Pawpaw Fruit • Production & Marketing

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This video was very well done, thank you

[@WernerElmker]

Pawpaw Fruit • Production & Marketing The American pawpaw, Asimina triloba, is a native fruit tree, found growing wild from Florida to New York, west to SE Nebraska, eastern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, to east Texas. Though it is still rare in commercial production, the pawpaw has high potential to become a profitable part of small farms across much of North America. Both their novelty and their unique, tropical fruit-like flavors make them highly attractive to consumers. Growers like the pawpaw’s wide adaptability and high resistance to pest and disease problems. Though pawpaws will grow on a wide range of sites, they will do best on deep, fertile, moist, but well-drained, neutral to slightly acidic soils. They will not tolerate alkaline soils. Consult the Web Soil Survey, a USDA Soil Survey book for your particular county, or NRCS office personnel for assistance in selecting appropriate soils and sites. Pawpaw nursery stock should be acquired only from reputable nurseries specializing in trees that produce commercial quality fruit. Stock should be either container-grown, or grown in special beds of light, porous growing medium such as peat or vermiculite. Pawpaws do not survive when grown in a field and then dug up bare-root. The root systems of pawpaws are very long-lived-perhaps for centuries. In contrast, the above-ground portion of the plant-the trunk and top, is very short-lived for a tree, averaging only about 15 years. The trunk then goes into decline, and dies. Meanwhile, the root system sends up numerous shoots, or “suckers.” If the original tree is a seedling, the suckers can grow into trees identical to the original. If the original tree was a grafted variety, the suckers will likely grow into trees that are very different from the original. Most likely, the rootstock used for the graft will be a wild tree, and the suckers will grow into wild trees bearing small quantities of small, seedy, poor-quality fruit. For this reason, pawpaws are nearly unique among fruit trees in that it may make more sense for commercial growers to plant seedlings with superior genetics instead of grafted trees. Pawpaws should be planted about 10 feet apart within rows, and 10 to 15 feet apart between rows. They can be planted in the spring as soon as the frost is out of the ground, but no later than mid September, to allow the roots to grow downward into the undisturbed soil beneath the planting hole. This will prevent frost heaving which can be lethal to pawpaws. Pawpaws should be planted with the root crown-the point where root and trunk meet-right at ground level. No part of the pawpaw trunk should be buried or allowed to settle below the soil line. For container-grown trees, the planting hole should be dug to the same depth, and no deeper, than the container. For bare-root planting, the hole should be just deep enough to accommodate the root system without crowding or bending the roots around the sides of the hole. Normally, only the soil that came out of the hole should be used to backfill. Young pawpaws are sensitive to direct sunlight, and can be damaged or even killed by it. Pawpaws planted in full sun should have a 2’ tall tree shelter or “grow tube” applied immediately. The tree shelter will provide exactly the right amount of shade, and when it grows out the top, the young pawpaw can tolerate full sun. The shelter also protects the tree from being snipped off by rabbits or lawn mowers, or stepped on by clumsy feet. Though pawpaws are fairly drought-tolerant once established, newly planted trees should be supplied with supplemental water in the event of a dry spell. Effective weed control is critically important to the establishment of a planting of pawpaw trees. Young pawpaw trees can easily be stunted or even killed by competing vegetation. Mowing, by itself, is not effective weed control. Neither is mulch or landscape fabric, but for those averse to using chemicals, these three, used in combination, can be very effective in helping to get pawpaw trees established. Lay a 3’ square of landscape fabric down around the base of each tree, leaving a slit in the middle for the tree to poke through. Secure all four corners with 6” turf staples. Secure the margins of the fabric with four more staples placed halfway between each corner, and one more staple to keep the center-slit closed, for a total of nine staples for each tree. Do not skimp on the staples, or the fabric may get sucked into the mower blades. If this happens, the whole tree may be ripped from the ground and hurled through the air. That will cost more than a few extra staples. Cover the landscape fabric with 2” to 3” of course wood chips. Keep the vegetation mowed short, right up to the edge of the fabric. A low-cost but highly effective alternative to the fabric/mulch/mowing weed control strategy is the herbicide Oust (sulfometuron methyl). When used according to label directions by a qualified pesticide applicator, Oust will control weeds for a whole year with just a single application. It can save $1000 per acre or even more, on the cost of a tree planting project, compared to the mulch/landscape fabric. On a good site with effective weed control, pawpaws should become established and begin bearing within four to six years of planting. Once established, pawpaws need little or no additional care, aside from some light pruning to control the tree size and keep the fruit within reach of the ground without a ladder. Pawpaw fruit can be marketed in a number of ways, including to groceries and health-food stores, at farmers markets, and even through Internet/mail order. Probably the most profitable way is through a “pick-your-own” operation. PYO eliminates the costs of harvesting, handling, refrigeration, packaging, and shipping. Even with a cost per pound price point, PYO will usually pencil out better than any other marketing strategy. Follow these steps and with a little hard work, pawpaws could become a highly profitable part of your small farm.

[@sophiafunworldatthepark6740]

Hello everyone. i live in houston Texas. I have ordered 6 plants of pawpaw and already put them all in the ground. Actually, i only want to plant two but i heard that the bare root hard to plant. do you know that paw paw can grow in houston tx. I live in the Medical center area.

[@oussamafa489]

Hello I'm from Algeria did you can send me soma pawpaw seeds I want plant it in my place

[@deborahgrantham7387]

They are yummy.

[@angelinagimenez659]

Por favor, como puedo obtener unas semillas de esta fruta tan deliciosa?

[@uchymata1]

So what's the best tasting Pawpaw fruit?

[@Qingeaton]

Susquehanna is very good flavored, but the trees don't make many fruit. Mango, Overleese, Prima 1216, NC-1, Shenandoah are all very good.

[@landrylee6207]

@@Qingeaton which 2 &3 kinds of paw paw are have good commercial value？