Pawpaw Varieties for Farmer's Market

General Fruit Growing
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Anyone know what varieties of pawpaw fruit sell well to a public that usually has no clue what a pawpaw is? Mild Shenandoah won big at a DC market. What else? Will the public go for a stronger taste?

Looking for high production and Phyllosticta resistance and great taste.

Is Phyllosticta a deal-breaker for the fabulous Chappelle in commercial orchard?

Are white, hard, un-ripened sections a deal-breaker for Atwood in a commercial orchard?

Is Susquehanna’s shy production a deal-breaker for commercial orchard?

Next Spring I’ll help friends graft 40 seedlings to sell the fruit in Easton, Md. Fun project. Thanks for ideas.

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Most of that would be personal taste. I would focus on varieties that have absolutely zero negative aftertaste. Just one bad aftertaste and a newbie will be gone forever.

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Right. Sunflower’s the only one I know with a bad aftertaste sometimes for some people in some places. What else?

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PA Golden is another bad one. There are a lot of them. You don’t need a lot of varieties, just excellent ones.

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I think Mango would be a hard sell to the public. Aftertaste and a ton of seeds.

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Phyllo on Chappel hasn’t been an issue for me. It’s been in the ground I think 4 or 5 years surrounded by other varieties.
I think if unmanaged, phyllo will be an issue for any large planting eventually. Not to say some varieties aren’t more susceptible.
Sadly, KSU Research farm is covered in it, regardless of variety.

JBG has a great mildish flavor. Other Lehman cultivars like Benny’s Favorite or Maria’s Joy could be good choices.
Wabash is a favorite of many.

I was going to recommend Atwood and Benson. I have had the white flesh/incomplete ripening issue for sure, but others say it’s not a problem. Hard to say.

Not giving you a simple answer but maybe it’s food for thought.

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@TrilobaTracker Really helpful. You and Cliff both recommend Jerry’s Big Girl. He’s also big on Kentucky Champion- someone suggested it might even be self fertile which could be a blessing places not frequented by carrion flies.

Is Susquehanna very low production for you or others you know? It sure is for me.

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Good deal! Honestly I don’t know a lot about Woody Walker’s selections (e.g. Kentucky Champion). I’m sure it’s a solid variety nonetheless.

Ironically I don’t have a mature Susquehanna. My first tree was bare root and died promptly after planting. I tried again with a potted specimen from one green world, but it was misrouted by FedEx and spent like 2 weeks in a box. It has not done well in the ground, growing very slowly and even having some dieback.

I don’t know if Susquehanna has an unfair cloud over it. It must be reasonably productive, at least in the right conditions, or Neal would not have released it. It consistently gets great reviews for taste (in my top 3 to 5). It is a stronger flavor but again people seem to love it (though Shen was a favorite too as you noted).

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