Question the History of a pear or know some history? Post it here!

Looking for a buttery pear? Part of finding good pears is to know the meaning of words eg. beurre (which means buttery) . The literal definition is a pear with the “meat soft and melting; – used with a distinguishing word; as, Beurre d’Anjou; Beurre Clairgeau” That means Beurré Bosc, Beurré Capiaumont, Beurre Hardy, Beurré d’Arenberg, Beurré Duval, Beurré superfin are all buttery tasting pears. Another thing I did when trying to track these buttery pears down is went to the ARS grin catalog https://www.ars-grin.gov/cor/catalogs/pyrcult.html and searched by beurre which yielded these results

Beurre Alexandre Lucas (3x) = PI 541132 (58.004) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS INFECTED

  • QUINCE COMPATIBLE, POLYPLOID (3x flow cytometry 2008)
    Beurre Auguste = PI 541329 (1067.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
    Beurre Capiaumont = PI 104532 (1073.004) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • QUINCE COMPATIBLE, DIPLOID (flow cytometry)
    Beurre Clairgeau = PI 541133 (59.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • LATE RIPE, FROST RESISTANT, MONOLINIA RESISTANT, DIPLOID (flow cytometry)
    Beurre Diel (3x) = PI 541141 (71.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • LATE RIPE, FIRE BLIGHT SUSCEPTIBLE, QUINCE COMPATIBLE, POLYPLOID (3x flow cytometry 2007)
    Beurre Dilly = PI 264192 (106.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • EARLY RIPE, SCAB RESISTANT, QUINCE COMPATIBLE
    Beurre Dubuisson = PI 255607 (72.004) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • LATE RIPE, QUINCE COMPATIBLE
    Beurre Easter = PI 483363 (75.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • VERY LATE RIPE, QUINCE COMPATIBLE, DIPLOID (flow cytometry)
    Beurre Flon = PI 105548 (1069.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • LATE RIPE, DIPLOID (flow cytometry)
    Beurre Fouqueray = PI 541143 (76.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • QUINCE COMPATIBLE
    Beurre Giffard = PI 541144 (77.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • QUINCE COMPATIBLE, EARLY RIPE, COLD HARDY (fruited in Anchorage), DIPLOID (flow cytometry)
    Beurre Gris = PI 541145 (78.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • FIRE BLIGHT SUSCEPTIBLE, ANCIENT
    Beurre Gris d’Hiver Nouveau = PI 541146 (79.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • LATE RIPE
    Beurre Hardy = PI 300691 (1187.001) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • FIRE BLIGHT SUSCEPTIBLE, VIRUS INDICATOR, QUINCE COMPATIBLE, MONOLINIA RESISTANT, DIPLOID (flow cytometry)
    Beurre Hardy - Royal Red = PI 541363 (480.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • FIRE BLIGHT SUSCEPTIBLE, RED SKIN, DIPLOID (flow cytometry)
    Beurre Henri Courcelle = PI 279329 (82.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
    Beurre Inflancka = PI 307539 (83.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
    Beurre Jean van Geert = PI 280030 (84.003) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
    Beurre Madame Henre Lamy = PI 131489 (1070.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • LATE RIPE, VERY LARGE FRUIT
    Beurre Millet = PI 541148 (86.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • LATE RIPE
    Beurre Naghin = PI 541515 (2123.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
    Beurre Phillippe Delfosse = PI 541149 (90.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • VERY LATE RIPE
    Beurre Six = PI 617675 (2620.001) - Pyrus communis L.
    Beurre Slucka = PI 307540 (91.003) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • LATE RIPE
    Beurre Superfin = PI 541150 (558.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS INFECTED
  • QUINCE COMPATIBLE, DIPLOID (flow cytometry)
    Beurre d’Amanlis (3x) = PI 541134 (60.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • QUINCE COMPATIBLE, POLYPLOID (3x flow cytometry 2007)
    Beurre d’Amanlis Panachee = PI 541135 (61.004) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • SPECIALTY, STRIPED FRUIT, QUINCE COMPATIBLE, POLYPLOID (3x)
    Beurre d’Angleterre = PI 541136 (62.003) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • VERY LATE RIPE, ANCIENT, SCAB RESISTANT
    Beurre d’Arenberg = PI 295083 (64.003) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
    Beurre d’Avril = PI 136621 (1068.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • VERY LATE RIPE
    Beurre de Bollwiller = PI 541137 (65.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • LATE RIPE
    Beurre de Jonghe = PI 263679 (68.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
  • LATE RIPE
    Beurre de Mortillet = PI 215325 (87.003) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
    Beurre de Nantes = PI 541139 (69.002) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED
    Beurre de Saint Nicolas = PI 541140 (70.003) - Pyrus communis L. - VIRUS TESTED

Even the USDA has a partial list so I checked google books Scott's Orchardist: Or Catalogue of Fruits Cultivated at Merriott, Somerset - John Scott (agriculturist.) - Google Books and checked again Beurre - Google Search. There are many remarkable pears out there or that were out there that would be worth growing most people have never heard of.

