New papaya variety authorization ceremony held in Sanya

The authorization ceremony for the new papaya variety was held in Sanya on May 29, where the Sanya Papaya Association and the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences agreed on promoting "Zhongre 1" papaya, featuring Sanya's efforts on transferring agricultural varieties from lab to field.

According to Xie Jianghui, deputy head of the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, "Zhongre 1" papaya was independently developed by its Institute of Tropical Bioscience and Biotechnology, with features like early fruit, high yield, high resistance to mosaic disease, and strong adaptability.

It takes about 60 days from sowing to seedling, Xie added. Each plant yields an average of 50 to 70 fruits and can be harvested for two consecutive years.

Sanya has been boosting its papaya industry in recent years, forming the Sanya Papaya Association with 15 production base members and 10 distributor members.
The city now has over 3,000 mu (200 hectares) of papaya planting, with an annual yield of 20,000 metric tons.

This authorization of "Zhongre 1" by the Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences to Sanya is sure to help increase the city's ratio of living papaya trees, ensure stable yields and increase profits, said Wang Bincai, president of the Sanya Papaya Association.