cookies, cakes, and beverages, the pureed pulp has also been found to be an acceptable fat substitute in baking (Wiese and Duffrin, 2003).

Pawpaw trees themselves also have a high value, showing potential for Kentucky nursery production. Pawpaw seedlings generally sell for around $5-$10 a tree, with grafted trees bringing $20-$25 a tree (Northwoods Nursery/Jim Gilbert, per comm.). As a native plant, pawpaw is well-adapted to regional growing conditions and has few pests, lending itself to potential organic production, which could further increase retail value to the consumer and also decrease chemical costs to the producer. For the homeowner, the pawpaw makes an ideal component in the edible landscape, with its attractive form, beautiful fall color, and delicious fruit.

Pawpaw is the exclusive host of the zebra swallowtail butterfly (Eurytides marcellus Cramer), which is not necessarily a pest as it does little damage to the trees, well below economic threshold except in some cases of very small seedlings, and is also a very attractive butterfly. Other insect pests include the pawpaw peduncle borer (Talponia plummeriana Busck), which bores into flower stalks, causing flower drop (Peterson, 1991); the leafroller (Choristoneura parellela Robinson), and the Japanese beetle (Popillia japonica), which may feed heavily on interveinal leaf tissue (Pomper and Layne, 2004). None of these pests affects the pawpaw severely enough to be considered serious problems at this time. Diseases which may affect pawpaw include a leaf spot caused by several fungi, Phyllostica asiminae, Mycocentrospora asiminae, and Rhopaloconidium asiminae (Peterson, 1991). This disease complex can also affect the skin of the fruit.

The leaf, bark, and twig tissues of pawpaw produce natural defense compounds known as annonaceous acetogenins (McLaughlin, 1997; McCage et al., 2002). More than 40 of these long-chain fatty acids have been extracted and identified, including asimin, asiminacin, and bullatacin. These compounds have been found to have pesticidal properties, which could explain the relatively low number of insect pests attacking pawpaw. Therefore, these compounds are being developed as a component in botanical pesticides and could be used in organic production systems. These same compounds also have been demonstrated to be toxic to cancerous tumor cells and thus have potential as anti-cancer agents (Ahammadsahib et al., 1993).