The success of genetically-modified papaya
In 1937, the then President of the University of Hawaii, David Crawford, wrote Hawaii’s Crop Parade, 288 pages in which he relentlessly listed the crops that had been tried in Hawaii.There were more than 200 of them, more than that if you count varieties and subspecies. Only a handful had been successful commercially. I’ve always thought it was one of the most sobering documents I have ever read on the problems of farming.
Admittedly Hawaii had special problems as well as special advantages. The advantages included rich volcanic soil and a huge range of growing conditions. The problems included lack of water on the leeward sides of the island. More important yet, the costs of transporting agricultural products over the vast distances that separate the islands from the nearest large populations and of having products that could even survive the journey made farming in the islands a risky venture.
Chat about tropical bounty was thus enough to make farmers grit their teeth. When I was there in the 1990s, the fate of the papaya growers was a big issue. Papaya was a fruit that grew readily in the islands and that found an export market, especially with the little solo papaya that had been developed that was small enough for one or two servings. The papayas were being attacked by a virus however.
A scientist at the University of Hawaii, Hilo came to the rescue with a genetically-modified variety. Here’s the story from one of my favorite bloggers, Matt Kinase, the Scientist-Gardener.
Interesting article by Matt Kinase. Thank you for sharing it.
We have a very prolific Hawaiian papaya plant in the garden, giving us fruit every day. I grew it from a seed from a papaya purchased at the grocery store. Mexican papayas are very good, but the Hawaiian varieties are so sweet and flavorful.
Kathleen