Tony- do you top your pawpaw trees to limit fruit damage when they drop? Steve
Three out of the four Select trees aren’t bad, but the Rappahannock is significantly better. If I hadn’t tasted anything better, I would’ve been perfectly satisfied with the Selects. I’ll look forward to hearing what you think of the Shenandoah when it fruits for you. My Shenandoah is still a small tree.
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I just take a foot off the top each year to keep the Peterson’s pawpaws at 8 feet for easy hand pollination and fruits harvest. I am over 50’s now and don’t want to use a ladder. I have worked on too many fractured hips that came to my Operating Room.
Tony
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Tony I like how you [think] 
Dax
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What is the fruit size like? My EL Select produces fruit half the size of Mango and Wabash. The taste is good but size is small.
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c5tiger8m
ncdabbler:
Three out of the four Select trees aren’t bad
What is the fruit size like? My EL Select produces fruit half the size of Mango and Wabash. The taste is good but size is small.
Fruit size varies quite a bit depending on the number of fruits in a cluster, but on average are about half the size of Rappahannock. The flesh color varies between the four Select trees as well, from orange to cream. One Select tree is unusual in that it drops most of its leaves much earlier than the others which are all planted 8ft from each other. The one with the unpleasant aftertaste is the most vigorous grower and most productive of the four trees.
My Select also breaks dormancy and blooms ahead of my others.
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"One Select tree is unusual in that it drops most of its leaves much earlier than the others "
This is likely phyllosticta ( i.e. Bordered leaf spot )
Mainly a problem on the fruit of some cultivars ,
Some get it , some don’t
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Does anyone have a scion of Kentucky Champion , PRIMA 1216, Sunflower, or Wabash they are willing to trade or sale?
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This is one of the more interesting discussions I’ve read in a while. I wasn’t aware of the decline factor for grafted trees.
Yes it may be
I reluctantly stired this up.
I believe in promoting the pawpaw industry.
And think people should still graft, and buy grafted trees
As they “are good” and defiantly worth planting , just have limitations.
But there is little info about decline on the web. And thought it would be good to stir the pot here.
It would be good to here from more members that have “old” grafted pawpaw. And how they are fairing ?
An unrelated ? Syndrone is the following:
Read:
“Vascular decline in the Oregon pawpaw regional variety trial”
(If some one can post a proper link to this would be good , I don’t know how)
This is of concern !
It wiped out there whole trial ! Not sure what " it " is.
My concern is that if this is a pathogen , it may have allready been moved from there to other locations, waiting to show it self who knows where.
So look at the pic of canker ,remember yellowing of leaves prematurely, quick decline of top , and profuse root sprouts. Blue stain in wood.
( I think I got that right , have not read in a while, (correct me if wrong) )
This is something we all need to be watchful of
It may blow over and be gone, or…?
I’m glad you did. And no kidding about little info regarding decline. I’m going to focus on high quality seedlings now.
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They just slowly quite producing and then growing over the course of a few years and then you notice the graft is dead. The rootstock has never died on me.
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pm sent.
Dax
Abstract:
https://www.ars.usda.gov/research/publications/publication/?seqNo115=151409
Here’s a video showing some problems a grower has had:
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Thanks.
Let’s keep stiring this pot .
If you were to regraft a tree in decline would it have to be below the original graft? Or can it be above? Or does it not matter?
I would think cut the old tree down in the dormant season.
Allow only one sucker to grow that next year , graft onto that.
Or graft onto a root sucker and then cut old trunk
Would not think grafting again above original graft would accomplish anything
Or on the old trunk, get rid of that, graft suckers
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If a tree is already in decline it might be difficult to regraft it. Chances are you get no takes because of the weakened rootstock. You would be better of to graft the variety to another rootstock (or a healthy sucker).
If you want to try regrafting anyways it seems logical to regraft below the original graft cause the grafting union might be the choke point. In a healthy tree with no issues (no graft incompatibility) it wouldn’t matter if you regraft below or above the original graft. It sometimes is beneficial to regraft above another graft. It is called interstem grafting. But that is a different topic.
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