Fruit growing is increasingly gaining prominence as more and more people get into the healthy practice of eating fruits regularly. Many farmers are therefore turning to fruit growing and the dividends are quite real.
Paw paws is one of the fruits that are very much on demand and have a ready market among fruit salad vendors. Many large markets have well stocked fruit stalls and paw paws are among the most sought after fruits in Uganda
Conditions for Pawpaw Growing
Pawpaws do not do well in areas that have low humidity, strong winds or cool marine climates. They do best when planted in rich, well-drained soil in a location protected from wind.
Pawpaw’s are normally found in wooded areas and often form dense thickets. Although the pawpaw trees that get the most sun usually produce the most fruit, when the trees are small they should be protected from intense sunlight.
Varieties of Pawpaw’s in Uganda
- Convis
Demand for Pawpaw’s
Pawpaw fruit is widely eaten in Uganda and therefore both local and international demand for Pawpaw juice or papain is on the rise.
There is a high demand by the Ugandan Government as well as some private companies to produce dried latex, for use in pharmaceuticals, leather tanning and food & beer industries.
Uses of Pawpaw Fruit
- The primary use of Pawpaw’s is for fresh eating. The easiest way to eat them is to cut them in half and scoop the flesh out with a spoon. The large seeds, scattered throughout the fruit, are easily separated from the flesh.
- In cooking, the Pawpaw is best suited to recipes that require little or no heat because the Pawpaw’s flavour compounds are very volatile, prolonged heating or high temperatures destroy the characteristic flavour.
- Pawpaw works well in Ice cream, Sorbet, Chiffon pie, and Mousse, and combines well with Mint because of its flavour resemblance to Banana; it may be substituted in recipes for such things as Banana bread.
- One can extracted the lattice Juice of Paw-paws which in many Countries is used as a Meat Tenderizer.
- It is also used to make Pharmaceutical products.
- Developed countries like South Africa, Mexico, Germany, France, Austria and United Kingdom among others are all asking whether Uganda can provide them with Pawpaw’s or Papain.