Volume 62 Number 2 Article 3
Year 2008 Month 4
Title: The Kentucky Pawpaw Regional Variety Trial
Authors: K.W. Pomper, S.B. Crabtree, D.R. Layne, R.N. Peterson, J. Masabni, D. Wolfe
Abstract:
The North American pawpaw [Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal] is in the initial stages of commercial production.
Two
pawpaw variety trial orchards were established in Kentucky to evaluate the suitability of various varieties for this
region.
The first orchard was planted in the fall of 1995 in Princeton, at the University of Kentucky Research and
Education Center (UKREC). A second orchard was planted in the spring of 1998 at the Kentucky State University
(KSU) Research Farm in Frankfort.
A randomized complete block design was used in both plantings with 8 replicates
of 28 grafted cultivars and advanced selections.
Cultivars being evaluated included ‘Middletown’, ‘Mitchell’,
‘NC-1’, ‘Overleese’, ‘PA-Golden’, ‘Sunflower’, ‘Taylor’, ‘Taytwo’, ‘Wells’, and ‘Wilson’. The other 18 clones
were selections from the PawPaw Foundation (PPF) breeding effort.
Trunk cross-sectional area, number of fruit per
tree, fruit weight, cumulative yield, cumulative yield efficiency, number of fruit per cluster, growing degree days
required for ripening, harvest peak, harvest duration (days), and biennial bearing index all varied significantly among
cultivars and advanced selections 7 to 9 years after planting at both planting sites.
Fruit weight varied greatly, with
some clones averaging less than 100 g per fruit (‘Middletown’, ‘Wilson’, and ‘Rappahannock’) and others averaging
over 170 g per fruit (‘Overleese’, 8-20, ‘NC-1’, ‘Susquehanna’, ‘Wabash’, 5-5, and ‘Potomac’). ‘PA-Golden’ and
2-10 were early ripening clones while ‘Middletown’ and 9-47 were late ripening clones.
Cumulative yield varied
greatly, with some cultivars and advanced selections exceeding 30 kg/tree.
Cumulative yield efficiency ranged
from 0.38 to 0.91 kg/cm2 TCA. Based on fruit size yield, and availability, ‘Potomac’, ‘Susquehanna’, ‘Wabash’,
‘Overleese’, ‘Shenandoah’, ‘NC-1’, and ‘Sunflower’ can be recommended for production in this region.
Additional
PPF advanced selections that show promise are 10-35, 9-58, 2-10, 8-20, 5-5, and 1-68.
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