Yes Lakota - what you said - put a stake in the pot and first gently tie up the papaya so it straightens just a little bit, then tie it a bit tighter (use 2-3 places where you tie it to give it better support from snapping) every couple days as the stem begins to back bend to where it should be straight -that would be my advice. The only reason I can see it would grow like that would be if the pot was on its side for any length of time, the plant would then turn to grow up towards the light....

i was thinking the same thing... i have had papaya that fell over, they looked just like this...

putting tension on it with a string (like mangofang said) , or something you can use to tighten a bit everyday sounds like a good solution.

papaya do love sun, and hate wet roots for extended periods. stick your finger down an inch or 2 into the pot to check moisture.

over-watering is the #1 cause for papaya deaths, especially if they are not getting much sun.

they are actually pretty drought tolerant.

i also put mulch on top of the container soil. it slows evaporation, and stops hard rains/waterings from washing soil away from the roots.

The pot is too small for a papaya.

Yeah, the more I look at the picture, the more I am POSITIVE it had been laying on it's side for awhile - notice there are no leaves growing on the outside of the curve, which means (to me) that was the side down on the ground....