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U.P. Hedrick, who wrote The Pears of New York, the quintessential book on pears, wrote in 1921 that “Tyson is the best pear of its season for the home orchard” and “No other variety offers so many good starting points for the pear-breeder.”

Though not as large or pretty as its rival, Bartlett, Tyson pears are extra-juicy, sweet and aromatic—and they grow on ultra-hardy trees.”-http://www.hobbyfarms.com/heirloom-pears-3/
Magness is on the list above as are Concorde which is a cross of Doyenné du Comice x Conférence. Conference was a seedling “The female parent is Leon Leclerc de Laval, the male parent is unknown. First discovered 1884, it was taken forward by T. Francis Rivers of the Rivers Nursery of Sawbridgeworth which sadly went out of business many decades ago. The variety was formally named Conference in 1895 at the British Pear Conference” - Your independent guide to pear tree Conference
Doyenné du Comice is an interesting and well known pear! “The parents are not known for this variety. It was bred in France at the Garden of Comice Horticole in Angers in the 1840s. Soon after it was introduced to England. “- Your independent guide to pear tree Doyenne du Comice
Magness like it’s parent Comice is quince compatible. Magness is a cross of “Seckel x Comice. This pear was released by the USDA in 1968 as a very high quality dessert pear that will survive under heavy fireblight pressure. Sometimes tardy to start bearing, but the fruit quality makes up for the light early cropping (branch-spreading will significantly help). Tardy cropping is much less a problem on the OHxF stocks. Mature trees are productive if good pollination is provided. Excellent keeper. Tree is vigorous and spreading.

Magness does not produce good pollen for any other cultivar.”- https://shop.cumminsnursery.com/shop/pear-trees/magness
No one really knows the parents of seckle “It is believed that Seckel pears were discovered growing as a wild sapling in an orchard outside of Philadelphia in the early 1800s. Though there are some that argue that Seckel pears grew from seeds left by German immigrants travelling west. Today, Seckel pears can be found growing in the US Pacific Northwest.”-http://www.specialtyproduce.com/produce/Seckel_Pears_6582.php

This article was written about warren "Market Watch: The magnificent Warren pear
The pear combines the best features of its Seckel and Comice ancestors. And its origin? Most likely Mississippi, of all places. It’s sweet and spicy, and it’s making a cameo appearance in Santa Monica.
November 25, 2011|By David Karp | Special to the Los Angeles Times

(David Karp )

With the partial exception of Bartletts, great locally grown pears are scarce at farmers markets in Southern California, where warm winters and disease render cultivation problematic. This makes it all the more special that Al Courchesne of Frog Hollow Farm, a rock star organic fruit grower from Brentwood, Calif., an hour east of San Francisco, will make a cameo appearance the next two Wednesdays at the Santa Monica farmers market to sell his legendary Warren pears.

Arguably the most delicious pear variety in the world, praised by the likes of Alice Waters, Martha Stewart Living and Oprah Winfrey, the Warren combines the best features of its ancestors, with the intensely sweet, rich, spicy flavor of Seckel, and the larger size and voluptuous juiciness of Comice. And the mystery of its origins, heretofore never fully unraveled, is almost as delicious as its flavor.

The trail that leads to the Warren starts with fire blight, a bacterial disease that makes growing most pears virtually impossible in areas where warm spring rains are common; a winter chill is also required, which is why very few European pears are cultivated in the southern half of California.

Historically, one of the few pears of quality that was resistant to blight was the Seckel, tiny but superbly flavored, and discovered near Philadelphia around 1760. Were it not for its diminutive size, it would doubtless be the preeminent pear on the market today.

Starting before 1900, pear breeders sought to hybridize the disease resistance of the Seckel into larger-fruited varieties. In 1920, Merton B. Waite, a U.S. Department of Agriculture breeder in Maryland, came up with a seedling of the Seckel called the Giant Seckel that bore much larger fruit, and was still blight-resistant. But it was not quite as flavorful, and it never became widely grown.

Breeders working for the USDA in the mid-20th century crossed the Giant Seckel and the Comice and in 1960 released Magness, which was blight-resistant and unequaled in flavor. It was fairly widely planted at first, but it soon proved to be an erratic producer and mostly disappeared from cultivation in subsequent decades.

