Hi7-1: A Promising New Pawpaw Selection in the Kentucky State University Repository Collection

The North American pawpaw [Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal] is a native tree-fruit that is in the early stages of commercial production with fresh market appeal for farmers markets, community supported agriculture, and organic markets, as well as processing potential for frozen pulp production. Although there are approximately 50 pawpaw cultivars available, many pawpaw varieties tend to be low yielding and have small fruit size of less than 120 grams. Pawpaw varieties with fruit weighing over 120 g per fruit are considered to have a large enough fruit size for commercial sale and processing. New high yielding cultivars with excellent fruit quality would further assist in the development of the pawpaw industry. Kentucky State University serves as the National Clonal Germplasm Repository for Pawpaw. Two goals of the Repository research efforts are germplasm acquisition and evaluation.  The repository contains over 2000 accessions from 16 different states; additionally, both open pollinated seedlings from superior genotypes and crosses of superior selections have been incorporated into the repository collection. The selection Hi 7-1 was identified in the repository collection with a unique fruit type and promising characteristics as a new potential cultivar. In 2015, the fruit size of Hi7-1 (241 g) was larger than Hi7-5 (181 g), another KSU advanced selection, as well as the industry standard pawpaw cultivar Sunflower (180 g). Hi7-1 has a pleasing orange flesh and large fruit size that would be excellent for processing. This selection, Hi7-1, is being propagated via chip budding onto seedling rootstocks. Yield and fruiting characteristics will be examined in additional trials.