Volume 62 Number 3 Article 1
Year 2008 Month 7
Title: Flowering and Fruiting Characteristics of Eight Pawpaw [Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal] Selections in Kentucky
Authors: K.W. Pomper, S.B. Crabtree, D.R. Layne, R.N. Peterson
Abstract:
The North American pawpaw [Asimina triloba (L.) Dunal] is in the initial stages of commercialization; however,
little information has been published concerning flowering and ripening periods of commercially available
cultivars.
Cultivars with late flowering or extended bloom period could be useful to growers for avoiding crop
losses to late spring frosts.
The objectives of this study were to determine if mature trees of commercially available
pawpaw cultivars display: 1) concentrated bloom periods, 2) late flowering characteristics, 3) high fruit set,
and 4) concentrated fruit ripening characteristics that were related to concentrated bloom periods.
An orchard
was planted in the spring of 1998 in a randomized block experimental design with 8 replicates.
In 2004 to 2006,
the cultivars ‘Middletown’, ‘Overleese’, ‘PA-Golden’, ‘Sunflower’,’Wells’, ‘Wilson’, ‘NC-1’ and the advanced
selection 2-54 were evaluated for flower number per tree, density, peak, and duration, as well as trunk cross-sectional
area, fruit set, days between flower and harvest peak, duration of harvest, fruit weight, yield, and number
of fruit per cluster.
An extended flowering period or larger flower number did not improve fruit set.
Mature trees
of commercially available pawpaw cultivars did not display concentrated bloom periods or ripening periods;
however, ‘Wells’ and ‘Middletown’ did have late flowering peaks (maximum number of flowers) that could allow
a partial crop if early spring frosts destroy flowers around or at the flowering peak.
However, the average fruit size
of ‘Wells’ and ‘Middletown’ is small and undesirable for commercial production.
Full text download: APS subscribers
ISHS members & pay-per-view
(PDF 559827 bytes)
Translate:
APS membership administration
ISHS membership administration
