Collection Status: Cultivar is present at AFFN
Planted on Nov 05, 2023
Common Name: Pawpaw
Parental Cross:
Geographic Origin: John Slate seedlings, Cornell, Ithaca, New York selected by John Gordon
Finder/Creator: John Slate/John Gordon
Known Sources: Red Fern Farm, West Farm
Alternative Names:
Notes: Released 1983 from seedlings of George Slate at Cornell, selected by John Gordon. Derek Morris reports, „Very productive variety, early ripening. Fruits are average to good but do not age very well and are somewhat seedy. Small to medium sized, can display lots of skin yellowing when ripe.“ Morris says PA Golden #1 is thought to be a great pollinating variety. There are four PA-Goldens in total, each selected and introduced by John Gordon of Amherst, New York. According to Ron Powell, PA Golden #1 „is the cultivar that is sold in the trade as PA-Golden. These are all small fruit, but my tree has producted up to sixty-five pounds per year. The fruit may at times have a bitter taste but otherwise is acceptable. Of the four, PAG #3 is the best. It is slightly larger and the appearance is the best as it has more tolerance to Phyllosticta. Still quite popular since it is also quite winter-hardy.“ Jim Davis reports that this variety is an early producer at his Maryland orchard. John Gordon was an active member oft he Norther Nut Growers Association starting in the early 1960s and made a number of pawpaw selections whose ancestry can be traced back to George A. Zimmerman. Gordon grew and selected many seedlings from the trees of George L. Slate of Cornell University, who had gathered fruit and seed from Zimmerman’s Fernwood estate in Pennsylvania. John Gordon, living in Amherst, N.Y., contributed a series of varieties whose ancestry can be traced to Zimmerman germplasm (Fig. 2). Gordon gathered seed from trees belonging to George L. Slate of Cornell University who in turn had gathered his seed from trees on Zimmerman’s estate. Gordon named one variety ‘SAA-Zimmerman’ in 1985 and a series of others ‘Pennsylvania Golden No.1’, ‘No.2’, ‘No.3’ and ‘No.4’ in 1986. This series of varieties are noted for their early season of ripening. Three other varieties he introduced in that same year are seedlings of ‘Overleese’, a series called ‘SAA-, ‘SAB-, and ‘SAC-Overleese’. Susquehanna parentage (Franklin-Ketterer); Phyllosticta resistance: mild susceptible, Fruit Shape: , Freestone: , Seediness: high, Self-fruitful: no, Prizes: