The exclusive distributors for Europe and Africa of the papaya varieties developed by the Mexican company Semillas del Caribe are based on the Spanish island of Tenerife. “The varieties of this papaya specialist are hybrids that were created by pollination in Mexico. The fruits are characterized by persistence with higher Brix values and the plants by high productivity, which makes their cultivation more profitable for both the producer and the marketer”, explains a representative of Pipo y Adán SL
With the aim of enhancing the papaya chain, Semillas del Caribe has developed the Passion Red, Siluet, Sweet Senze, Intenzza and Iuve varieties. “In particular, the Intenzza is replacing the Brazilian Formosa papaya on the fresh market in Europe, while the Siluet, Sweet Senze and Iuve are baby hybrids with a sweeter taste and smaller size that are entering the market and being well received everywhere. We must not forget that smaller sizes sell better in the European market.”
According to the Canarian company, these varieties are grown in countries such as Portugal, in the Algarve; Spain, especially in Almeria and Murcia, and Italy. “In Africa, where papayas have been grown for many years and where there is a large consumption, there are different segments and markets to which the rest of the varieties are adapted. For example, we sell Maradol papaya seeds in Senegal and Morocco, and we also sell the Passion Red variety there, but it’s aimed at the domestic market.”
“We give growers the guarantee that they only buy hermaphrodite plants”
Pipo and Adán SL are also specialists in the production of papaya plants of these high quality varieties. “One of the aspects in which we excel is that we carry out the molecular sexing of the plants using the PCR technique. We discard the females and give the breeders a guarantee that they only buy hermaphroditic plants,” they say. “For hybrid papaya varieties, about 50% of the seeds are female and 50% are hermaphrodite. In the past, the system to ensure that the plants were hermaphrodites was to plant 4 plants so that flowering occurred after 45-60 days, the other 3 could be identified and discarded. This led to high costs for seeds and nursery plants.”
This technique gives growers the certainty of acquiring pre-selected, high-yielding plants “that can bear up to 100 to 150 kilos of fruit,” says Adán Suárez, “giving them a significant advantage over growers in other countries.”
“The plants produced in our nursery cannot leave the Canary Islands. We only produce and market them for the islands. However, we market the seeds as exclusive distributors to all European and African nurseries interested in reproducing them.”
“We want papayas to be a profitable crop wherever we sell our seeds”
“In 2009 we traveled to Mexico and got to know the Intenzza variety. We had previously exported Maradol papayas to Europe with good results and saw that this material could have potential in the Canary Islands,” says Adán. “The beginnings of the project were very difficult, but we received support from the Spanish authorities to move this project forward. Our goal was to start exporting papayas and today that goal has become a reality.”
Growers of the varieties marketed by Pipo y Adán SL
“At Pipo and Adam, we’re dedicated to testing and testing papaya strains for the future, so producers don’t make mistakes when choosing. We want papayas to be a profitable crop wherever we sell our seeds because every project starts with a seed”
“In fact, I want to send a message to all growers who venture into growing this fruit: papayas require technical knowledge, so you must learn to manage the crop, observe how it performs in this area, and gradually your production increase you master the process. Regardless of the variety, we want all projects to be successful and the prospects for papayas to continue to improve.
Growers of the varieties marketed by Pipo y Adán SL
For more informations:
Pipo y Adan SL
C. Paulino Sanz Rammiro, 10
Tejina, Tenerife, Spain
Phone: +34 670 672 994 / +34 647 819 228
pipoyadan@hotmail.com
Source: https://ukdaily.news
