This is an excerpt from the book called ” The Backyard Orchardist “ by Stella Otto. Continue reading to learn more about Asian Pears- Growing Guide, thanks to the author.
Asian Pears
A whole new category of pears that is becoming very popular in the gourmet market is the Asian pear. It is sometimes also called the pear-apple, salad pear, sand pear or by its Asian name-Nashi. As easy to grow as the domestic types, the Asian pear’s unusual appearance sets it off from the domestic pear. Most varieties are somewhat smaller and fairly round in shape, more apple like. The flesh is firm and crunchy, also more like an apple. The flavor is extremely sweet and juicy. Where the domestic pear has a smooth, buttery texture, Asian pears usually explode with a crisp, juicy sweetness. Stored properly, most varieties easily keep for 4 to 5 months.
Growth Habit
Asian pears have several others characteristics that set them off from domestic pears. They tend to be fairly precocious, beginning to bear when they are often just 2 to 3 years old. Their fruit set is often very heavy, which can lead to large crops of small fruit if not thinned diligently. Due to this heavy cropping, they can easily develop a biennial bearing habit of heavy crop one year, no crop the next. The best cure for this is to remove many of the newly forming fruit shortly after bloom. This is especially important in the early years, until the branch structure is well established. Fruit production may continue for up to 100 years, making strong limbs and wide branch angles key to the longevity of the tree.
Along with the pleasure of their fruit, the Asian pears can also be an attractive addition to the fall landscape. The foliage of many cultivars turns a deep purplish red and can be a wonderful autumn focal point in the yard.
Flowering and Pollination
Most Asian pears require cross pollination. Either another Asian pear or a domestic variety is suitable as a pollen source as long as their bloom periods coincide. Asian pears often bloom earlier than their domestic counterparts. As a result they may suffer frost damage to early blossoms in some areas.
Hand Thinning
Due to their heavy bearing habit, fruit thinning is important; indeed, in some cases a must for Asian pears. Ideally, you should thin fruit when it reaches ¾ to 1 inch in a diameter and after frost danger is past. Fruit should be thinned to one fruit in each cluster, preferably spaced 6 to 8 inches apart. Leave a maximum of fifty fruit on a young (3 to 4 year old) tree, increasing that gradually to about 250 fruit per tree by the age of seven. A large, mature Asian pear tree can bear as much as 400 pounds of fruit in a season or close to 800 pears weighing a half pound each.
Care of Asian Pears
Care of Asian pears is similar to domestic varieties. On the whole, Japanese varieties seem to be as susceptible to fireblight and pear psylla as the domestics. For fireblight resistance, consider planting the Chinese cultivars or Japanese Chinese crosses. Asian pears are also susceptible to pseudomonas blossom blight. This can be a problem where cool, wet weather, as is often found in the Pacific Northwest, is prevalent during bloom. Preventive treatment for both of these major diseases should be considered depending on your local conditions.
As a group, Asian pears are quite vigorous and should be given nutrients (especially nitrogen) and water sparingly to avoid too much lush, succulent growth. Some varieties are prone to iron or magnesium deficiency. Zinc deficiency can be a problem with Asian pears in the western states. Symptoms are similar to those indicated.
Rootstocks
Rootstocks used for Asian pears are either of three Asian pear stocks Phrus betulaefolia, Pyrus calleryana, and Pyrus ussuriensis or those used with the domestic varieties, Pyrus communis. In Mild West Coast climates, where hardiness is not an issue, Pyrus betulaefolia is preferred for its tolerance of wet soils, as well as the vigor and large fruit size that it imparts. In areas where fireblight is a concern, Pyrus calleryana is often used as the preferred rootstock due to its ability to impart greater fire blight resistance. If space is limited, Pyrus communis is used to cause up to 50% dwarfing of Japanese varieties. Very careful management is necessary, though, to avoid small fruit size and over cropping of the dwarf tree. Reports show most Asian pear scion wood to be quite winter hardy, so the rootstock’s hardiness and soil requirements will likely be the limiting factor in selecting a combination for your site.
Varieties
As a group, the Asian pears are usually subdivided into the Japanese varieties and the Chinese varieties. The skin of Japanese pear varieties is usually either russet-free with a green under color that turns yellow with maturity; or russetted with green or yellowish brown skin. So you will often see them classified as either russet-free or russet-skinned varieties. Depending on the variety, the Japanese pears ripen anywhere from late June to mid-October in North America. Most Asian pear varieties available from nurseries in the United States are of the Japanese type.
