Abstract
Young papaya plants grown on aa lava soil were treated with phosphorus at five rates during the vegetative to the flowering stage. Growth rates of the stem circumference and stem height differed between treatments. A curvilinear regression equation was used to relate P concentration of the petiole to growth rate of the stem determined from the square of its circumference. The concentration of P in the petiole associated with maximum vegetative growth was found to be well above the range associated with production of fruit of marketable size. Applied P increased the concentrations of phosphorus, water calcium and boron, and decreased those of sulphur, copper and magnesium in the petiole.
