Pears

Establishment and management, harvesting, training and pruning Establishment and management

Keep young trees weed-free, and water well during dry spells to help the roots get established quickly. Use tree guards to protect the bark from physical damage and cold weather. Fertiliser: Use a small amount of fertilizer early in the year. Heavy doses of nitrogen will make the tree more vulnerable to fire blight by promoting succulent growth, which allows fire the bacteria to enter the tree's tender shoots more easily. Also, pears require several months to harden off in the fall. High nitrogen levels after mid-summer delay this hardening-off process. If your pear tree is located in a lawn area, cut back on turf fertilizer applications when you feed your lawn so as not to give your trees too much nitrogen. Apply ammonium in early spring yearly, from the second year after planting about 2 weeks before bloom. Frosts during the bud and blossom period can damage the flowers and reduce yields significantly (importance of choice of site). Pollination can be a problem with pears because bees are not partial to their blossoms; pear nectar contains less than 10 percent sugar, compared to nearly 50 percent in apple nectar, and pears often flower when it's too cold or wet for the bees to fly. Also, pear blossoms are fertile only for a short time. You may need a beehive when your trees are coming into their bearing years for consistent fruit set. Move it to within 50 feet from your trees when blossoming starts. Even with a beehive, you may have occasional years of near-total crop failure owing to frosts or poor flying weather for the bees.

Harvesting

Don't let pears ripen on the tree. Fruit that ripens on the tree ends up gritty and unpleasant. Harvest them when they reach a mature size ("physiologically mature") but are still hard. Early pears will ripen at room temperature in a few days to a week. Storage varieties will keep 1 to 2 months or more in a cool (40 F), dark place. To harvest a pear, gently take the fruit in the palm of your hand and lift and twist in a single motion. Alternately, use one hand to hold the spur and the other hand to lift and twist the fruit. Avoid pulling or yanking the fruit; such an action may well remove the small woody "spur" to which the stem of the fruit is attached, taking with it next year's flower buds. Harvested pears that will not be eaten within a few days should be promptly refrigerated. Place the fruit in perforated plastic bags or a loosely covered container. This will help increase humidity levels around the fruits while allowing the exchange of gases that accelerate ripening. To fully ripen the fruit, remove it from refrigeration and allow it to sit at room temperature for a few days. When the fruit turns a more golden colour and the flesh at the stem end yields to thumb pressure, the fruit is ready to eat.

Training and Pruning

Dwarf pears are often trained to a central leader. In an area prone to fire blight, you can prune your tree to multiple leaders. That way an infected leader can be removed while the others keep growing. Pears bear their fruit mainly from terminal buds on short branches or spurs. Pears are trickier to prune well than apples because all their branches grow nearly straight up. This growth habit promotes weak branches and dense foliage around the centre of the tree, which encourages P&D. Prune regularly, though generally very lightly. Mature trees need only light pruning during the dormant season, mostly to thin out unfruitful, diseased, or crowded branches. Formative pruning (when the tree is very young) is the key to a manageable, well-shaped tree (for Jonathan to tell us all about). Training primarily consists of bending young, flexible branches that are growing vertically into more horizontal positions, toward an optimal 60 degree angle from the main stem, to slow sap flow = reduce vegetative vigour = encourage fruiting capacity. Branches that have relatively wide angles are also stronger and better able to support the weight of the crop. Branches that grow more vertically often break away from the tree under the weight of fruit. Avoid training a branch to be truly horizontal or growing downwards; it should still be growing more or less upwards!! Start in early summer of the first year. Toothpicks or clothespins can be used when branches are small; later, use wooden slats with the ends notched in a "V" to hold them in place. Later on, use the spreader (as simple as a notched stick, but otherwise available in various formswedged in between the branch and the trunk to create a wider angle). An alternative is to hold branches down with a string tied to a clip in the ground. Sharp ends of spreaders can poke into the trunk and branch slightly, but won't hurt the tree. Always go back and remove the spreaders or strings at the end of the growing season. Thinning Some seasons a tree might bear more fruit than it can support if quality fruit are wanted; heavy crops can also result in limb breakage, especially in younger trees. In addition, heavy crops can cause a phenomenon known as biennial bearing in which a heavy crop is followed the next year by little or no crop. Thin the crop within the first month after bloom occurs, when the fruits are still marble-sized. Aim for one fruit per cluster, or for truly optimal fruit quality, about 25cm between fruits on any branch. Leave more fruit on the outer portion of the tree and less in the shaded centre, where it will not get good sunlight.