A curiously similar variety named the Warren was discovered by a highly respected amateur fruit grower, Thomas O. Warren, in a most unlikely locale, Hattiesburg, Miss., about 1976. In the first published description of his namesake pear, a short article that appeared in Pomona magazine in 1986, Warren wrote that he found the original tree “growing in the backyard of a friend.” Its ancestry at first was unknown.

He shared bud wood with fellow enthusiasts in the North American Fruit Explorers organization. Another story, meanwhile, circulated that he had “found it planted in front of a post office and USDA soil conservation service office.” However, according to Ram Fishman, a nurseryman and fruit connoisseur who wrote an excellent online essay about Magness and Warren pears, when questioned further about the variety, Warren allowed that he discovered it among “the remains of a test site used by Mississippi State University.” Aha!

Some seedlings from the cross from which the Magness was selected were sent to a branch station in Meridian, Miss., that has long since closed, according to Kearneysville, W. Va.-based Richard Bell, the current pear breeder for the USDA. It is likely that this station sent some of the seedlings, or grafted trees, to Mississippi State for testing, and that the experimental orchard had been abandoned by the 1970s. The hot, humid conditions in the Deep South are murder on pear trees, most of which would have succumbed to fire blight, especially if unsprayed. A resistant tree would have been extremely conspicuous; if a pear tree could survive untended in Mississippi, it could make it anywhere.

Warren, who died last year at age 96, may have been concerned in the years just after his discovery that someone at the USDA would be miffed that he had filched their experimental variety, and so devised a story about finding it in a friend’s backyard. Today, no one would care about the pedigree of a relatively obscure pear, were it not that it is so supremely delicious and that it is one of the very few varieties that can be grown in blight-prone areas such as the Deep South and parts of California, particularly by home gardeners disinclined to spray.

As word of the prodigy spread, many observers noted that the Warren seemed very similar to the Magness; some maintained that they were identical. But there are slight differences: The Warren is more elongated, can have a richer ground color and red blush, and it is more resistant to fire blight. Also, according to Bell, unpublished analyses of enzymes of the two varieties by scientists at Oregon State University showed that they were very close but differed slightly, results consistent with the theory that they originated from different seeds of the same cross, of the Giant Seckel and the Comice." -http://articles.latimes.com/2011/nov/25/food/la-fo-market-watch-20111125

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Warren and Magness appear to be taking their time producing which is expected.

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The POTOMAC pear was released by USDA in 1993. Apparently the USDA and the Ohio State University cooperated on this cultivar. It came from the Kearneysville, WV station. It is a cross of Moonglow X Anjou pears. It is reportedly the highest quality fireblight resistant variety available to date. The skin is light green with moderately fine flesh with a taste like Anjou. Ripens two weeks after Bartlett. Its somewhat cold and heat tolerant surviving Zone 5-9. It keeps 8-10 weeks in refrigeration. The fruit is about 2 1/2". The link Ashspublications.org contains additional data about the pear as shown below.

