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The Pawpaw: Its Past, Present, and Future
Kirk W. Pomper, Ph.D.
Principal Investigator of Horticulture/ Kentucky State University Adjunct Associate Professor of Horticulture/ Univ. of Kentucky
The North American Pawpaw
Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal.
Slow growing, moderate sized tree; pyramidal in full sun
Fruit:
Clusters of 1-13 fruit
Fruit up to 2 lbs.
Native Range (Asimina triloba)
Pawpaws in the Wild
- triloba is usually found in the forest understory in hardwood forests
- Clonal reproduction by root suckering
You may not find many fruit (shade, self-incompatibility, lack of pollinators)
The Pawpaw Fruit
Tropical-like flavor and aroma
banana, mango, and pineapple
Nutritious and high in antioxidant activity
blended fruit drinks, ice creams, yogurt, etc.
Pawpaw Market Potential
Farmers Markets Fruit: $1 each
$2 to $3/pound
Gourmet Market Frozen pulp Ice cream
Restaurants
History of the Pawpaw
In 1541 Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto found Native Americans growing and eating pawpaws in the valley of the Mississippi.
Lewis and Clark recorded in their journal (18 Sept. 1806) how pawpaws helped save them from starvation.
Daniel Boone and Mark Twain were pawpaw fans.
Hatfield family photo courtesy of M cDowell County Historical Society
Pawpaw Tree Incident (Marker Number: 2047)
County: Pike Location: Near Buskirk, KY 1056
Description: This episode is result of August 1882 election-day fight. Tolbert, a son of Randolph McCoy, exchanged heated words with Ellison Hatfield, which started a fight. Tolbert, Pharmer and Randolph McCoy Jr. stabbed Ellison to death. Later the three brothers were captured by Hatfield clan, tied to pawpaw trees, and shot in retaliation. Presented by Pikeville-Pike County Tourism.
Domesticating Pawpaw
In 1916, best pawpaw contest sponsored by the American Genetics Association
“intelligent breeding” would result in commercial quality varieties and an industry would begin (Popenoe 1916, 1917).
An industry did not develop One reason for the failure of pawpaw to become popular could be rapid perishability of fruit
One reason for the failure of pawpaw to become popular could be rapid perishability of fruit
New Interest in Pawpaw
From 1950 and 1985, interest grew nurtured by individuals in the Northern Nut Growers Association
The Paw Paw Foundation was founded in 1988, by R. Neal Peterson
Ohio Pawpaw Festival (1999-present), Ohio Pawpaw Growers Association (2000), and Appalachian Pawpaw Growers Association (2008)
The Kentucky State University Pawpaw Research Program
Program Leaders:
Brett Callaway (1990-1993)
Desmond Layne (1994-1997)
Kirk Pomper (1998-Present)
USDA National Clonal Germplasm Repository for Pawpaw; satellite of Corvallis, OR (1994)
2000 accessions from 17 different States; over 45 cultivars
Establishing A Pawpaw Orchard
“Pawpaw Planting Guide”
Site
air drainage (frost)
deep, fertile, well-drained soil, pH 5.5-7.0
Weed control Johnson grass
water source for irrigation
Pawpaw Propagation and the Nursery Industry
High tree prices are limiting development of an industry
Seedlings $5-$10
Grafted trees $15-$30
Grafted trees (named cultivars) produce fruit sooner after planting and have a known fruit quality.
Pawpaw Propagation
If you do produce trees from seed: Historically, pawpaws have been a difficult tree species to propagate:
Seed requires stratification (3 months of refrigeration)
Desiccation sensitive (do not dry out)
Seed is killed by freezing
Commercial clonal propagation of cultivars is via chip budding onto seedling rootstock
Many nurseries grow pawpaw seedlings in containers
Top working existing trees
What cultivars should I plant?
