Supermarkets choose to sell small varieties of papaya. These papayas must be eaten in one sitting, making them suitable as table fruit. Certain varieties of papaya meet these criteria, such as california papaya, hawai papaya, red lady papaya, and aloha prime papaya.
California papaya average 1.2-1.5 kg per fruit. Hawai papaya is smaller, with each fruit weighing around 450-500 grams. The Hawai papaya variety was planted in Dieng, Wonosobo, Central Java.
Three types of papaya are the same size as the hawai papaya and are grown in pots such as IPB 1, IPB 3, and sunrise. Because they are almost identical, farmers and fruit traders often call all three varieties as hawai, which adds value.
Another popular small papaya in supermarkets is the red lady, which weighs an average of 2 kg. Some farmers grow this variety because it is easy to maintain, as seen in Citayam in Bogor Regency, West Java.
All of these small papayas taste sweet and have a sugar content of 12-14 degrees Brix. The cultivation period is short, with seeds from 2-month-old plants ready for harvest at 6 months. The retail price is 2.5 to 4 times that of the bangkok papaya (weighs 4 kg) selling IDR 2,500 to IDR 3,000/kg.
