<p><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><em style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: \'Adobe Fan Heiti Std B\'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;\" lang=\"EN-US\">Carica papaya</span></em><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: \'Adobe Fan Heiti Std B\'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;\" lang=\"EN-US\"> L. is a widely cultivated crop due to its economic importance throughout tropical and subtropical countries like Philippines </span><em><span style=\"background: white; color: #111111; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;\" lang=\"EN-US\">It</span></em><span class=\"apple-converted-space\"><em style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"><span style=\"background: white; color: #111111; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;\" lang=\"EN-US\">&nbsp;</span></em></span><span style=\"background: white; color: #111111; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;\" lang=\"EN-US\">is a polygamous diploid plant species with three basic sex types; male, female and hermaphrodite.</span></span><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: \'Adobe Fan Heiti Std B\'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;\" lang=\"EN-US\">Most studies conducted in determining <em style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\">C. papaya </em>L<em style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\">.</em> gender is usually based on the flower morphology visible already at the age of three to four months. In cultivating <em style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\">C. papaya </em>L<em style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\">.</em>, sex identification is very important. This study was conducted to determine the three sexes at early an age using leaf morphology. Leaf samples were collected, in Purok 5 Barangay Vicente Fin St. Polomolok, South Cotabato. They were photographed and subjected to Geometric Morphometric measurements. The leaf of <em style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\">Carica papaya </em>L<em style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\">.</em> was calculated and analysed using Elliptic Fourier analysis (EFA) and Principal Component analysis (PCA)</span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;\" lang=\"EN-US\">. Results of PCA </span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: \'Adobe Fan Heiti Std B\'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;\" lang=\"EN-US\">were analysed by PAST </span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;\" lang=\"EN-US\">with </span><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: \'Adobe Fan Heiti Std B\'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;\" lang=\"EN-US\">one-way ANOVA Kruskal-Wallis test. The result of the one-way ANOVA Kruskal-Wallis test shows no significance value between all the sexes that provides insufficient evidence that sex can be determined based on leaf morphology.</span></span></p>
<p><a name=\"PointTmp\"></a><em><span style=\"font-size: 14pt;\" lang=\"EN-US\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\">Keywords</span></strong></span></em><span style=\"font-family: Times New Roman;\"><strong><span style=\"mso-bookmark: PointTmp;\"><span style=\"font-size: 10pt;\" lang=\"EN-US\">&mdash;</span></span></strong><span style=\"mso-bookmark: PointTmp;\"><span class=\"apple-converted-space\"><em style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: \'Adobe Fan Heiti Std B\'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;\" lang=\"EN-US\">Carica papay </span></em></span></span><span style=\"mso-bookmark: PointTmp;\"><span class=\"apple-converted-space\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: \'Adobe Fan Heiti Std B\'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;\" lang=\"EN-US\">L., </span></span></span><span style=\"mso-bookmark: PointTmp;\"><span style=\"font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal; mso-fareast-font-family: \'Adobe Fan Heiti Std B\'; mso-bidi-font-weight: bold;\" lang=\"EN-US\">Elliptic Fourier analysis<span class=\"apple-converted-space\">, Leaf morphology, Sex identification.</span></span></span></span></p>
 