This old bulletin gives an idea what they were looking at in the way of fireblight resistant pears.
Breeding and Testing Fire Blight-Resistant Pears.pdf (2.9 MB)
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We already have a good selection of fireblight resistant pears that taste amazing. Some of the best tasting cultivars are also really old cultivars.
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Ayers and Tenn are some of their pears that came out of the Tennessee breeding program.
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I was under the impression Ayers was a super old pear from Kansas from 1880 and was a chance seedling. That is what Stark Bros claims and you claim in the fallowing post Ayers Pear Tree - Stark Bro’s.
Anyone growing the Ayer pear from Kansas? Its not the same pear as Ayers
So they added a s to it and make it a new cultivar. That is totally not going to confuse a lot of people.
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Ayers seem to be the Kansas cultivar so I am guessing ayer is the UST cultivar than.
No the other way around.
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I looked up ayer pear and the only thing I can find is ayers pear I don’t see one with a plural and one with a not. The Kansas pear is also the only one mentioned.
In fact you are the only reference to ayers pear and it sounded like you could not graft it. It sounds like according to your post Ayers pear is superior to ayer pear as it has the dessert qualities to it and bears abundantly. All places point to ayers pear being a Kansas pear often described as the sugar pear though due to tasting like candy which is very unlike your description.
Ayer - PI 541120 - pyrus communis from Kansas
Ayers - PI 541722 - A pyrus hybrid from Tennessee
ARS-Grin clearly shows two accessions with two different origins.
Arguing for the sake of arguing is not very productive. If it helps any, there is also an accession for Ayre - PI 90986
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I’m not the only one who understands the difference between these pears or the only one who has grown them.
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That is correct. Everyone who read the usda database realizes the difference exists. The reason we try to take the time to educate others about pears is because there is very little information available if we dont. People like yourself attempting to put together a reference sheet will find like i did it is a lifelong ambition but worth the effort. The USDA will not have such a discussion as this one. The effort your putting in is a step in the right direction. Much of the information we have documented has helped others to chose varities that work well for them. Places such as Kansas that are marginal for growing pears now have the needed information to grow them. Pears can do very well here and other places and yet not one actual pear orchard existed in the area. Many have found out over time what works in washington will not work here to grow pears.
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Sorry Clark, I don’t think Kansas is marginal for growing pears. Alaska is marginal. But as with many plants, there are varieties adapted to different growing climates. This is why there is a current thread about zone 2 pears. I grow tomato plants adapted to southeastern U.S. conditions. I also sell tomato plants adapted to Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan conditions. Believe it or not, I can even suggest a few tomatoes adapted to Kansas conditions. Bear Creek would be one such. The point is simple, it is not a marginal climate, it is a matter of finding locally adapted varieties.
Why is this a big issue? Because documentation on adapted varieties for a given location is sparse to non-existent. What makes my climate difficult is probably not an issue in most of Kansas. Example, I have hot “humid” summer weather which causes fungal diseases to run rampant. You have hot dry weather which suppresses many fungals but encourages bacterial diseases. Hence fireblight is a major concern in your climate while it is a problem, but not a major problem, here where I live.
I wish eastern KS had hot-dry weather, we’re hot-humid as Missouri. Western and central KS is hot-dry. But we’re not as humid as you! 
Most everyone used “swamp-coolers” instead of air conditioners when I was young in north central KS.
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It does depend on what you call marginal. " There are six main states in the U.S. that produce pears: California, Michigan, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania and Washington ." Anything outside of those regions is considered marginal. Pears | Agricultural Marketing Resource Center).-,Production,up%20the%20majority%20of%20production. Clay overwet property part of the time and dry like some of mine definately falls in the marginal land category. Marginal ground is not intended to be an exact term. This can be one of the hardest areas to grow pears. The way i do it is not the same way they do in ideal locations. Not all of Kansas is marginal. @39thparallel land is class 1 excellent farm ground. Soil does not get any better than that. Here is the definition but consider it is meant to be used losely What makes up marginal lands and how can it be defined and classified? - NASA/ADS. "By this classification marginal lands are divided into eleven categories: shallow rooting, low fertility, stony texture, sandy texture, clay texture, salinic, sodicic, acidic, overwet, eroded, and contaminated. The basis of this classification was taken criteria modified after and adapted from Regulation EU (1305)2013. To define an area of marginal lands with climate and economic limitations, SEEMLA established and implemented the term “area of land marginality” with a broader on marginal lands. "
@randyks people have to experience kansas over a long period of time to understand what it is like to raise fruit here. They have not experienced the humidity, wind, soil etc. over time. It is relatively easy to raise a fruit tree for a time but an orchard is another thing.
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Lumping all of Kansas in “marginal” is a problem. I’ve gardened in clay based soil, sand based soil, and silt-loam soil. My current garden in on the best soil I’ve ever cultivated. It is a sandy loam with just the right texture to produce abundant crops with relatively low labor inputs. I still don’t and never will consider Kansas “marginal” for pears. Parts of Kansas have specific conditions that make it marginal. Most of Kansas has a climate that makes variety selection important. On the other hand, all of Alaska is marginal for growing pears simply because the climate is so extreme.
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More of Kansas is marginal for pears than what is not. Look up pear orchards in my area and you will look a very long time. We can grow wheat,soybeans and milo like noone would believe! That is not to say you cant raise a pear tree. Alaska has very good soil and they do raise pears but its not easy due to the cold. By your definition Texas would not be marginal for pear growing or Colorado. It is not to say there are not pockets where raising pears is not easy but Kansas will never challenge California or washington etc. For their pear growing titles.