Why is my papaya tree dying?

Papaya is the most popular fruit. But at present, unfortunately, papaya growers have to face a terrible issue. Nowadays, it is a common sight to see one or more plants dying in papaya cultivation. So, in this article, I am going to reveal to you the reasons for this problem. After reading this, you are able to save your papaya trees easily.

Why is my papaya tree dying?

There are several reasons to die your papaya tree. Before you solve it, you should identify the cause of why your papaya tree is dying. So, check the below factors.

Lack of watering or overwatering

Proper watering is the most critical factor to keep a healthy papaya tree. If you do not provide enough water to your papaya tree, it will tend to drop flowers, leaves, and fruits. Eventually, it can be caused to death of the tree because water is a most crucial factor to plants too.

So, when you water the papaya tree, you should highly consider about below things.

• It would be best to water your papaya tree every 2 weeks, especially during the dry season or summer. But if your area has too much hot a climate, it is better to water the tree twice a week.
• But if you plant your papaya tree in clay soil, you should make sure that the soil is not too wet. So, here you have to be more careful when watering the plant.
• Also, you have to remember to water the papaya tree around the root zones.
• Additionally, if you have clay soil, you can avoid waterlogging by making a ridge. Then plant your papaya tree on the ridge. This will help the tree fight against too much wet because waterlogging can be a reason to collar root.
• On the other hand, you should reduce water in your papaya plant in winter. If you water the plant regularly in winter, it can kill your tree.
• Further, it would be best if you did not water the papaya tree in the rainy season.
• Similarly, you have to avoid overwatering. Here you can water the papaya plant deeply only when the top 1 inch of soil dries.

Lack of sunlight

You can grow papaya trees in both subtropical and tropical climates. So, they love sunlight and heat. Because of that, if you do not provide proper sunlight to them, eventually, the plant will die. Similarly, papaya trees cannot thrive in cooler climates.

If your papaya tree is dying, you should concern whether you provide the below preferable factors to your tree or not.

• Papaya trees love to live in temperatures 70 to 90 Fahrenheit or 21 to 32 Celsius.
• Further, roots of papaya tree can grow well in the soil temperature level at 60 Fahrenheit or 15.5 Celsius.
• Also, the papaya tree is not able to tolerate freezing temperatures. If the temperature of your area is below 31 Fahrenheit or -0.6 Celsius, it is worst for your papaya tree. Because this temperature can damage or kill your tree.
• On the other hand, high temperature also badly affects to papaya tree. Over 90 Fahrenheit or 32 Celsius can drop the flowers of the tree.
• As a result of low temperatures below 59 Fahrenheit or 15 Celsius, trees tend to drop the flowers or produce misshapen fruits.

Special Note:

It would help if you planted your papaya tree in a wind-protected place because it is highly vulnerable to wind damage. This type of tree does not grow or establish well in wind areas.

It’s really difficult to protect the fruits of plants from animals. Last year I bought a strong reusable net to avoid this. Now I get positive results from the net. If you like you also can try it.

Unpreferable soil condition

Generally, papaya trees can grow in most types of soil conditions. But they perform best in loamy soils. So, to grow better papaya, plant your soil should reach the below-listed criteria. If not, papaya trees can die due to unpreferable soil conditions.

• It is better if the soil is rich in organic matter.
• Also, the soil should have well drainage because it will protect the papaya plant’s root system. For instance, it avoids root rot.

In addition to that latter slow water, movements can hinder the plant’s growth by many deficiencies. As an example, iron, zinc, and other microelement deficiencies are some of them. Here using sandy soil is better than using clay soil. But do not use too sandy soil.

• Further, if the soil is loose and moist, it will be best. But too much-wet soil is not a good thing because it can cause diseases to the tree.
• Moreover, papaya trees like to grow in the soil with a neutral pH level that ranges between 6.0 and 7.0.
• Deep soil is also a vital factor.
• Also, it is not good when your soil has more debris and rocks. Before plant the papaya tree, you should clean them.

Special Note

When you plant the papaya tree, you should concern the space because space can be a major barrier when it grows. Generally, you can plant papaya 1 to 5 meters between trees and 3 to 4 between rows.

Lack of nutrients or lack of fertilizers

All creatures, including papaya trees, need at least several nutrients to live. So, if they do not receive fundamental nutrients requirements, plants will tend to die. So, it would help if you adequately fertilized your papaya tree to keep them healthy.

To be a good papaya grower, you can go through the below guidelines.

When you use compost or manure

• You should apply about one bucketful in September
• Then again, put one bucketful in November
• Again, another bucketful is better to apply in January
• Spray a little manure evenly around the papaya tree every month from September to the end of March.
• Another important thing is to remember not to apply chicken manure on papaya trees older than two years because chicken manure can burn your young papaya trees.

When you use artificial fertilizers

• You can apply 4 teaspoonfuls (115g) fertilizers of a ratio of 2:3:2 in September, November, and January. If not you can use this fertilizer which most gardners and farmers use for fruit trees.

• Also, it is better to sprinkle the fertilizer evenly around the papaya tree but not against the tree’s stem.
• Further, it would help keep the trees mulched, and grass, leaves, pine bark, and wood chips are highly recommended.
• Moreover, do not plant or let to grow other plants very closely to the papaya tree. Because the stem of the papaya tree is soft, and it can damage the stem. Eventually, these damages can cause to get diseases.

Papaya trees associated Diseases

When your papaya tree has a disease, eventually, it can die. There are several common diseases. So, if your papaya tree is dying, you can check whether it has a disease or not. Then you can follow the suitable treatments and save your dying papaya tree.