The papaya tree may be a female tree and the flowers are not pollinated; therefore, it aborts, and the undeveloped fruits drop off. Papayas have three types of flowers and plants: The first is the hermaphrodite plant, and flowers have both female (pistil) and male (stamens) flower structures. These flowers tend to be self-pollinated. The second type is the female flower/tree that has a pistil and the ovary but no stamens which contain the pollen. This female flower has to get the pollen from either a nearby hermaphrodite or male tree. This may be the type of tree you have. The third type is the male flower/tree that has the stamens and pollen but not the pistil and ovary, so this flower will not bear fruit. There are rare occasions when the male flower develops an ovary and becomes pollinated and bears fruit, but this is rare in the commercial varieties grown in Hawaii. The male plants have been bred out of the University of Hawaii commercial papaya varieties. Look at the University of Hawaii CTAHR publication, Why Some Papaya Plants Fail to Fruit. There are photos of the different types of papaya flowers in the publication.

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