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Variation in Pawpaw (Asimina triloba L. Dunal) Productivity and Fruit Quality Among Cultivars and Orchards in Ohio

Francino, Sarah E
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1562168100307853

Abstract Details

2019, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Environment and Natural Resources.
Natural environmental gradients affect crop productivity; while the same is true for genetic and agronomic factors these can be controlled by the grower. Growers have to choose cultivars, rootstocks, and agronomic inputs that account for environmental factors to gain consistent yields and high-quality produce. For many emerging fruit crops, such as pawpaw (Asimina triloba L. Dunal), factors controlling yield and quality still need to be properly understood. The pawpaw is a fruit tree native to the Eastern United States and has a rapidly growing market. How environmental gradients, cultivars, and agronomic inputs influence the yield and quality of a pawpaw fruit harvest has not been studied extensively. This study’s aim was to investigate the relationship between environmental factors and cultivar identity in terms of fruit yield and quality. Eight commercial and semi-commercial orchards across the State of Ohio had flower counts and fruit counts performed on them for 24 cultivars. Fruits were counted by four size classes based on their length and width to estimate the yield. Allometric relationships between fruit size, total mass, and pulp mass were investigated to predict the total pulp and fruit masses for each tree by cultivar. Ten cultivars (Allegheny, NC-1, Overleese, Potomac, Shawnee Trail, Shenandoah, Sunflower, Susquehanna, Wabash, and Wells) were measured for 18 quality metrics. Linear mixed effects models demonstrated significant differences in fruit yield and quality between both cultivars and genetic related cultivar groups. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used to evaluate multivariate differences in fruit quality and showed strong gradients in quality associated with cultivars, sites, and ripeness scores. Site Valley View Farm had the smallest standard deviation (0.40) which demonstrates sites that are more proactively managed have the most consistent fruit quality. The lowest ripeness scores were associated with harder fruit with a higher pH; the highest ripeness scores were associated with higher browning potential, sugar content, greater Phyllosticta abundance, and increased pulp mass. Pawpaw quality is complex and more than 50% of the variance could not be explained with by cultivar, site, and ripeness scores measured within this study. Evaluating tools and techniques to reduce variance in quality to produce consistent, high quality fruit should be the objective of further research.
G. Matt Davies (Advisor)
Joseph Scheerens (Committee Member)
Shoshanah Inwood (Committee Member)
Brad Bergefurd (Committee Member)
93 p.
Environmental Studies
Asimina triloba, pawpaw, Ohio

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Francino, S. E. (2019). Variation in Pawpaw (Asimina triloba L. Dunal) Productivity and Fruit Quality Among Cultivars and Orchards in Ohio [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1562168100307853

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Francino, Sarah . Variation in Pawpaw (Asimina triloba L. Dunal) Productivity and Fruit Quality Among Cultivars and Orchards in Ohio. 2019. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1562168100307853.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Francino, Sarah . "Variation in Pawpaw (Asimina triloba L. Dunal) Productivity and Fruit Quality Among Cultivars and Orchards in Ohio." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2019. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1562168100307853

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1562168100307853
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© 2019, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Variation in Pawpaw (Asimina triloba L. Dunal) Productivity and Fruit Quality Among Cultivars and Orchards in Ohio by Sarah E Francino is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.