The first International Pawpaw Conference hosted by PPF was held 9–11 Sept. 1994 at the Western Maryland Research and Education Center (WMREC), Keedysville. There are some 700 open-pollinated, 12-year-old, bearing pawpaw trees at WMREC. Several cultivars and advanced PPF selections to be planted in the RVT were available for harvest and taste evaluation during this conference. Those in attendance included research scientists, nursery operators, horticulturists, amateur naturalists, a perfume chemist, and several freelance writers. Several presentations were made regarding pawpaw research in nutrition, reproductive biology, germination/container culture, early growth enhancement, transplanting techniques, and anticancer drug development. In addition, workshops were held on evaluating fruit, taste testing, cleaning seed, and grafting/budding techniques. Participants also were treated to a presentation and taste evaluation comparing many of the tropical Annonaceous relatives of pawpaw. A second international conference will be held at KSU in Sept. 1997.
Considerable efforts are currently underway at KSU and Purdue Univ. (and others will soon be implemented at several academic institutions through RVT cooperation) to overcome the horticultural limitations to developing pawpaw as a new commercial fruit crop. In addition to the aforementioned research, several additional areas will also require concerted attention: 1) developing postharvest techniques to maximize shelf life and maintain quality of fresh fruit; 2) developing processed pawpaw food products; 3) developing commercial/retail markets and promotion/public education strategies; 4) developing commercially feasible techniques for a renewable pawpaw biomass production system; and 5) developing an understanding of pollination biology and strategy to ensure adequate fruit production. As these and other questions are addressed and answered, pawpaw will almost certainly become a profitable fruit crop to grow in the United States and it may gain popularity similar to kiwifruit [Actinidia deliciosa (A. Chev.) C.F. Liang et Ferguson] in the future.
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