Stubborn drought in Ohio and shifting weather patterns influenced by climate change are impacting North America's largest native fruit: the pawpaw.
Avocado-sized with a taste sometimes described as a cross between a mango and banana, the pawpaw is beloved by many but rarely seen in U.S. grocery stores due to its short shelf life. The fruit thrives in the eastern half of North America, from Ontario to Florida. However, in parts of Ohio, which hosts an annual pawpaw festival, and Kentucky, some growers are reporting earlier-than-normal harvests and bitter-tasting fruit this year. These changes are likely due to extreme weather events, ranging from spring freezes to prolonged droughts.
Take Valerie Libbey's orchard in Washington Court House, about an hour's drive from Columbus. Libbey cultivates 100 pawpaw trees and was surprised to see the fruit dropping from the trees in the first week of August instead of mid-September.
\"I had walked into the orchard to do my regular irrigation and the smell of the fruit just hit me,\" said Libbey. She added that this year's harvest period was much shorter than in previous years and the fruits themselves were smaller and more bitter.
While Libbey attributes the changes to heat stress, it's unclear whether drought alone—which has gripped parts of Ohio and Kentucky for the third consecutive year—or increasingly extreme, unpredictable weather is affecting the fruit.
\"Pawpaw growers are finding we just have to be prepared for more extreme weather events. Last year we were hit with late spring freezes that killed off a lot of the blossoms in the spring time period. This year we were hit by the drought,\" Libbey said.
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Pawpaw, North America's native fruit, badly affected by climate change
cgtn.com