H
ORT
S
CIENCE
, V
OL
. 31(5), S
EPTEMBER
1996
884
C
ULTIVAR
& G
ERMPLASM
R
ELEASES
H
ORT
S
CIENCE
31(5):884–886. 1996.
‘Potomac’ Pear
Richard L. Bell
1
and Tom van der Zwet
2
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Appalachian
Fruit Research Station, 45 Wiltshire Road, Kearneysville, WV 25430-9425
Roland C. Blake
3
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Ohio
Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster, OH 44691
Craig K. Chandler
4, 5
and Joseph C. Scheerens
5
The Ohio State University, Department of Horticulture, Ohio Agricultural
Research and Development Center, Wooster, OH 44691
Additional index words. Pyrus communis
, fire blight,
Erwinia amylovora
, disease resistance,
fruit breeding
the United States for range of adaptation and
productivity under a variety of environmental
conditions and management systems.
Description
The fruit of ‘Potomac’ is ovate-pyriform or
obovate-obtuse pyriform in shape and is as-
signed an International Board for Plant Ge-
netic Resources (IBPGR) shape rating of 1.3
(Thibault et al., 1983; Fig. 2). Symmetry is
regular, with occasional slight bumpiness. The
cavity is obtuse and occasionally lipped. The
basin is open, narrow, medium in depth, with
a convergent, persistent calyx. Fruit are mod-
erate in size, averaging 68 mm in diameter
(Table 1), with a mean fruit weight of 167 g.
The core is small, averaging 21 mm in diam-
eter. The skin color is light green and the finish
is glossy with inconspicuous lenticels. In some
years, light calyx-end russet can develop. Fruit
sometimes have a light red blush on the sun-
exposed side. The stem is moderate in length
and thickness, flexible, and slightly oblique.
‘Potomac’ pear (
Pyrus communis
L.) com-
bines superior resistance to fire blight [
Erwinia
amylovora
(Burrill) Winslow et al.] with fruit
of good quality. Fire blight is the most serious
disease affecting pears in most production
regions of the northern hemisphere. All culti-
vars of major commercial importance, as well
as many of those available to home orchard-
ists, are highly susceptible to this bacterial
disease. Artificial inoculation of ‘Potomac’ in
orchard tests confirm ratings of incidence and
severity of natural fire blight. ‘Potomac’ was
approved for release in 1993 as a fresh-market
pear cultivar for commercial growers and for
home orchards.
Origin
‘Potomac’ originated from a cross of
‘Moonglow’
x
‘Beurre d’Anjou’ made in 1961
by H.J. Brooks. The seedlings of the progeny
were grown at the Beltsville Agricultural Re-
search Center, Beltsville, Md. ‘Potomac’ was
selected in 1968 and was tested under the
original seedling number US 62537-048. The
original source of resistance to fire blight is the
American cultivar Seckel (Fig. 1). The parent-
age is entirely derived from
P. communis
L.
germplasm. It has been tested as a clonal
selection, budded on ‘Bartlett’ seedling root-
stock, at the Beltsville Agricultural Research
Center; the Appalachian Fruit Research Sta-
tion, Kearneysville, W.Va.; the Ohio Agricul-
tural Research and Development Center,
Wooster; and several other agricultural ex-
periment stations in the United States and
Canada. Testing of ‘Potomac’ needs to be
completed at additional experiment stations in
Received for publication 4 Apr. 1996. Accepted for
publication 16 Apr. 1996. We gratefully acknowl-
edge the contributions of H.J. Brooks, W. Zook, and
G.L. Brenneman. The cost of publishing this paper
was defrayed in part by the payment of page charges.
Under postal regulations, this paper therefore must
be hereby marked
advertisement
solely to indicate
this fact.
1
Research Horticulturist.
2
Research Plant Pathologist.
3
Research Horticulturist, deceased.
4
Current address: Agricultural Research Center,
13138 Lewis, Gallagher Rd., Dover, FL 33527.
5
Associate Professor.
Fig. 2. Fruit of ‘Potomac’ pear. Ruler length is 12 mm.
Fig. 1. Pedigree of ‘Potomac’ pear.
885
H
ORT
S
CIENCE
, V
OL
. 31(5), S
EPTEMBER
1996
Harvest maturity is 14 days after ‘Bartlett’.
The flesh is creamy white. The flesh texture is
moderately fine, buttery, and juicy. Grit cells
are small and confined to a thin layer under the
skin. The flavor is subacid, with mild aroma,
and similar to ‘Beurre d’Anjou’ in character.
The fruit may be ripened after harvest without
postharvest chilling, but is as susceptible to
storage scald as ‘Beurre d’Anjou’ if stored for
more than 2 months in air at –1
°
C. It is,
therefore, not suitable for long-term commer-
cial storage without application of scald con-
trol measures.
The tree is moderately vigorous and spread-
ing. Flowers have white petals, and the anthers
are pink to red. Full bloom at Kearneysville
occurs with ‘Beurre d’Anjou’,

