**1. Introduction**

Papaya (*Carica papaya* L) is a tall herbaceous plant native to the Americas, specifically Mexico, Central America, and tropical areas of South America regions [1, 2]. Indigenous people have known of papaya and managed its cultivation since pre-Columbus times [3]. Papaya fruit, leaves, seeds, and sap have all been utilized widely as food, food additives including papain, and packaging for cosmetics. Although there are no remnants of papaya tissue in the archaeological record, analysis of 497 indigenous plant species databases confirm that papaya was one of the food sources for Mayans [4]. Following Spanish contact with central and south America, papaya was gradually introduced to Africa, South Pacific Islands, and the rest of the world as fruit [5, 6]. Presently, it is found in tropical and sub-tropical regions around the world. Green papaya fruit, young leaves, and shoots are used in many traditional Asian dishes, including those in India, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand, and are consumed either fresh or cooked [7–9].

#### *Tropical Plant Species and Technological Interventions for Improvement*


#### **Table 1.**

*Top ten papaya production countries in 2020 [10].*


#### **Table 2.**

*Top ten papaya importers in 2020 by value [10].*

In 2020, papaya was ranked the third most-produced tropical fruit crop in the world [10]. The major producing countries include India, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Mexico, and Indonesia (**Table 1**). Papaya is also a highly traded fruit on international markets in fresh and processed form with the major importers being the USA, Germany, and Portugal (**Table 2**) [10].
