Development of a commercially viable pawpaw cultivar for Canadian orchardists

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Pawpaw (Asimina triloba) is a unique tree fruit native to the Eastern and Mid-Western US and the Carolinian Forests of Southern Ontario. It is highly aromatic, has a sweet, almost tropical-like mango-banana flavour, and is the largest native fruit in North America. Although it is a hardy (to USDA Zone 5) indigenous Canadian fruit, it is almost unknown to Canadian consumers, and indeed anywhere else. The principal reason for this lack of acceptance in the commercial market is that certain genetic and domestication traits make it unattractive. In descending order, these limitations are: 1) a short shelf life, in that Canadian and US pawpaws become over-mature within 4 - 5 days unless refrigerated, 2) an abundance of big black inedible seeds, that limit its attractiveness and makes for messy eating and handling, 3) a low yield which usually requires