2 to 4 days
before ‘Bartlett’. ‘Potomac’ is self-incompat-
ible and reciprocally cross-compatible with
‘Bartlett’ and ‘Beurre d’Anjou’. Fruit are borne
on terminal flower buds of short lateral shoots
and spurs in young trees, but production shifts
almost exclusively to spurs as trees age. In a
preliminary yield trial on ‘Bartlett’ seedling
rootstock, ‘Potomac’ has been less precocious
than ‘Bartlett’, and with lower yield until 6
years after planting (Table 2). Yield per tree
rapidly surpassed ‘Bartlett’ after year 6, due in
part to loss of bearing surface to fire blight in
‘Bartlett’ trees.
Natural infection in individual trees has
been scored yearly for 8 to 16 years using the
U.S. Dept. of Agriculture fire blight scoring
system (van der Zwet et al., 1970). Fire blight
resistance of ‘Potomac’ is much greater than
that of either ‘Bartlett’ or ‘Beurre d’Anjou’,
with infrequent natural infections rarely ex-
tending further than current-season’s growth
(Table 3). The worst score ever recorded was
6 (10 = no symptoms) for a single 7-year-old
tree in Wooster, Ohio. Natural infections into
1-year-old wood or deeper (score of 8 or
lower) have only been observed in four of 28
trees. Artificial inoculations of actively grow-
ing shoot tips were conducted in May 1986,
1987, and 1991 using a mixture of three viru-
lent isolates (AFRS 259, 260, and 1112) sus-
pended in phosphate buffer diluted to a con-
centration of 1
×
10
8
colony-forming units
(cfu)/mL. A 26-gauge tuberculin syringe was
used to inject 25 to 50
μ
L of the suspension
into 10 or 20 shoots chosen from two to four
trees of each cultivar per year. Lesion length
and total shoot length were measured 8 weeks
after inoculation when disease progress had
ceased. In 1987, four open blossoms on each
of 25 flower clusters also were inoculated
when all trees were at full bloom. A 25-
μ
L
drop of the same isolate mixture, at 1
×
10
8
cfu/
mL, was placed into the floral cup of each
blossom using a micro-pipettor (Brinkmann
Instruments, Westbury, N.Y.). In 1991, open
blossoms of 20 clusters were spray-inoculated
with the same isolate mixture. Frequency of
infection (on the basis of blossoms in 1987 and
clusters in 1991) was scored 2 weeks after
inoculation, and severity of infection for each
cluster, based on progression of symptoms,
was scored at 8 weeks after inoculation.
The degree of resistance of shoots and
blossoms to fire blight infection was high
(Table 3). The resistance is expressed in re-
duced frequency and severity of infections.
The low blossom blight severity scores for
‘Potomac’ reflect the smaller percentage of
infected blossoms or clusters and the reduced
progression of infection through the spurs or
Table 1. Harvest date and fruit characteristics
z
of ‘Potomac’, ‘Bartlett’, and ‘Beurre d’Anjou’ pears.
Cultivar
Trait
Potomac
Bartlett
Beurre d’Anjou
No. years of data
17
17
5
Harvest date
y

  • 14
    0
  • 20
    Size (mm)
    Diameter
    68
    ±
    4
    66
    ±
    5
    54
    ±
    4
    Length
    76
    ±
    3
    81
    ±
    5
    64
    ±
    5
    Core size (mm)
    21
    ±
    3
    23
    ±
    2
    19
    ±
    3
    Flavor
    x
    6.8
    ±
    0.3
    6.4
    ±
    0.3
    5.1
    ±
    0.3
    Grit
    x
    7.5
    ±
    0.1
    6.1
    ±
    0.3
    7.3
    ±
    0.2
    Texture
    x
    6.9
    ±
    0.2
    6.2
    ±
    0.2
    6.6
    ±
    0.3
    Appearance
    x
    6.4
    ±
    0.3
    5.8
    ±
    0.3
    5.5
    ±
    0.3
    Russet
    w
    7.5
    ±
    0.3
    5.6
    ±
    0.4
    5.1
    ±
    0.4
    z
    Fruit samples of six to10 fruit were harvested at random from unthinned trees on one to three dates per year.
    Size data are based on all harvested fruit.
    y
    Optimum harvest date expressed in days after (+) ‘Bartlett’, which averages 20 Aug., 21 Aug., and 25 Aug.
    for Beltsville, Md.; Kearneysville, W.Va.; and Wooster, Ohio, respectively.
    x
    Flavor, grit, texture, and appearance scores are based on a 1 (poor) to 9 (excellent) scale in which a score
    of 6 is considered the threshold for acceptability; scores assigned to sample of six to 10 fruit; mean of
    evaluations of best harvest date sample per year, performed by trained evaluators at Beltsville, Kearneysville,
    and Wooster.
    w
    Russet scores are based on a percentage scale: 1 (100%) to 9 (0%).
    Table 2. Fruit yield data of ‘Potomac’ and ‘Bartlett’ at Kearneysville, W.Va.
    z
    No.
    Total yield
    Fruit wt
    Year
    Cultivar
    trees
    y
    (kg/tree)
    (g/fruit)
    1992
    Potomac
    10
    4.2 a
    209 a
    Bartlett
    5
    13.4 a
    126 b
    1993
    Potomac
    9
    52.6 a
    139 a
    Bartlett
    6
    19.5 b
    117 a
    1994
    Potomac
    x
    9
    58.5
    152
    z
    Ten trees of each cultivar were propagated on ‘Bartlett’ seedling rootstock and planted as 1-year-old trees
    in Nov. 1986. Data are reported as mean of harvested trees. Separation of cultivar means within years by
    Fisher’s protected
    t
    test,
    P

