…A outline of the current review on the therapeutic potential of Carica papaya L. Leaves against dengue fever has been illustrated in Figure 1. and later on spread to Malaysia, India, and other Asean countries from the Philippines (Nakasone and Paull, 1998;Fitch, 2005;Sekeli et al, 2018). Carica papaya L. belongs to the Caricaceae family.…”