Tips On Growing Pears
When you are growing pears, you will find that pear
trees are among the easiest fruit trees to produce organically because
their fertility requirements are not high. They will adapt to a wide
range of climates and soils and do not have as many pest problems as
other fruit trees. There are many varieties of pear trees. The Asian
and European pears can pollinate each other, but the Asian pears often
finish blooming by the time the Europeans get started. When you
cross-pollinate between pear species avoid matching early bloomers like
the Asian-Seuri and Yali with late bloomers like the European-Comice
and Ublillen. Some early European bloomers are the Bartlett, Beth, and
the Conference which will cross-pollinate with most Asian
pears. Even though you can grow pears from seeds, there is no
guarantee as to the quality of the resulting fruit. It is best to
purchase known good stock from a reliable nursery.
Pears can grow hardy in any open,
sunny area, as long as they are not exposed to strong winds. They can
grow in most soils, but prefer a moderately rich, well draining soil
that is neutral or slightly alkaline. Very rich soils will encourage
rapid leafy growth that can be disease sensitive so you there is no
need to add lots of organic matter unless the soil is very poor quality
or excessively free draining. European pears are grown by
grafting the variety on to a root stock. Seedlings of European pears
(often from Bartlett pears) are usually used for root stocks. When you
plant standard sized trees space them 5-8m (16-26ft) apart and dwarf
trees 3-4.5m (10-15ft) apart. There are some varieties that always need
cross-pollination, and some are reliably self-fertile. Asian pears are
slightly less cold hardy then European types and may suffer tissues
damage at temperatures below -20 degC (-4degF). Also most Asian pears
bloom slightly earlier than the European varieties and could lose some
blooms or buds to freezing in areas that are susceptible to late frost.
Asian pears will grow a heavy fruit crop, which will need
hand thinning of young fruits soon after bloom to ensure a good crop.
If thinning is not done it will effect the fruit size and quality.
Pruning pears involves cutting
off unnecessary branches so that light can reach all parts of the tree,
and it is best to keep the tree levels low to make it easier to pick
the fruit. Most varieties of pear trees ripen usually in early fall,
but the Bartlett pear ripens in the summer. European pears will only
ripen to perfection when they are removed from the tree, so they are
picked when they are still green and hard. On the other hand Asian
pears will ripen on the tree and do not have to be picked and cured
like the European pears. Once they have colored up they should be sweet
enough to pick.
A problem that can cause serious
damage to pear trees is fireblight, which is greatly favored by young,
succulent tissues and it is better to try and limit the growth to avoid
this. You should never try to compensate for rapid growth rates by
pruning, as this will only induce the production of more vulnerable
soft tissue growth. By not using manure, and not applying large amounts
of fertilizer and avoid growing clovers and other legumes around the
tree will ultimately yield better results. A good start is to choose
fireblight resistant pear cultivars to limit the spread of this
disease, but cultural controls are best way. Asian pears are slightly
more resistant than European pears, but once fireblight infection has
taken place there is no spray or other methods that will minimize the
damage. The best thing to do is to cut out the newly effected limibs
and if cutting is done during growing season it should be removed at
least 10cm (4in) below the last point of visible infection and burned.
After eac cut the hand pruners should be disinfected in a disinfectant
solution. The best way to deal with insect pests is to encourage
natural predators such as lacewings around your pear tree.
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