Variety Trial at KSU
28 selections, 10 named varieties, 224 total grafted trees on PPF seedling rootstock (half-sib seed)
■ Spacing 2 m (6.5 ft) between trees, 5.5 m (18 ft) between rows
Princeton, KY (1995) and Frankfort, KY (1998)
Commercially Available Cultivars
| Clone | Genetic background |
|---|---|
| ‘Middletown’ | Wild seedling from Middletown, Ohio |
| ‘Mitchell’ | Wild seedling from Iuka, Ill. |
| ‘NC-1’ | ‘Davis’ female × ‘Overleese’ male |
| ‘Overleese’ | Cultivated (open-pollinated) seedling from Rushville, Ind. |
| ‘PA-Golden’ | Second-generation seedling from G.A. Zimmerman collection |
| ‘Sunflower’ | Wild seedling from Chanute, Kans. |
| ‘Taylor’ | Wild seedling from Eaton Rapids, Mich. |
| ‘Taytwo’ | Wild seedling from Eaton Rapids, Mich. |
| ‘Wells’ | Cultivated (open-pollinated) seedlings from Salem, Ind. |
| ‘Wilson’ | Wild seedling from Cumberland, Ky. |
Seedlings of Commercially Available Cultivars
| Clone | Genetic background |
|---|---|
| 1-7-1 Shenandoah | Open-pollinated seedling of ‘Overleese’ |
| 1-23 | Open-pollinated seedling of ‘Taylor’ |
| 1-68 | Open-pollinated seedling from ‘Overleese’ |
| 8-20 | Open-pollinated seedlings of ‘Sunflower’ |
Seedlings from Collections
| Clone | O pen-pollinated seedling of |
|---|---|
| 1-7-2 Wabash | BEF-30 |
| 2-10 | BEF-30 |
| 2-54 | GAZ-VA |
| 3-11 | BEF-33 |
| 3-21 | BEF-43 |
| 4-2 Potomac | BEF-53 |
| 5-5 | BEF-54 |
| 7-90 | RS-2 |
| 8-58 R appahannock | BEF-30 |
| 9-47 | BEF-49 |
| 9-58 | BEF-50 |
| 10-35 | BEF-49 |
| 11-5 Susquehanna | BEF-53 |
| 11-13 | BEF-53 |
BEF = Blandy Experimental Farm Collection, Boyce Va. GAZ = George A. Zimmerman Collection., Linglestown, Pa. RS = Ray Schlaanstine Collection, West Chester, Pa.
| Fruit Production on M ature Trees 2004-2006 in Frankfort | Average fruit weight (g) | Average number of fruit per tree |
|---|---|---|
| Clone | 235 a | 44 ghi |
| Potomac | 188 b | 39 hi |
| 5-5 | 185 b | 65 fg |
| W abash | 184 b | 39 i |
| Susquehanna | 179 bc | 44 ghi |
| NC-1 | 170 bcd | 54 fghi |
| Overleese | 170 bcd | 59 fghi |
| 8-20 | 167 bcd | 90 cde |
| 1-68 | 160 cde | 52 fghi |
| 2-10 | 156 def | 78 def |
| Shenandoah | 155 def | 74 def |
| Sunflower | 146 efg | 79 def |
| 9-58 | 145 efg | 105 abc |
| 10-35 | 145 efg |
| Clone | Average fruit weight (g) | Average number of fruit per tree |
|---|---|---|
| 3-11 | 137 efgh | 68 ef |
| 7-90 | 135 fghi | 74 def |
| 1-23 | 126 ghij | 90 cde |
| 11-13 | 124 hij | 75 def |
| Taytwo | 121 hijk | 73 def |
| 2-54 | 121 hijk | 73 def |
| 3-21 | 115 ijkl | 60 fghi |
| Mitchell | 112 jkl | 58 fghi |
| PA-Golden | 108 jklm | 118 ab |
| Taylor | 106 jklm | 68 efg |
| Wells | 104 klm | 64 fgh |
| 9-47 | 100 lm | 74 def |
| Rappahannock | ||
| Wilson |  | |
| Middletown |
NC-1
Fruit weight: 179 g
Number of fruit/tree: 44
Good flavor
Available from many commercial nurseries
Overleese
Fruit weight: 170 g
Number of fruit/tree: 54
Good flavor (melon)
Available from many commercial nurseries
Sunflower
Fruit weight: 155 g
Number of fruit/tree: 74
Mild flavor
Available from many commercial nurseries
Potomac
Fruit weight: 235 g
Number of fruit/tree: 44
Good flavor
Fruit cracking?
Available:
Nolin River Nut Tree Nursery
Forest Keeling
Potomac
Shenandoah
Fruit weight: 156 g
Number of fruit/tree: 78
Mild flavor
Available:
Nolin River Nut Tree Nursery
Forest Keeling
Wabash
Fruit weight: 185 g
Number of fruit/tree: 65
Dark flesh
Cracking issues
Available:
Nolin River Nut Tree Nursery
Forest Keeling
Wabash
Establishing a Pawpaw Orchard
Pawpaw will fruit in the shade, optimum yields are obtained in open exposure
Grass and weed control!
Shading recommended the first year
Irrigation should be provided at least the first two years
Pawpaw Running
Field Planting Pawpaw
8' between trees, 18' between rows
295 trees/ac
Tree seldom grow taller than 25 feet
Fertilization and Irrigation of
Pawpaw
Trickle Irrigation:
emitters (1 gal/hr) with 2 emitters/tree
about 240 gal/tree/yr.
Fertigation: Peters 20-20-20 (3 times each yr.)
0.6 oz N/tree/yr.
