Gem Pear

Gem would be a great pear. I would love to have it!

"Gem, a new fire blight-­resistant pear variety from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s breeding program, was officially released this spring.

The pear is medium sized with light green skin that turns to yellow when ripe. The skin can have up to 35 percent red blush. It does not russet under dry growing conditions, and only occasionally in humid ­conditions.

Gem originated from a cross of Sheldon and US62563-004 made in 1970. It was selected in 1981 from the USDA’s seedling orchard at Beltsville, Maryland, by Dr. Richard Bell. He tested it extensively at the Appalachian Fruit Research Station in West ­Virginia, where he is pear breeder. In West Virginia, Gem blooms about a day before Bartlett and harvest begins about a week after Bartlett. It can be harvested over an extended period. The flavor is sweet to subacid and mildly aromatic.

The variety is precocious, bearing fruit three years after planting, and produces high yields, according to the USDA. It has been tested at Oregon State University, Washington State University, Clemson University, and Michigan State University.

Trees of Gem are not available yet, and budwood is limited. For more information, contact Bell at richard.bell@ars.usda.gov.

Budwood with virus-free and phytoplasm-free certification will be available from the Clean Plant Center of the Northwest at Washington State University, Prosser.

Genetic material of Gem will be deposited in the National Plant Germplasm System, where it will be available for research purposes, including development of new cultivars."
GemPear2

Raintree Nursery has it on OHxF333 at $34.50 and limit 1 per customer.

Raintree Nursery Gem Pear

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Thanks I appreciate you finding that! Looking forward to it!

Oh wow! I wasn’t expecting this one to be ready yet. Kan’t order it this week, but maybe next week they will still have some. God bless.

Marcus

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Is gem self fertile?

If the pear virus would not have hit ars grin last year we might have got the pear for research. Kansas may or may not grow it well only time and testing can tell. I don’t know much about it accept what is available here http://www.goodfruit.com/what-a-gem/. No pollination information etc. are available yet.

Looks like high in demand, as was 10 dollars cheaper when bought it from them last spring.

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@KlecknerOasis,
How is it doing for you? Do you have any additional information you have learned about it?

Finally ordered a Gem. It will be in where a Vandalay was. Thanks, Clark for mentioning this variety.

Any pear would be an upgrade to a cherry in my yard.

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In looking at the Good Fruit Grower description beyond disease resistance etc the main thing is its more crisp like Asian pears. I like soft Euro pears so it doesn’t sound too interesting to me. Any time there is a list like the one from that article,

• early fruiting (precocity)
• consistent high annual production
• attractive fruit appearance
• good storability
• good consumer acceptance

And there is no bullet on “excellent flavor” I get the feeling the breeders have yet again forgotten about taste in all their excitement over the other things. I probably would be more positive if not for how mediocre I am finding Blake’s Pride this year - another recent release talked up by the USDA breeders which is very average on the taste side.

On the other hand if you like crisp pears it sounds like it could be a winner as the texture is unique.

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Scott,
You have a good point.

I have stereotyped ideas on fruit. I like my A pear sweet and crunchy, E pear sweet and soft,etc.

What I really like is HW623 but I have to wait until 2019, yikes!!!

Harrow Gold and Cold Snap pears are also interesting.

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Mamuang,
Goodfruit said in the 2012 article “It has a crisp, juicy texture and sweet, but mild flavor more similar to an Asian pear than a European pear” http://www.goodfruit.com/good-to-know-a-gem-of-a-pear/ . The 2014 article is this one http://www.goodfruit.com/what-a-gem/. I took that to mean it’s more like an Asian pear which I like and they went on in the article to say " though it is not a melting, dessert-type pear" so I took that to mean like most Asian pears it does not have euro pears qualities. Both euro and Asian pears have their advantages and I like both. @scottfsmith makes a good point which is if someone likes comice they should not plant gem , drippen honey, Korean giant, hosui or any of the others with that flavor expecting those to be melting. The excellent flavor bullet is a point of concern and Scott knows about their ratings.

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Clark,
I do like my A pear crunchy. Not sure about E pear with crunch :grin:

Thanks for explaining. Too bad no one among us have eaten it.

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One of the articles about Gem said that there was a university taste study on it which concluded that it had similar flavor and purchase intent as Bartlett pear. The pear is supposed to have a good Asian pear like texture for eating when picked and at that stage be like an Asian pear. But it takes 3 weeks of cold storage before it “ripens properly”. It’s sounding like its main claim to fame is good storage characteristics. Six to 8 months storage in refrigeration under normal atmospheric conditions is pretty good. I’ve already ordered a Korean Giant for one of the spots in my garden. I continue to go back and forth on whether to go with this one, Potomac or Warren for my one last space in the orchard. God bless.

Marcus

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Scott,

I have similar suspicions.

The Harvest Queen pear is the best-flavored pear I have ever eaten, and yet it is virtually unobtainable. What a scandal. The Canadians got it right on this one.

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Matt you can get it from Summerland in BC they can and do ship to the US but there is of course permits that you have to get to do that an I am not sure if you have to be a business .

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I don’t see it listed on their website.

Here is the link. It is listed under pears
Summerland Budwood Catalogue

ETA I didn’t mean to insult your intelligence by saying it was listed under Pears, I am sure you knew that, it is just that they have a Perry Pear listing higher on the page ( out of alphabetical order)

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I wound up not yet getting gem yet and wondered if you did how’s it growing?

I got all excited when that article came out in Good Fruit Grower in 2014. We were having horrible fire blight on our pears. I was able to get 10 Gem trees in 2015 from Cummins, and a few more in 2016, but they were not carrying it this year. The commercial industry made such a big deal about the release of this pear that I don’t know why it is taking so long for it to be more widely available.

So a few of the original trees died (they were pretty scrawny). We do have 8 trees in third leaf and 4 in second leaf. As you all know, there will be a few more years until we see any fruit. Most of the trees are growing well now. I like crispy pears and am really looking forward to fruit.

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