Researchers in the Canary Islands are working to find the best papaya varieties for growth on the archipelago. Through a collaborative effort between the government and the Canary Institute of Agrarian Research (ICIA), the team hopes to pin down key fruit characteristics to improve adaptability and product quality.

The project includes a gene bank of around 20 papaya varieties from the Philippines, Costa Rica, Malaysia, South Africa, Mexico and Brazil, www.europapress.es reported.

Scientists will compare the qualities of the fruit, including performance in each production zone, as well as greenhouses. Important factors will include quantity of output, disease sensitivity, resistance to adverse conditions and postharvest durability.

Desirable sugar content is a key goal of the evaluations. According to www.europapress.es, an ideal variety that satisfies consumers would surpass 11.5 grams of sugar per 100 grams of fruit.

Later, the project expects to evaluate breeding options to create better varieties.

There are currently 310 planted hectares of papaya on the Canary Islands, the Spanish publication wrote. 90% are located in greenhouses on Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Production reaches around 16,000 tons (MT) a year.

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