Granular (10-10-10)
1 oz N/tree/yr., 2 oz N/tree/yr. after two years
Pawpaw Pests and Diseases
Leaf and fruit spot (Phyllosticta)
J apanese beetles
Leaf rollers
Zebra swallowtail butterfly-not necessarily a pest
Talponia plummeriana - pawpaw peduncle borer
Pawpaw Flowering and Harvest
Flowers: male and female parts in a flower
Cross-pollinate (self-fruitful?)
Pollinated by flies and beetles
Ripe fruit-soft
Color change not a reliable indicator of ripeness
Harvest from the same tree over several weeks
The Potential of Pawpaw
FRESH MARKET-UNIQUE flavor
Appearance-not unappealing
Post harvest handling issues
Bruising
Short shelf-life of about 7 days at room temp
Storage for 2-3 wks under refrigeration
The Potential of Pawpaw
Processing pulp
Hand processing
Labor intensive
Roma Food Processor with Grape Spiral with Pumpkin Screen
Research Update from KSU
New Cultivar development
Fruit thinning
Roostock and Training trial
Further Germplasm Improvement
Evaluation of:
Seedling populations from throughout the native range
Crosses from Neal Peterson Hybrid material from Asimina triloba x A. reticulata
Hybrid material from Asimina triloba x A. reticulata
KSU-Atwood™
2011 Pawpaw Variety Trial
2011 Pawpaw Regional Variety Trial
| row | tree | Name & comments | Total # fruit | avg frt wt oz | yield lbs/tree | % frt >3.5 oz |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 20 | Salem, IN (late flowering) | 272 | 3.1 | 52.6 | 28% |
| 4 | 25 | Ithaca, NY (coconut flavor) | 92 | 6.0 | 34.8 | 89% |
| 9 | 109 | 11-13 x 1-23 (large fruit) | 254 | 7.2 | 114.8 | 93% |
| 9 | 111 | 11-13 x 1-23 (high yield) | 500 | 5.4 | 168.0 | 79% |
| 3 | 25 | 2-9 x 10-35 (firm?) | 148 | 4.2 | 39.0 | 65% |
| 5 | 23 | Ithaca, NY (early ripening) | 139 | 5.7 | 49.8 | 82% |
Fruit Thinning to Increase Fruit Size
Average fruit weights of hand-thinned and unthinned pawpaw fruit in 2006 and 2008
| Fruit weight (g) | ||
| Treatment | 2006 | 2008 |
| Hand-Thinned | 129 | 145 |
| Control | 88 | 118 |
| significance | ** | * |
2009 Growing Season
| Scion | Survival | TCA | # of clusters | # of Flower Buds | # of fruit | fruit per cluster | fruit wt (oz) | Yield (lb) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Susquehanna | 61% | 23.3 | 7.0 | 65 | 21 | 2.7 | 9.4 | 11.7 |
| Sunflower | 76% | 22.1 | 17.0 | 136 | 36 | 2.1 | 6.7 | 15.2 |
| P-value | NS | NS | *** | *** | * | *** | (I) | NS |
| Rootstock | Survival | TCA | number of fruit | fruit weight (g) | Yield (kg) | fruit set | ||
| RVT | 73 ab | 21.7 | 32 | 218 ab | 6.3 | 15% | ||
| Sunflower | 87 a | 23.2 | 22 | 226 a | 5.1 | 8% | ||
| PA-Golden | 75 ab | 25.3 | 33 | 235 a | 7.2 | 17% | ||
| K8-2 | 57 bc | 20.8 | 22 | 176 b | 4 | 33% | ||
| Susquehanna | 48 c | 20.8 | 40 | 220 ab | 8.2 | 13% | ||
| P-value | ** | NS | NS | * | NS | NS | ||
2009 Growing Season
| Scion | Survival | TCA | # of fruit | fruit weight (g) | Yield (kg) | fruit set |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimal Pruning | 60% | 28.5 | 35 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 25% |
| Central Leader | 76% | 17.8 | 25 | 7.9 | 5.3 | 10% |
| P-value | * | *** | NS | (1) | NS | * |
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Photograph of pawpaw flower taken on May 5, 2009. Photo by Jeremy Lowe.
pawpaw.kysu provides information on how to grow and use fruit from the North American pawpaw tree.
Over 280,000 visitors since 2003!
Google™ Custom Search Search Site
Pawpaws Gain Standing as Kentucky Crop (6/28/09)
Pomper and Crabtree win Shepard Award for Pawpaw Research (6/18/09)
From Novel Fruits (pawpaw), a Lush Landscape in NY Times (5/20/09)
Pawpaw article in Northern Nut Growers Association Nutshell Newsletter (5/13/09)
Summaries of recent KSU pawpaw research projects (5/06/09)
KSU Student wins award for pawpaw research project (see page 7) (5/06/09)