ASHS 2015 Annual Conference

The North American Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is a tree fruit native to the Eastern U.S., and is being produced commercially in small orchards around the U.S. and worldwide. There are currently over 50 pawpaw cultivars available, but many older cultivars have small fruit size, low yields, and inferior flavor. Seedlings and controlled crosses contained at the National Clonal Germplasm Repository for Asimina spp. located at Kentucky State University (KSU) have been evaluated for yield, fruit size, and flavor; and several superior selections have been identified for evaluation and potential future cultivar release. To determine the performance of these advanced selections at different locations, pawpaw variety trials including one commercially available cultivar (‘Sunflower’) and five advanced selections identified in the KSU Repository Collection (G6-120, G9-109, G9-111, Hi4-1, and H3-120) were established in plantings at three grower cooperator sites, in central Ohio (Urbana, OH; USDA Plant Hardiness Zone 5b), southern Ohio (Aberdeen, OH; USDA PHZ 6a), and southern Kentucky (Bowling Green, KY; USDA PHZ 6b).  Survival at the three sites was similar, ranging from 79% to 83% overall. Survival among the selections across all sites was also not significantly different, ranging from 70% to 100%. Trunk diameters differed by selection, with G9-109 and G6-120 having smaller diameter trees compared to Hi4-1 and H3-120. Hi 4-1 also had greater vigor than the currently available cultivar ‘Sunflower’. Data will continue to be collected on precocious flowering and fruiting.