STUDIES ON CARPELLODY OF STAMENS IN PAPAYA (CARICA PAPAYA L)

Y.K. CHAN

SUMMARY

Studies on carpellody of stamens in papaya were conducted over two crops in 1979 and 1981 in a breeding population of five genotypes at MARDI, Serdang. Data on carpelloid fruits harvested over three plant ages, i.e. 6-12 months, 13- 18 months and 19-24 months were monitored. The results showed that carpelloid fruit development was significantly influenced by plant age, genotype and the interaction of these two effects. Incidence of carpellody in all five genotypes declined with increase in plant age. This was found to be related to a slow down in vegetative growth in older plants. A strong correlation was found between incidence of fruit carpellody and internode length among four of the genotypes (r = 0.68* * to 0.86**). A high heritability estimate (h² = 82.34%) was obtained for carpellody of stamens but effective phenotypic selection may be interfered by the 'change-in-rate' type of interaction between genotype and plant age. The implications of the present findings in breeding and selection efforts against this undesirable trait are discussed.

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