The only one I can speak to is #3, and that on mighty slim evidence. I once grew 8 papaya seedlings in a large greenhouse. 3 had only female flowers, 4 had only male, and two had only hermaphrodites. Got lots of fruit of variable quality, all with lots of seeds, during that brief "mini-experiment". That experience gave me the impression that sex in papayas, at least, was genetically determined.

Kevin : )

3 + 4 + 2 = 9

What happened? Did one die?

Lawsy! How did I manage to get through college without knowing how to add or proofread?!

Sorry, after I checked my "mental records", it was only 3 males. One of the hazards of having an almost eidetic memory, and 10 years difference in time.

Sigh, I guess you might want to wait for a little more documentation.
Kevin : /

I was thinking more about the ones that have male flowers one season and hermaphrodite flowers the next. Meilie had one, I think. These two articles appear to have a common source that says it's probably the weather, and I suppose that makes more sense, because I've also read that hermaphrodite papayas take on masculine or feminine features depending on weather conditions.

I still haven't met anyone who actually tried cutting the head off a male papaya or driving metal nails through the trunk to cause a sex change. Does anyone here know if that actually works?

I am trying to plant some papaya seeds and a relative told me that you can identify the sex of the seeds by placing them in water. Male seeds float and the female seeds sink. I did this and about 90% of the seeds stayed floating. This didn't seem right that so many seeds floated.

Having read some of the posts here, some people say to leave them in water for 24hrs and then remove the floating seeds. What they didn't mention is whether this is because the floating seeds are males or other wise.

If anyone can shed some light on this matter it'd be greatly appreciated

"I am trying to plant some papaya seeds and a relative told me that you can identify the sex of the seeds by placing them in water. Male seeds float and the female seeds sink. I did this and about 90% of the seeds stayed floating. This didn't seem right that so many seeds floated."

I can shed light on that one...either the relative was pulling your leg or just didn't know what they were talking about.