In recent years, Malaysia has experienced significant climate changes, with rainfall and disease pressure continuing to increase. This has created major pressure on papaya farmers, especially with serious waterlogging issues and the threat of “fragrant melon disease”.

Orchard Management

Generally, papaya seedlings can be transplanted into the field one month after sowing. After about 3 months, female flowers will bloom, and fruit will begin developing. When the fruits grow from small to large, the fruit skin and plant leaves are easily affected by various problems such as fungal diseases, bacteria, viruses, and physiological disorders.

Therefore, prevention work must be done from the early stage. Farmers need to maintain good orchard drainage, avoid water accumulation, and reduce the occurrence of root diseases. At the same time, regular field monitoring should be carried out to detect disease and pest problems early.

Papaya growth is relatively fast. From planting to harvesting, it usually takes about half a year. If properly managed, the tree can continue producing for a longer period, helping farmers obtain more stable harvests.

What to Do When Calcium and Boron Are Deficient?

During papaya cultivation, calcium and boron deficiency often brings many problems, such as fruit cracking, flower drop, poor fruit setting, and weak fruit development. These issues directly affect yield and quality.

1. Supplement calcium:
A-PlusCal is a nitrogen-free calcium fertiliser. It can supplement the calcium needed by crops without increasing nitrogen load, helping strengthen cell walls, reduce fruit cracking and soft rot, and improve fruit firmness and storage quality.

2. Supplement boron:
MULTISUC seaweed boron can support flowering and fruit setting, improve pollination quality, and help increase fruit setting rate.

3. Regular application:
Farmers are advised to mix A-PlusCal and MULTISUC according to the recommended ratio and spray regularly on papaya leaves every 7 days to ensure stable nutrient supply.

4. Balanced fertilisation:
Besides calcium and boron, farmers should use balanced fertilisers according to crop needs, providing the nutrients required for papaya growth and supporting healthy plant development.

Farmers’ Practical Sharing

A farmer from Bukit Gambir, Johor shared that during the rainy season, papaya is easily affected by waterlogging and disease problems. After using Advansia’s recommended combination of A-PlusCal and MULTISUC, with A-PlusCal at 20g per 20 litres of water and MULTISUC at 20ml per 20 litres of water, the papaya trees showed better growth.

He also added that after regular foliar application, fruit cracking problems were reduced, fruit development became more stable, and overall fruit quality improved.

At the same time, he also used Advansia’s Difenoconazole 10.8EC and Difenoconazole 25EC to help prevent fungal diseases and support healthier papaya growth.