After three weeks with no rain, a trickle irrigation system is watering a pawpaw patch at Kentucky State University’s Benson Research and Demonstration Farm. Dr. Kirk Pomper, a professor of horticulture at KSU, says the farm is home to about 10,000 pawpaw trees spread across 12 acres. He said the lumpy green fruit grows throughout the commonwealth.
“You’ll find them, especially along streams and in the valleys. And they like a little water. They don’t want to be flooded for long periods of time, but they will grow along these stream beds, drop their fruit into the water, and you know, the fruit will spread that way,” he said.
It’s September 3, and some pawpaws have fallen to the ground. Pomper pulls a few off branches, and we dig in – the reporter for the first time…