Submitted to: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux International
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: January 9, 2006
Publication Date: N/A
Technical Abstract: The pear is a tree fruit belonging to the genus Pyrus in the Rosaceae, and is native to temperate Europe and temperate and sub-tropical Asia. The genus Pyrus has been classified, depending on the authority, into 22 to 26 primary species. The major species producing edible fruit are P. communis L. for the European group, and P. pyrifolia (Burm.) Nak., P. ussuriensis Max., P. x bretschneideri Redh., and to a lesser extent, P. pashia D. Don. and P. sinkiangensis Yu for the East Asian group. While the European pear fruit possesses soft, buttery flesh, most of the Asian species are characterized by finely textured, crisp flesh. This book chapter summarizes statistics on world production, use and nutritional composition, taxonomy, reproductive biology, fruit growth and development, horticultural aspects such as propagation, rootstocks, training and pruning, fruit thinning, nutrition, major diseases and pests, postharvest handling, major scion and rootstock cultivars, and breeding efforts.