Hi,
Can anyone identify the damage on this papaya fruit?
I see several fruits having black spots and gum oozing onto the surface.
I suspected this is possibly fruit fly that is making some punctures, but am not sure if it is actually some kind of a disease. Did anyone come across this?
Thanks.
I believe this is a virus problem, “Ringspot Virus”. How are the leaves of your papaya? Are they discolored, mosaic like with yellowish spots ? Do you have oily or watery spots on the petioles or trunk? Action is required to protect the rest of your orchard. You have to get rid of the transmitters or vectors, aphids. Aphids will jump from plant to plant spreading the disease. Fumigate with insecticide and cut and bury the disease papaya ASAP. Hope this helps. Do you have any more pictures? What have your sanitary practices? How many plants do you have in total area cultivate?
Thanks guerrero3366.
I am fairly positive (and hopeful) this is not ring spot virus - the fruits don’t have the characteristic ‘ring marks’; the fruits are affected sporadically within normal bunches and the plants are just fine and healthy without mosaic or mottling symptoms. Further my web research did not yield me any results linking virus to oozing of gum 
I get an increasing feeling some insect (fruit fly/scale?) is puncturing the selected fruit continuously and then a secondary infection of fungus - possibly Anthracnose is setting in.
We have the papaya in less than half an acre and follow organic methods and spray organic solutions regularly to keep sucking pests under check.
Do let me know your thoughts.
P.S.: On a separate note, how to you control fruit flies? We do pheromone traps but they don’t control them completely.
i am not that much senior farmer as far i know butter milk with hing solution may work, hing work as repellent for fruit flys they doesnt lay eggs on the leafs
“P.S.: On a separate note, how to you control fruit flies? We do pheromone traps but they don’t control them completely.”
I have been using H2o2 as an insecticide for almost a year now. I have experimented with dosages and for some time I was making it weak and adding molasses but then I had a ca$h problem and did not attend my orchard correctly and the brush got to the point of making it a host environment for mites and red spider, trips and other insects that were trashing my orchid. I decided to increase the volume of H2o2 and the frequency of application until I got rid of the problem. I have experience that applying hydrogen peroxide acts as a force shield in the orchid, I do see and have experienced the difference. One of my findings has been that it helps prevents the incubation of other diseases by way of sicatrization (healing wounded tissue). I will try to insert some pictures of insects that have been exterminated by this practice and also some tissue that was healed.
As much as I would love to be organic I can get away from producing with fertilizers. Labor here is expensive and gas prices are over the roof to truck manure. I’m having fertilization (nutrient) issues. The flowers of a 7 month old papaya trees plantation are not all sticking.
I have 1500 new plants on the ground. And in a few days I will start to h2o2 foliar insecticide prevention.
Thank you for asking and thank you for posting the papaya manual.
Saludos.
Hi!
you can use this app to check the name of disease by just clicking a photo of the disease and uploading it on the app. The app gives a good amount of idea about the disease.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pestoz.pestoz&hl=en
