Abstract
This study evaluated important agronomic and morphological characteristics of twelve local papaya varieties that had been collected in Viet Nam in 2008. The results showed that the collection of papaya varieties had a plant height of from 94 cm to 169 cm, number of leaves of from 17.6 to 21.8, canopy diameter of from 146.7 cm to 188.3 cm, stem diameter of from 6.5 cm to 8.6 cm, and insertion height of fruit of from 43.7 cm to 84.4 cm. This study also revealed that the total content of soluble solids in fruit of the local varieties ranged from 10.37% to 12.48%, while the color of fruit flesh included red and yellow. There were six types of papaya flowers including pistillate, hermaphrodite (pentendria, carpelloid, elongata and barren) and staminate, as well as two kinds of populations (gynodioecious and dioecious) among the varieties used in the experiment. This paper provides useful information on the agronomic and morphological characteristics of twelve local papaya varieties that will be exploited as one of the genetic resources for breeding new papaya varieties in Viet Nam.
