Here are a few of the newer types we all want to taste!
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Which pears at Cummins are you recommending for trial?
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I ordered the Reddy Robin pear from Raintree a few years ago, I still have the receipt of my order but somehow I donât have it in my garden, they must have a failed crop.
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Cold snap would be a great place to start Cold SnapÂŽ Brand HW614 CV. Pear on OHxF 87 - Cummins Nursery - Fruit Trees, Scions, and Rootstocks for Apples, Pears, Cherries, Plums, Peaches, and Nectarines.
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This is one like that reminds me of my small yellow pear https://bluehillwildlifenursery.com/product/wild-pear-trees/
The hunters love these types
Iâm always interested in wild pears for breeding better fruits.
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Based on those descriptions Bell looks the most interesting to me.
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That is what i think as well, but the new harrows are likely pretty good too. Bell must be a good one! Would love to taste them before i buy them but it might not be possible to even hear an unbiased account of their taste from others tasting them.
Im excited for Mardi Gras pear.
Mardi Gras pear will stand out on the shelf with an elongated bottle shape and natural russet over a green background. This very sweet, buttery, and juicy pear will melt in your mouth at peak ripeness. It is a medium-sized winter pear deriving from Europeâs favorite Conference pear.
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That should be worth tasting as well! Thanks for the reminder. Any others you are keeping your eyes on? Really impressed with your blackberry patch canât wait to see your pear orchard when it is built up! Nothing better than fresh fruit or vegetables!
Ha ha! No offense but i hope i dont have a âpear orchardâ. I am a lil off in the head with my berry patches⌠am also into Elderberries, Mulberries, Persimmons, Blueberries, Honeyberries, Strawberries⌠but i like cultivars that arent common⌠mostly overseas. I just got a cherry tree from eastern Europe⌠and i really hope i dont get into cherries.
I know you dont like folks that get things across our bordersâŚbut thats my personal interest and hobbyâŚ
The pear that i posted wouldnt be possible if not for European genetics.
I think we should all be thankful that this guy Jerry Lehman was allowed to go to Russia and Ukraine and get the access he did⌠or else persimmons would be pretty dang boring.
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Iâm not against people bringing in plants from overseas i just want them to avoid damaging our food supply. As an example if California brought in a pathogen by accident it could take out half our food supply. If a nursery ships with a phytosanitary certificate no problem , which âverifies agricultural products have been inspected and are pest and disease free (âphytoâmeaning âplantâ and âsanitaryâ meaning âcleanâ or free from pests and diseases).â We have people in the world who dont like us, dont make it easy for them.
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on the topic of pears⌠looks like Canada will be supplying us with plenty of more pears. Why cant the US grow pears?
Until my garlic crop comes in⌠the garlic that i buy from my grocery store is from China. I guess the US cant grow garlic to supply my local store?
My favorite jelly until i start making my own is made in Poland. I guess nobody in the US can make a jelly that i like⌠it is my personal favorite.
The bread that i use to spread that jelly onâŚsays on the bag that its a product of Canada. So i guess nobody in the US can make a bread that i like either.
The banana that i ate last night had a sticker that said it was from Columbia.
Clark i dont think i would have a food supply if not for plants from overseas.
I eat more than Idaho potatoes and Vidalia Onions or Michigan Apples.
There are no pears native to the US as far as i knowâŚso personally im thankful that guys like Burbank an others travelled across the world and brought us edible fruiting things from Asia and Europe⌠which almost everything i grow originated from.
The fruits in my grocery store from overseas that have leaves and stemsâŚhow do they inspect every leaf and stem? Do they spray a poison of some sorts on every square millimeter of every fruit and vegetable? A pineapple sure looks like it has all kinds of nooks and crannies for things to live⌠how in the world they verify and inspect every single one must be tedious. I do know that i can grow a pineapple from cutting off the top⌠i dont see any pytosanitary certificate on them?? 
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Your part is only part of it USDA ERS - Regulating Agricultural Imports To Keep Out Foreign Pests and Disease .
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I believe it would more productive for you to research the topic than to engage in an uninformed rant.
Think we better get back to the latest pears we are getting off topic. We canât solve the worlds problems on this thread.
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This is a few years old but things move slow when breeding pears
" A variety of options for pear breeding
Pear research leaders suggest launching cultivar breeding program.
Ross Courtney, TJ Mullinax // January 21, 2020
Washington State University pome fruit breeder Kate Evans works in a greenhouse at the universityâs Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center in Wenatchee. A group of pear industry growers and research officials have suggested starting a pear cultivar breeding program, likely helmed by Evans, who already leads apple cultivar breeding and pear rootstock breeding efforts at the facility.(TJ Mullinax/Good Fruit Grower)
Most growers want new pears to add some excitement to an industry still producing classic varieties. But launch a breeding program right now? Thatâs a lot to ask from an industry beset by low prices, pest pressure and other challenges.
However, thatâs exactly what some growers, officials and researchers propose. With the help of the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission, a group of backers has suggested using $650,000 of commission reserves to launch a pear cultivar breeding program to revive the pear industry.
âIf we donât do something now, my honest opinion is I think the pear industry is going to collapse,â said Phil Doornink, a Wapato, Washington, grower and proponent of funding a breeding program.
For now, supporters are asking growers to talk among themselves and then chime in.
The group hopes to gather enough feedback in time for a vote at the Pear Research Review on Feb. 20 in Yakima. The research commission manages scientific grants for the fresh and processed pear committees, which collectively support Washington and Oregon pears under a federal marketing order through assessments paid by growers from the two states. A research subcommittee, which evaluates projects and makes funding recommendations to the larger committees, plans to vote on the proposal at the research review.
Backers estimate the $650,000 âdown paymentâ would fund about three years to get the breeding program started. After that, the growers from Washington and Oregon would have to pony up $200,000 per year to cover ongoing costs for at least 20 years. Then, if things go as planned, the university would commercially release a new variety, and the program would become self-funding.
Fruit breeding is a long game with no guarantees. WSUâs WA 38 apple â which just hit store shelves last month under the trade name Cosmic Crisp â is 20 years old. Consumers seem excited, judging from news coverage, but the industry still doesnât know how well the gamble will pay off.
Pears might take even longer, said Kate Evans, WSUâs pome fruit breeder and likely leader of the proposed program. Maturity is tougher to determine in pears than in apples, making evaluations harder. Evans has experience in pear breeding from her work at the East Malling Research Station in England, before she started at WSU 11 years ago.
Evans is confident her team can develop new pear varieties that will grow well in Washingtonâs conditions, but she wants growers to honestly voice both their support and concerns.
âIt shouldnât be me leading this charge,â she said.
In fact, growers on the research commission board and other industry groups are championing the issue.
âThis is something that the pear industry has needed for a long time,â said Doornink, a member of the marketing orderâs research subcommittee.
For decades, pears were regarded as steady income for growers. However, one of their safety nets, the canning market, has slipped with changing consumer preferences and cheap Chinese imports. Young farmers are switching to cherries and apples, both of which have added new varieties to the game in recent years. New cultivars for the more lucrative fresh market might help growers stick with pears.
Doornink, 40, also is willing to be patient. A pear breeding program may not pay off during his career, but he has nephews who have expressed interest in farming. He would like pears to be an option for them.
âWhen Iâm ready to retire, I hope they will be excited,â he said.
Growers also would need to determine the top traits they seek. Precocity, pest and disease resistance, and fruit quality â a pear that eats well and performs well in the postharvest supply chain â likely top the list, said Bob Gix, a recently retired horticulturist for Blue Star Growers in Cashmere, Washington.
For example, the Gem, a pear developed at the U.S. Department of Agricultureâs breeding program in Kearneysville, West Virginia, can be eaten crunchy right off the tree or ripened to a buttery texture. Gem had its first commercial harvest in 2019 by Diamond Fruit of Hood River, Oregon.
Proponents of the program have identified about 50 traits so far, said Ines Hanrahan, director of the research commission. If the breeding program is approved, that list would be winnowed down to five or six priorities.
Though pear growers face more immediate threats of psylla, fire blight and cork, Ray Schmitten of Blue Star Growers said he also supports the idea of investing in a long-term breeding program focused on scions for the Pacific Northwest. The new varieties coming out of New Zealand are good but may not fit our climate, he said. Meanwhile, Evansâ rootstock breeding work focuses on boosting efficiencies by allowing higher density plantings with dwarfing rootstocks, although they are looking at pest and disease resistance as well.
âThatâs great, but the same thing goes for the cultivar,â Schmitten said.
Over the years, growers and packers have worked on their pear problems and have made progress, Gix said, but not enough. Psylla, postharvest deterioration and a difficult-to-ripen product all have bogged down the industry for his 40-year career, in spite of efforts in integrated pest management research, conditioning rooms and extension outreach.
âI firmly believe genetic improvement will offer the best opportunity to deliver on many of the challenges pear producers have faced and will continue to face,â Gix said. âThe path will not be easy and will depend on younger growers stepping forward to lead this long-term project.â â˘
âby Ross Courtney"
My opinion we need to bring in some red fleshed cultivars that are disease resistant! Time will tell if we can get the pear cultivars we all need. Fireblight resistance and flavor are most of my concerns at the moment.
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ive never seen any problems solved on the whole board let alone any thread.
I like pears and to be honest @clarkinks i was just saying that im thankful that living here in the US we are able to enjoy them and grow them even though they arent from here.
Likely I wont be able to buy a Mardi Gras Pear tree and doubtful that it will make it to my market⌠Until then i will just eat the pears in my stores that are from Canada. If i want to eat US grown pears most of them go to China. So if i visit China i can get to taste US grown pears. That is a pretty informed rant thoughâŚeven though its not productive.
The USA is a huge exporter of apples, pears, pork, beef, grains.etcâŚThe only problems I ever solve on here is related to fruit directly or indirectly. If you have pear problems, Iâm pretty decent helping to solve those. Speak of which i got a row of large seckle that need grafted.
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ok here goes.
I would like a Best Ever pear tree.
Its grown by one man in one orchard in California. Thanks for your help.
It is not exactly new, nearly 100 years old. It is in ARS-Grin as PI 541559.