High-value crops developed in the Philippines are riding high around the world. Just like the Sinta papaya, a hybrid that was developed by the Institute of Plant Breeding at UP Los Baños. The latest news we have received is that it is giving the Pakistani farmers a big surprise.

Why? That’s because it is producing yields that are virtually two times the harvest from their old open-pollinated variety called Mulir. On the average, Pakistani papaya farmers are harvesting an average of 140 fruits per plant during Sinta’s two-year productive life. On the other hand, the old Mulir variety can can produce just about 60 fruits per tree.

There are other reasons why Pakistani papaya farmers are in love with Sinta papaya. The plant matures four months earlier than Mulir, and fruiting is continuous. Sinta is also much more tolerant to the destructive papaya ring spot virus (PRSV). In addition, the Sinta fruits command a premium price of 60 rupees per kilo in the market compared to only 30 rupees of Mulir. Sinta papaya fruits also have better shipping quality.

One of the satisfied Sinta growers is farmer Syed Nazir Shah of Kundri City who planted five acres to Sinta in the last cropping season. From one acre, he was able to make 400,000 rupees. Another satisfied planter is farmer Haji Nook of Kotri City, Hyderabad, Sind Province. He planted Sinta on 20 acres in 2016 and is currently making a very good harvest, according to Ric Reyes of East-West Seed who visited papaya farms in Pakistan recently. East-West is distributing Sinta seeds worldwide.