Evaluation of the Different Low-Tech Protective Cultivation Approaches to Improve Yield and Phytochemical Accumulation of Papaya (Carica papaya L.) in Bangladesh

Abstract

The production of horticultural crops in the outdoor environment facing various environmental factors, such as cyclones, droughts, heavy rain, and hailstorms, significantly affects the papaya production in the sub-tropical regions, especially in Bangladesh. Protected cultivation of horticultural crops is a common practice in developed countries. However, it is rarely observed in the developing countries, particularly for papaya production. Therefore, this study was carried out to find a protective approach to papaya cultivation to mitigate the environmental factors to obtain a quality yield. This production system consists of three treatments, including net house, poly shed house, UV poly shed house, and open field conditions (control). The results revealed that plants grown in the net house had significantly higher leaf number (30), fruit number (68), and fruit yield (56.28 kg/plant) than the control grown plant. Papaya cultured in the net house also showed significantly higher accumulation of chlorophyll, ascorbic acid, total phenol, reducing sugar, and β-carotene than those grown in other environments. In terms of peel color, papaya grown in the net house had the highest a* value (redness), whereas that grown in the open field had the lowest. Thus, the study demonstrated that papaya can be cultivated successfully in a net house with increased yield and phytochemical content. The findings provide a fundamental production strategy for quality papaya production in Bangladesh.