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Fruit Produce Facts English
Pawpaw
Recommendations for Maintaining Postharvest Quality
Douglas D. Archbold1 and Kirk W. Pomper2
Maturity & Quality
Pawpaw (Asimina triloba; family Annonaceace) is the largest edible fruit native to the eastern U.S. The fruit ripens between mid August and mid October, depending on genotypes and growing location. The only way to detect if ripening has commenced is to gently press or squeeze the fruit to determine if softening is evident. Some cultivars exhibit a change in skin color from darker to lighter green or even to yellow, and some also exhibit some skin browning or darkening at more advanced stages of ripening. Flesh may be cream-colored, yellow, or light orange, depending on cultivar, when fully ripe. Ripening is accompanied by an increase in soluble solids including sugars (sweetness) and significant aroma production. Pawpaws should be picked when flesh softening is first evident, as they ripen rapidly and become too soft to handle within 3 to 5 days.
Maturity & Quality Photos
Title: Pawpaw genotype #1-23 Photo Credit: Kirk W. Pomper, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Pawpaw genotype #2-7 Photo Credit: Kirk W. Pomper, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Pawpaw genotype #7-90 Photo Credit: Kirk W. Pomper, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Pawpaw genotype #8-2 Photo Credit: Kirk W. Pomper, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: awpaw genotype #G4-17 Photo Credit: Kirk W. Pomper, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Pawpaw genotype #K1-79 Photo Credit: Kirk W. Pomper, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Pawpaw genotype #NC-1 Photo Credit: Kirk W. Pomper, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Pawpaw genotype (PA-Golden) Photo Credit: Kirk W. Pomper, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Pawpaw genotype (Shenandoah) Photo Credit: Kirk W. Pomper, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Pawpaw genotype (Taytwo) Photo Credit: Kirk W. Pomper, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Pawpaw genotype (Zimmerman) Photo Credit: Kirk W. Pomper, University of Kentucky, Lexington
Temperature & Controlled Atmosphere
Optimum Temperature 0-4°C (32-40°F) for a maximum of 4 weeks 90-95% Rates of Respiration Respiration at harvest may be 50-100 mg CO2/ kg•hr at 20°C (68°F), and may increase 2- to 5-fold to a peak within 3 days. Ethylene production at harvest may be 1-4 µg/kg•hr at 20°C (68°F), and it may increase to 5-15 µg/kg•hr within 3 days. Field and laboratory studies to date using chemicals, atmospheric modification, or heat treatments that have been effective at modifying ripening behavior in many climacteric species via effects on ethylene biosynthesis or action have failed to appreciably alter ripening of pawpaw. There is no information on their response to CA storage. Temperature & Controlled Atmosphere Photos
Title: Pawpaw genotype #8 20 Intact at Harvest Photo Credit: Federica Galli, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Storage Effects, X-Cut at Harvest Photo Credit: Federica Galli, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Storage Effects, Intact at 4 weeks + 72 hrs 4°C Photo Credit: Federica Galli, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Storage Effects, Intact at 4 weeks 4°C Photo Credit: Federica Galli, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Storage Effects, Intact at 8 weeks + 72 Hrs 4°C Photo Credit: Federica Galli, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Storage Effects, Intact at 8 weeks 4°C Photo Credit: Federica Galli, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Storage Effects, X-Cut at 4 weeks + 72 hrs 4°C Photo Credit: Federica Galli, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Storage Effects, X-Cut at 4 weeks 4°C Photo Credit: Federica Galli, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Storage Effects, X-Cut at 8 weeks + 72 Hrs 4°C Photo Credit: Federica Galli, University of Kentucky, Lexington 
Title: Storage Effects, X-Cut at 8 weeks 4°C Photo Credit: Federica Galli, University of Kentucky, Lexington
Disorders
Physiological and Physical Disorders
Date
October 2008 |
Use of Materials
The UC Postharvest Technology Center grants users permission to download textual pages (including PDF files) from this World Wide Web site for personal use or to reproduce them for educational purposes, but credit lines and copyright notices within the pages must not be removed or modified.
Except for these specified uses, no part of the textual materials available on the UC Postharvest Technology Center Web site may be copied, downloaded, stored in a retrieval system, further transmitted or otherwise reproduced, stored, disseminated, transferred or used, in any form or by any means, except as permitted herein or with the University of California's prior written agreement. Request permission from UC Postharvest Technology Center. Distribution for commercial purposes is prohibited.
The information in this fact sheet represents our best understanding of the current state of knowledge at the time of the latest update, and does not represent an exhaustive review of all research results. Links to any of these UC Postharvest Technology Center pages are permitted, but no endorsement of the linking site or products mentioned in the linking page is intended or implied by such a link.
How to Cite
Author(s) names. Initial publication or update date (located at the top). Title. Link to the specific Produce Fact Sheet webpage (Accessed date)
Example: Cantwell, M. and T. Suslow. 2002. Lettuce, Crisphead: Recommendations for Maintaining Postharvest Quality.
http://ucanr.edu/sites/Postharvest_Technology_Center_/Commodity_Resources/Fact_Sheets/Datastores/Vegetables_English/?uid=19&ds=799 (Accessed January 18, 2014).