    0.05.
    y
    Number of trees without severe fire blight.
    x
    In 1994, fire blight either killed or severely damaged all ‘Bartlett’ trees. No fruit were harvested.
    Table 3. Fire blight development in response to epiphytotic and artificial shoot and blossom inoculation of
    ‘Potomac’, ‘Bartlett’, and ‘Beurre d’Anjou’.
    Cultivar
    Infection type
    n
    Potomac
    n
    Bartlett
    n
    Beurre d’Anjou
    Epiphytotic
    z
    Beltsville
    6
    9.7
    ±
    0.2
    67
    2.3
    ±
    0.3
    10
    1.2
    ±
    0.4
    Wooster
    8
    8.5
    ±
    0.4
    10
    3.1
    ±
    0.3
    4
    4.5
    ±
    1.0
    Kearneysville
    14
    9.3
    ±
    0.4
    40
    1.6
    ±
    0.2
    10
    2.4
    ±
    0.5
    Shoot inoculation (%)
    Infected
    40
    35 a
    40
    73 b
    20
    90 b
    Lesion length
    y
    40
    10.7 a
    40
    64.4 b
    20
    60.9 b
    Blossom inoculation
    1987
    Infected blossoms
    x
    100
    12
    100
    92
    100
    79
    Severity
    w
    25
    1.9 a
    25
    5.1 b
    25
    4.7 b
    1991
    Infected clusters (%)
    v
    20
    45
    20
    100


Severity
w
20
1.3 a
20
4.9 b


z
Mean (+
SE
) lowest (most severe) USDA fire blight infection score per tree: 1 = dead to 10 = no symptoms
(van der Zwet et al., 1970). n = number of trees. Data are based on 8 to 16 years after planting; exact number
of years varied with cultivar and location.
y
Mean lesion length as a percentage of current-season’s shoot length, 8 weeks postinoculation. n = number
of shoot tips inoculated. Mean of 3 years of data for ‘Potomac’ and ‘Bartlett’ and 2 years of data for ‘Beurre
d’Anjou’ at Kearneysville, W.Va. Mean separation by Waller–Duncan k ratio
t
test,
P

0.05, k = 100.
x
Percentage of infected blossoms, 2 weeks postinoculation; one year of data at Kearneysville.
w
Mean severity score per cluster: 0 = no infection, 1 = floral cup, 2 = ovary, 3 = pedicel, 4 = basal tissue of
cluster, 5 = spur or 1-year-old wood, 6 = 2-year or older wood; 8 weeks postinoculation. Mean separation
by Waller–Duncan k ratio
t
test,
P

0.05, k = 100.
v
Percentage of infected clusters, 2 weeks postinoculation; 1 year of data at Kearneysville.
1-year-old terminal shoots into older wood.
Inoculations with five individual isolates at
three locations for 2 years have given similar
results for shoot and blossom inoculations
(Bell et al., 1990; Bell and van der Zwet,
unpublished data).
H
ORT
S
CIENCE
, V
OL
. 31(5), S
EPTEMBER
1996
886
C
ULTIVAR
& G
ERMPLASM
R
ELEASES
Availability
The budwood supply for this cultivar is
limited and trees are not available from the
authors. Interested nurseries and research per-
sonnel should send requests for noncertified
budwood to R.L.B. Certified virus-free
budwood is available from IR-2/NRSP5.
Budwood of this release has been deposited in
the National Plant Germplasm System, where
it will be available for research purposes,
including development and commercializa-
tion of new cultivars.
Literature Cited
Bell, R.L., T. van der Zwet, W.G. Bonn, B.
Thibault, and P. Lecomte. 1990. Environ-
mental and strain effects on screening for fire
blight resistance. Acta Hort. 273:343–350.
Thibault, B., R. Watkins, and R.A. Smith (eds.).
1983. Descriptor list for pears (
Pyrus
). Intl.
Board Plant Genet. Resources, Rome.
van der Zwet, T., W.A. Oitto, and H.J. Brooks.
1970. Scoring system for rating the severity
of fire blight in pear. Plant Dis. Rptr. 54:835–
839.
‘Potomac’ is recommended for commer-
cial trial and use as a home-orchard cultivar in
areas where fire blight is a serious problem and
susceptible cultivars cannot be grown suc-
cessfully.
Potomac has been indexed for virus infec-
tion by the IR-2/NRSP5 program at Washing-
ton State Univ., Prosser, and has tested nega-
tive for apple stem grooving, apple stem pit-
ting, apple chlorotic leafspot, and pear vein
yellows viruses. Tests for stony pit have not
been completed.

