SVES Young Farmers Club explores papaya growing

Hi, my name is Alvin Arcega and I am a member of the SVES Young Farmers Club. The purpose of our club is to learn some horticulture. That’s a big word for growing plants. Then we are going to share our knowledge with our family and community so that they can be more self-sufficient.

The best part of being in the club is we have lots of fun learning how to grow plants. Our teachers are Mr. Pete Arriola and Mr. Rick Gramlich. Our first project is about growing hybrid papayas. We are trying to see which hybrid papaya variety grows best on Saipan. We are also tying to find out if adding fertilizer to the starting soil will make the papaya seedlings grow better. This week we are working on flowers, growing them from seeds and cuttings.

What I also enjoy about the program is that I get to learn the types of food that plants need such as fertilizer. We mix the soil with the fertilizer in a wheelbarrow and plant the seeds in pots. My hybrid papaya variety is Red Lady and Mr. Pete’s own is Maridol. After the papayas, we planted our own flower seeds (my favorite one is Marigold) and made cuttings from gardenias, hibiscus, and even tangerines. Later on we’ll be growing shrimp and tilapia and starting a hydroponic garden.

There is so much to learn about agriculture. I am looking forward to learning and sharing with others what we learn. We will let you know the results in a few months.

Here is the Papaya Project we are doing:

Experiment 1:
HYBRID PAPAYAS

CNMI Standards and benchmarks explored:

Standard 1: Students understand the nature and processes of scientific inquiry and use scientific inquiry and scientific thinking skills to explore the world around them.

Problems:

1. Which hybrid papaya strain grows best on Saipan?

2. Does adding 16-16-16 fertilizer to starting pot soil mixture improve growth of papaya seedlings?

Materials: (preferably students work in pairs)

* 10 pots per student

* 1 cu. ft. potting soil per student

* 1 lb fertilizer per student

* At least 2 types of hybrid papaya seeds

* Wheelbarrow or suitable mixing place.

* Sunny, safe place where all pots receive equal sunlight/rainfall

* Water source

Procedure:

1) Divide students into pairs if possible.

2) Distribute 10 pots, 10 labels, seeds and 1 pen to each student.

3) Each pair makes 20 labels. Example:

“sunrise – with fertilizer”

“sunrise – no fertilizer”

“solo” – with fertilizer”

“solo – no fertilizer”

4) Attach labels

5) Mix fertilizer with soil, according to instructions, for “with fertilizer” pots (roughly a 10-year-olds small handful per pot).

6) Fill pots.

7) Plant correct seeds 3/4” deep. Cover and water gently.

8) Fill out table below as you go.

9) Water equally and frequently.

10) Record observations and measurements. Include photographic evidence.

11) Analyze data and reach conclusion. [I][B](Alvin Arcega)[/B]

Alvin Arcega is a 5th Grade student at the San Vicente Elementary School.[/I]