Franklin County Horticulture
International Pawpaw Conference at KSU
July 29, 2001
Pawpaws anyone?
The Second International Pawpaw Conference, sponsored by
Kentucky State University and The Pawpaw Foundation will be held this September
21 and 22 in Frankfort, Kentucky. This conference is a unique opportunity for
scientists, nurserymen, entrepreneurs, and enthusiasts to share information
about the production and uses of pawpaw.
Highlights of the conference include invited speakers,
poster sessions, and discussions focusing on progress in pawpaw research. Some
scheduled topics will be regional variety trials, cultivar development, seedling
and clonal propagation, germplasm collection, postharvest fruit physiology and
handling, marketing and product development, and anti-cancer and pesticidal
compounds found in pawpaw.
Roundtable discussions with pawpaw growers and nurserymen are also scheduled. Features include a show and tell session about pawpaw for non-scientists and pawpaw enthusiasts. Dr. Jerry McLaughlin will speak on new pawpaw products that will be released from Nature’s Sunshine Products this year, and there will be a special presentation from Dr. Bellini’s research group about pawpaw production in Italy.
In addition to presentations on pawpaw, the conference will also offer an opportunity to taste pawpaw fruit, tour the Kentucky State University pawpaw orchards, view demonstrations on how to propagate pawpaw, and allow participants a chance to sample pawpaw recipes from the chefs of one of Kentucky’s finest restaurants, The Oakroom, a 5-Diamond restaurant at Louisville’s Seelbach Hilton.
The deadline for pre-registration of the conference is Wednesday, August 1, 2001. For anyone who would like to attend only the Seelbach portion of the conference (fruit tasting, fruit handling, and dinner and discussion) you may register for this as a stand-alone event for $55.00. This amount includes transportation from the KSU campus to the Seelbach Hilton. The deadline for registration for the Seelbach event will be August 15, 2001. For more information, please contact Dr. Kirk Pomper at 502-597-6174.
Did you ever wonder?
What’s going on with the black locust trees along the
interstates? Locust Leafminer
larvae are actively boring into the leaves and eating the chlorophyll of these
trees. This, in turn, causes the leaves to turn brown.
As a forest pest, this insect is not considered serious due to the expense and expanse of controlling the pest. The trees, unless they are severely attacked from year to year, will not die from the miner.
Black locust is often the tree that first occupies a site
after cultivation or site disturbance. In time, if the site is not altered,
other tree species will dominate the area.
Educational programs of the Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service serve all people regardless of race, color, age, sex, religion, disability, or national origin.