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Moonglow is a cross of Roi Charles de Wurtemburg pear x Michigan US 437. Michigan US 437 is a cross of Barseck x Bartlett and Barseck is a cross of BartlettxSeckel. This is all relevant as just mentioned because Potomac is a cross of moonglow x anjou so one might think the fireblight resistance goes back to the original cross of seckel and the same with moonglow and Barseck the FB resistance is from one cross. The key to making these better crosses is Michigan US437 pear. If you are interested in pear breeding you might be interested in this book Fruit Breeding - Google Books

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PASSE CRASSANE
Origin:M. Boisbunel, France, about 1845.
Number one winter pear in Italy.
Additional: Passe-Crassane Pear is a variety developed by M. Boisbunel which was a nurseryman from Rouen, France. The pear was first available in 1845. Little more is known about the favorite pear in France.
AURORA aka (NY7620)
Origin: Marguerite Marillat x Williams’,
selected in 1950, named 1964, at New York
Agricultural Experimental Station, Geneva, USA.
BEURRÉ BOSC aka (KAISER ALEXANDER)
Origin: 1807, Open pollinated seedling, either
from Van Mons, Louvain, Belgium, or Haute-
Saone, France.
CORELLA
Origin: Probably a seedling of Forelle, Australia.
JOSEPHINE DE MALINES
Origin: Chance seedling from Major Esperen
of Malines, Belgium, 1830.
PACKHAM’S TRIUMPH
Origin: C.H.Packham, Molong, N.S.W.
Australia, about 1896. Thought to be a seedling
from Uvedale’s St. Germain x Williams’.
WILLIAMS’ BON CHRÊTIEN aka (BARTLETT)
Origin: Mr Stair, Aldermaston, about 1770,
introduced by Mr Richard Williams,
nurseryman, Turnham Green, England,
introduced by Tom Brewer, Roxbury,
Massachusetts, whose property became that of
Enoch Bartlett to USA.
Mock’s Red Williams’
(Sensation, Red Sensation)
Origin: Sport of Williams’. Walter Mock Snr,
Mahony Road, East Burwood, Victoria,
Australia, early 1930s.
WINTER COLE
Origin:Seedling of Winter Nelis raised by J.C.
Cole, Richmond, Victoria, Australia. Introduced
by J Brunning and Sons, late 1880s.
WINTER NELIS aka (HONEY PEAR)
Origin:Seedling from M. Jean Charles Nelis,
Malines, Belgium, early 1800s about 1814.
ABATÉ FÉTEL aka (ABBE FETELE)
Origin: Savoie, France, 1866, number one
pear in Italy
BEURRÉ HARDY
Origin: M. Bonnet, Boulogne-sur-Mer, France
about 1820.
BUTIRRA PRECOCE MORETTINI
Origin: Coscia x Williams’, bred by Morettini,
Florence, Italy, 1956.
BUTIRRA ROSATA MORETTINI
Origin: Coscia x Beurré Clairgeau, bred and
introduced 1960 by Morentini, Florence,
Italy.
CLAPP’S FAVOURITE
Origin: Flemish Beauty x Williams’. Bred by
Thaddeus Clapp, Dorchester, Massachusetts,
USA, before 1860.
CONCORDE
PATENT (FLEMINGS)
Origin: Conference x Doyenné du Comice, F.
Alston, East Malling, England, 1968, selected
1977.
CONFERENCE
Origin: Leon le Clare de Laval open pollinated
seedling, introduced to England by Thomas
Rivers, Sawbridgeworth, England, 1885, named
for the National Pear Conference in England in
1885.
DR JULES GUYOT
(WILLIAM PRECOCE, FRENCH
BARTLETT, LIMONERA)
Origin: M. Ernest Baltet of Troyes, Belgium,
1870, introduced to USA 1885.
DOYENNÉ DU COMICE
(DECANA DEL COMIZIO)
Origin:Horticultural Society of Maine and
Loire, Angers, France, 1849. To USA 1850,
seedling selection.
ELDORADO
Origin: Chance seedling probably Winter Nelis
x Williams’ by R. Patterson, Placerville,
California, U.S.A. 1945. (South African strain is
like a very early Williams’, flowers 2-3 weeks
before Williams’ and matures just before
Williams’, known as Early Bon Chretien)
FORELLE
PATENT (FLEMINGS)
Origin:Originated in Germany probably early
1700s, red pear probably a parent of Corella,
U.S.A.
HARROW DELIGHT
Origin:Williams’ x Purdue 80-51 (Old Home x
Early Sweet), R.E.C.Layne, Harrow, Ontario,
Canada.
HOWELL aka (JONAH’S SEEDLING)
Origin:A seedling of Jonah, Thomas Howell,
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A. 1840.
LEMON BERGAMOT
Origin:Synonym. Passans de Portugal, origin
doubtful, grown in South Australia.
PRECOCE DI FIORANI
Origin:Beurré Gifford x Coscia, bred by
Pirovano-Manzo, ISF, Rome, Italy.
ROGUE RED
Origin:Comice x (Seckel x Farmingdale
seedling 122) 1969 by Prof. Frank Reimer,
Oregon, U.S.A.
Cocktail Pears
RED FACE (FACCIA ROSA)
Origin: Sicily, Italy
SAN GIOVANNI aka (ST JOHN)
Origin: South Italy, mentioned since 1660
HOOD
Origin: Florida, USA. unknown origin.
FLORDAHOME
Origin: Hood x Tenn, Florida.
FLA 39-40
Origin: W.B.Sherman, University of Florida.
FLA 57-75
Origin: W.B.Sherman, University of Florida.
FLA 58-45
Origin:W.B.Sherman, University of Florida.

