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Last spring I grew some papaya trees from seeds.

Now I put them indoor and they look quite OK, but I notice many little (less than 1 mm in diameter) transparent "drops" all around their trunks.

Those "drops" are solid, like dried resin, but can be eggs of some insects (but there are not many insects in the room...), or something else.

Here's a picture:

papaya resin drops

What are those drops? What caused them? Is it a normal production of papaya trees, or the consequence of some parasite, or the symptom of some disease? Is it something I should be worried about or not?

Starnuto di topo
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1 Answers1

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Here is a page from Wikipedia on guttation which may help you understand what is happening. The plant is allowing moisture or sap to leave the plant under pressure from the roots. Normally the water that escapes is in the form of a vapour but when the quantity is large then we see drops. The drops hang on the outside of the plant where the drops dry out if the air is dry enough, leaving the solids behind as the water escapes. Normally we see these drops on leaves and shoots but it can escape through stems as well.

Generally there are no pests or diseases involved, however if insects can manage to penetrate the plant tissues you can see something of the same phenomenon as a result of their biting, however in this case you have multiple exudations so it does not look like insect damage. It is however a clue that you should be aware of humidity levels.

Colin Beckingham
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