The Chinese pear varieties tend to have more of the traditional pear shape and most have smooth green skin. Their flavor also tends to be milder than the Japanese strains.
Chinese varieties may be more suited to areas of the South, where the winter is short and mild. Most have a very short chilling requirement to break dormancy. Consequently, they have a tendency to bloom early in the spring. Although the trees are winter hardy, their early bloom could be a problem in northern areas with late freezes. In the South, though, they still bloom after peaches, and usually escape most of the frost.
A few of the more commonly available varieties today include:
Chojuro. An old mainstay since the rise of Asian pear popularity, it is rated as one of the best tasting. Flavor is characterized as butterscotch or rum like. However, its dry texture tends to remove it from the most favored list. Very productive, it requires fruit thinning. Late blooming. Moderately resistant to fireblight, pear scab, and black spot. Bruises easily when ripe.
Hosui. This variety has very large, russet skinned, golden brown fruit with a mild, sweet, and juicy flavor that has rated very highly in taste tests.
Late blooming, Hosui is self fruitful, but will still benefit from cross pollination. It starts bearing fruit fairly young and is susceptible to fireblight, but resistant to scab. Typical storage life is only about four weeks.
Niitaka. A moderately fireblight resistant variety, Niitaka produces fruit that have a relatively short storage life. Its flowers have sterile pollen. Therefore, it is not suitable as a pollinator.
Shinko. A late harvested variety, Shinko has excellent storage life of up to six months. It begins bearing early and with heavy crops that require diligent thinning for well sized fruit. It is the most fireblight resistant of the Asian pears and resists blossom blight relatively well. The tree is fairly small and upright. If you have space for only one Asian pear, Shinko may be the best choice. Flavor is best when grown in a hot climate.
Shinseiki (aka New Century). A crisp textured, sweet, juicy, white fleshed pear, Shinseiki is round and yellow with very little russet. An early ripening variety, normally picked in mid August, the tree is medium sized, spreading, precocious, and productive. To achieve good fruit size, it requires diligent fruit thinning. Fruit stores for about 7 to 8 months. It needs another Asian pear or Bartlett as a pollinator.
Twentieth Century (aka Nijiseiki). The most popular Asian pear variety, it ripens midseason, with harvest in late August and September. The fruit is firm and juicy with a mild, slightly tart flavor. Twentieth Century has uniform sized, but lopsided, round shaped fruit. Fruit stores up to five months. Reports show it to be quite productive and in need of aggressive fruit thinning to obtain adequate fruit size. Its profuse, showy bloom makes it a wonderful landscape accent. It is somewhat susceptible to fireblight.
Ya Li. This is reputed to be the best tasting of the Chinese pears. It does best in warm climate areas. With a chilling requirement of only 300 hours, it blooms early in the spring. Early blooming Tsu Li or Seuri are its best pollinators. It is fireblight tolerant, but slow to start producing fruit.
Daisui Li and Shin Li. Two relatively new introductions from UC Davis. Not yet readily available, but worth keeping an eye on for mild west coast climates.
Harvesting Asian Pears
Harvest timing and care is probably one of the areas where Asian and domestic pears differ the most. Unlike domestic pears, Asian pears should be ripened on the tree. Watch for a gentle color change from green to light brown or green to yellowish green as a signal that the fruit is approaching ripeness. Also, taste test every few days and pick when the flavor is sweet. Since most Asian pear varieties ripen unevenly, you will probably have to selectively harvest ripe fruit over several pickings. Handle fruit very carefully. Asian pears have very tender skin that shows bruises extremely easily. Brown, discolored marks will show up if the fruit has been roughly handled. Bruises also decay more readily. When properly harvested, the fruit can be kept for 2 to 3 weeks at room temperature and up to six months, depending on variety, under refrigeration. If fruit turns “punky” or spongy in storage, it was probably underripe when harvested.
Many Asian pear strains have a skin that is fairly tough to eat. They are often peeled and many are also sliced away from the core to avoid the gritty stone cells found there.
| Quick Reference Asian Pear | |
|---|---|
|
Average years to bearing |
3-5 years |
|
Average yield per tree |
2-4 bushels |
|
Space needed per tree |
10-15 foot circle |
|
Average mature height |
12-15 feet |
|
Pollination requirements |
Needs cross-pollination |
|
Most common pruning system |
Modified central leader |
|
Bears fruit on |
Spurs that are 2-6 years old, with largest fruit on 2-4 year old spurs |
|
Suggested fruit thinning distance |
6-8 inches apart with a single fruit to a cluster |
|
Average useful life |
100 + years |
|
Number of trees for a family of 4 |
2 trees |
