Cool nights affecting pear ripening?

We talk about the hows-wheres-whens of ripening pears, and at the end of the day it doesn’t appear that there are too many hard and fast, dependable rules. That’s not to say there isn’t science to this art, but it does suggest that it’s hard to define everything. As the saying goes, “the devil’s in the details”.

Some pears are said to need a chilling before being kept at room temp to finish ripening, and some apparently don’t. But right now we’re enjoying really beautiful afternoons and evenings, and night time temps in the high 30’s and low 40’s F, or maybe 4 to 7 C. In other words, they’re getting chilled and warmed, chilled and warmed, without my help.

So that makes me wonder if this early fall is going to ripen my pears nicely on the tree even if they would ordinarily benefit from being brought in, chilled, and then ripened on the counter. Or, should I perhaps pick them early, bring them in the house for a while and then chill them? Maybe they won’t be affected by the weather yet because they’re not far enough along, I don’t know.

And when you think about it, if autumn chilling affects pear ripening (has to, doesn’t it?) then changing weather patterns will affect your choice of pears for your area - and may play havoc with established plantings.

Well, I’ll do what I do every year. I’ll start with a few and see what they’re like, and then go from there. But I’d be interested in other’s thoughts!

2 Likes

@marknmt
My experience is warm days and cold nights is a recipe for the best fruit. It tastes like it concentrates the sugars to me. I don’t have anything scientific to base that on but I can tell you my opinion is late apples and pears are better provided they ripen at all.

3 Likes

Good topic and I hope to learn from the responses. In my location there are the varieties that ripen before the real hot weather starts for the summer. The ones I have that mostly adhere to this condition are Orient and Kieffer. They get big as the sugar content rises and turn lighter in color. At this stage just pick, peel, and eat. You can bring them inside if you want to and they get even better tasting. Korean Giant seems to ripen from now on into October. I have started squeezing the KG fruit and if it gives a little they are sweet. One last bit of information about late ripening pears at my location. As they go through the hot summer some casualties happen but the ones that survive tend to develop into some wonderful tasting pears (Harrow Sweet).

2 Likes

94 TODAY with heat index over 100. Low temp of 71. That probably makes 9/4 the hottest day of the year…someone is talking about fall just a bit prematurely.

2 Likes

I hope! But with temps dropping into the high thirties, and afternoons topping out in the middle seventies, we start to wonder how long until frost- and sometimes it has already happened by now! Our maples are turning, folks are toting jackets, and the girls are going back to slacks. Sigh … Oh, and the university is back in session. We may get another week or two of mild weather, or even more, though, if we’re lucky. But you just never know. One year we had a tree-breaking snow on June 6, and I’ve seen killing frosts before September.

I’m sorry to say it, but I think we have to start thinking “Fall” here.

3 Likes

I agree on fall, just heard my first Canada goose this morning. Also this morning it was 46 at my house then into 80 the afternoon. My moms horse for the last week been putting on his winter coat.

1 Like

This is the time of the year that we hope the temps start dropping out of the 90s but it is normally mid September before we get the dip down to the 80s. In our state the start of college football is also associated with September and a drop in temps. I have a few pears that seem to be enjoying the weather change but the bulk of my remaining fruit is Goldrush apples. Only a small time back yard grower can count his apples (52 GR).

1 Like

I agree, and believe it is because cooler nights reduce vegetative growth while the warm days produce energy that is sent to fruit instead of that growth. It even works for summer squash and actual vegetables.

I used to be able to describe it in more specific biological terms but would have to do a search to find the words. It’s not because my brain is getting smaller- I swear!, it’s just the overload of information. Uh huh.

4 Likes

I see what you mean…some places around Yellowstone already had snow in August, right? SO, you probably are due Fall there in Montana!

We’ve just had the hottest 7 day period in Kentucky of the summer. A full week of 88 to 94, with heat index hitting around 104 or so at least once. Still, a relatively cool year here.

In fact, I think we will have an early frost in Kentucky this year…somewhere between Sept. 29 and October 5 probably.

That can happen here, too. It has always been hard to tell here, and with the weather’s recent , umm, shall we say, unusual variability, anything can happen and something probably will!

1 Like

All of my pears ripen in August and have long been picked. Once
picked, they go into the fridge for storage, until eaten.

1 Like

So true

1 Like