Benson Pawpaw Description

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KSU Benson Pawpaw boasts strong production, medium-large fruit size, excellent, outstanding flavour and texture and a unique, somewhat spherical-shaped, very attractive fruit. Benson Pawpaw fruits have a good, creamy texture, are sweet, darker yellow fleshed with a burst of tropical banana/mango/pineapple fruit flavour and fruity aroma. KSU Benson also has better than average disease resistance. An excellent Second release from the KSU Pawpaw Breeding program.

 

Fruit of KSU-Benson averages about 160-180 g per fruit, which is similar to the industry standard cultivar Sunflower. However, the percentage of seed for fruit of KSU-Benson TM averages only 6.4%, whereas the percent seed of Sunflower averages 8.7% seed by weight. Benson Pawpaw was selected by Kentucky State University for its heavily productive, early-ripening, round and very tasty fruit. The selection has a large fruit size and a pleasing yellow - orange flesh.

The fruit of this selection tends to have unblemished skin, suggesting that this selection may have some resistance to the fungus Phyllosticta, which causes lesions on the epidermis of the fruit of many cultivars.

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We are very excited to be one of the very few farms growing this new and exciting, premium-quality variety!

KSU Benson Pawpaw is known to have an incredibly large crop and delicious flavor.

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KSU Benson pawpaws can bloom for up to 4 weeks, but without hand pollination, fruit set can be low because bees do not pollinate the flowers, flies and beetles do. In the UK, chances of fruit set are greatly improved by hand pollination of two seperate varieties.

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Pollination: A seedling pawpaw or any other grafted or seedling pawpaw tree will pollinate. For good pollination, plant trees 8-15 ft away from each other only. Pawpaws are not male and female, but rather have “male and female” flower parts on each flower. Every tree is capable of bearing fruit if pollinated well with pollen from another genetically different pawpaw tree. Hand pollination results in heaviest fruit set.

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Ripening: Ripens early/mid-season.

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Site requirements: Full sun location for best fruit production. Pawpaws will grow in shade but produce much less fruit. Pawpaws tolerate a range of soil types provided the planting location is well drained and there is heavy mulch and plenty of fertilizer and water. Protected locations, such as on the South, East or West side of a building is ideal on very windy sites.

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We grow other pawpaws like Chappell Pawpaw, Atwood Pawpaw, Summer Delight, Kentucky Champion, Prima 1216, Caspian, Marshmallow, Honeydew, Overleese and Tropical Treat.

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Size at maturity: 15-20′ tall and wide, depending on location, care and pruning to reduce height. We recommend heading them at about 10″ and removing suckers, both of which keep the trees very manageable and small.

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Pawpaws (Asimina Triloba) are related to custard apples and cherimoya, in the sugar apple family, and yet they grow in the temperate zone, having moved north as Ice Age glaciers receded. Flavours of mango, melon, banana, raspberry and pineapple come from this creamy fruit. Like many fruits, if you don’t know what you’re doing and you let them get bruised, or you pick them under-ripe they won't taste very good!