The Project Pawpaw Research & Breeding Orchard Network was established as a way to conduct research that directly serves growers across the country, especially in regions that have historically lacked access to region-specific, high-quality information, research, and new cultivar releases for pawpaws. By establishing orchards in highly divergent environments—from the Upper Midwest to the Deep South—Project Pawpaw can draw conclusions that are more versatile and broadly applicable than research conducted at a single location. This multi-site approach reflects modern plant breeding best practices and represents something unprecedented in pawpaw research: a distributed network of research orchards that would be difficult for federally funded programs to justify investing in. That's why the network is entirely crowdfunded through sales and donations, allowing Project Pawpaw to pursue research priorities that directly address the needs of pawpaw growers nationwide. 

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The farmer collaborators who host Project Pawpaw Research Orchard sites on their farms to date have been young farmers with vegetable and other specialty crop experience who have an interest in science and plant breeding, and are looking to diversify their operations. Project Pawpaw works with the farmers to design the orchard, purchases supplies and coordinates plant material, and assists with the installation of the orchard. The farmer collaborators are responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of the orchard, and are able to sell fruit as the planting matures. Project Pawpaw is able to have access to the orchards for data collection, and gets to make decisions about plant material allocation and grafting activities, and can make cross pollinations, collect scion wood, and perform other plant breeding activities. 

 

All of the funding for the supplies to plant these orchards comes directly from sales in person and through the Project Pawpaw online store. Farmer collaborators and Project Pawpaw personnel donate their time.  

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