New Land Grant Director leads program and pawpaw research into the future

S mall and limited-resource farmers in Kentucky and the Southeastern region continue to look for low-input agricultural crops and for economic support. The North American pawpaw is a native tree fruit in the expanding commercial fruit production in Kentucky and the surrounding region. Trees bear fruit in August-September and produce a unique tropical-like flavored fruit with a blend of mango, pineapple and banana, with some cultivars displaying a melon flavor.

Pawpaw has great potential for fresh market sales at farmers’ markets, on-farm sales, and CSAs, as well as the processing market. Pawpaw production information and new high-yielding varieties would help jump-start the pawpaw industry.

Since 1994, Kentucky State University has served as the U.S. Department of Agriculture National Clonal Germplasm Repository, or gene bank, for pawpaw, as a satellite site of the repository at Corvallis, Ore. The function of the repository is fourfold: (1.) germplasm acquisition; (2.) germplasm preservation; (3.) germplasm evaluation; and (4.) germplasm distribution. The current pawpaw repository collection is in the form of trees planted in orchards, those growing in the greenhouse, and seeds in refrigerated storage. The Repository collection includes over 2,000 accessions (trees) from 16 different states including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. These trees are planted on approximately 12 acres at KSU's Harold R. Benson Research and Demonstration Farm in Frankfort, Ky. This is the largest collection of pawpaw anywhere in the world. It is a tremendously valuable resource for scientific research and new variety development.

and seeds in refrigerated storage. The Repository collection includes over 2,000 accessions (trees) from 16 different states including Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. These trees are planted on approximately 12 acres at KSU's Harold R. Benson Research and Demonstration Farm in Frankfort, Ky. This is the largest collection of pawpaw anywhere in the world. It is a tremendously valuable resource for scientific research and new variety development.

Pawpaw research in the College of Agriculture, Food Science, and Sustainable Systems is lead by Dr. Kirk Pomper, director of the Land Grant Program and professor in Agriculture and Natural Resources and supported by research and extension associate Sheri Crabtree, research associate Jerimiah Lowe, and graduate students Srijana Thapa Magar and Brian Edgar. Research focuses on increasing the production of pawpaw orchards, finding new ways to propagate pawpaw, and selecting new high-yielding pawpaw fruit varieties with enhanced fruit quality.

Dr. Kirk Pomper, Director of KSU Land Grant Programs, Director-KSU Agricultural Research Station, Professor

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