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A little trick I learned from @scottfsmith several years ago when researching obscure pears. This is a great website http://pomologie.com/poire/index.html. Specifically you will be interested in this page the “GUIDE DES POIRES GUIDE OF PEARS” http://pomologie.com/poire/poire1/fpoires/varietes.html

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I ordered a Duchesse d’ Angouleme pear for this spring. Now I’m worried I may be getting a Duchesse Bronzee instead. So how will I be able to tell? Also I wonder which nurseries are selling the REAL Duchesse d’ Angouleme pear?

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Do you have any experience of FB with this variety?

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My Duchess d’angoulme has never had a fireblight strike on any of the several trees I grow. I use it to graft other pears to as well because of the resistance.

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I was wondering what you know about Comice and fb.

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Comice is a FB magnet.

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Passe-Crassane Pear

History
A variety developed by M. Boisbunel, a nurseryman from Rouen, France.

Description
The famous Passe-Crassane pear is available from December to March-April, its marbled yellow skin covering very juicy tart flesh. A large round fruit, it is sometimes distinguished by a few seeds that enhance its flavor.

Particular sign
It has a red wax seal on its peduncle to slow the evaporation of its water and thus its ripening.

As seen Passe-Crassane Pear, All About Pears on the Worldwide Gourmet

In brief
Production regions: southeastern and southwestern France, Loire Valley, Alps

Season: December to May


Created in 1845 by Boisbunel


Image from https://www.triedandsupplied.com/saucydressings/passe-crassane-pears/

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These Aussie pear descriptions are excellent

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Hello , I am interested in growing european pears here in South Atlanta. I know it is late in the season to obtain good varieties. I waited to late to begin my research. Any advise for 8a , Noth Georgia would be appreciated. Hear is what I have been referencing among other sites. Any thoughts about this site?http://www.chathamapples.com/PearsNY/PearsSEUS.html

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I mentioned Van Mons above Jean-Baptiste Van Mons - Wikipedia however i failed to mention he discovered and shared flemish beauty and in all created 40 varities eg bosc.
220px-Jean_Baptiste_Madou05
220px-Hedrick_(1921)_-_Beurre_Bosc
220px-Hedrick_(1921)_-_Beurre_d'Anjou
1376376069_5e76

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@Marvin72
I would give warren and ayers a try if your looking for good quality pears for the south. Missed your comment until now. There is a great post on Southern pears i think you would like Southern Pears

Hi Marvin, I’m in SE Georgia (Statesboro Zone 8b). You have more options than I do given the fact that you have more chilling hours. Before buying pear trees, go to UGA’s climate calculator and calculate the number of chilling hours you get between your first frost date and your last killing frost date for each of the past ten years. Then average hours together. The two numbers that you need to pay attention to are your average number of chilling hours and the number that you can expect 8 out of 10 years. Don’t bother with any variety that requires more chilling hours than those two numbers. If you go with the 8 out of 10 year number, you can expect to get pears 80% of the time provided climate does not warm as fast as some predictions indicate.

Something to know about Ayers and Magnes is that both are pollen sterile, or at least some strains of them are. Magnes and Warren take a very long time to mature. The best varieties for me down here so fare are Goldenboy, Baldwine, LeConte and Acres Home. For me Southern Bartlett has been consistently tasteless even though others rave about it. I may be that I got a bad sport off that variety. I’m Trying Tennsoui, Scarlett, Southern King, Savannah, Moonglow and Olton Brousard. None of those have fruited for me yet due to imaturity. Purdue is baring fruit for the first time this year, so I should be able to give a report on it this summer. That tree has never looked healthy. The pears will have to blow me away for it to stay. I want the space for a loquat. God bless.

Marcus

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Hey guys thanks for the info … I received a Potomac pear whip through Jung Seed and I bought an Ayers from lowes. Unfortunately my potomac was "rocked back and forth " by some unknown culprit and my Ayers got black spot fungus. It is just starting to produce more leaves as the weather is much hotter and drier. Lesson learned. Will see if they survive and/or improve over the summer. Thank you again for your input.

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@clarkinks You mentioned what “buerre” means in pear parlance- do you have an idea what a “bergamotte” in the name may mean? A few old pears listed in grin or old fruit books mention bergamotte pears, but they seem to have fallen out of fashion as I have never heard of them being sold anywhere.

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