One of the common questions in the pear industry is 'What pear should I plant?'. There is no simple answer to this question as  each individual fruitgrower will have different requirements and expectations of a variety.  

It is crucial that when looking to choose a variety, growers have an understanding of the  commecialisation and management requirements of that variety and have researched the market.  

It is also important to remain up to date with information about local and global variety trends.

Australian Pear Varieties

World Pear Varieties

New Varieties

Further Information

Australian Pear Varieties

The major European pear cultivars produced in Australia are

• ‘William’s Bon Chrétien’ (‘Williams’ otherwise known as ‘Bartlett’ and ‘Duchess’) (approx 47%) mainly for processing
• ‘Packhams Triumph’ (‘Packhams’) (approx 39%) for fresh market.

                                                                             'Packhams'                                        'Williams'

 Other important cultivars include ‘Buerré Bosc’ ('Bosc'), ‘Josephine’ and ‘Corella’ for fresh market. This variety mix has remained reasonably static over the past 6 years.

Nashi (Asian pears) have been produced commercially since the early 1980’s mainly for the freshmarket. Nijisseiki is the major variety. 

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World Pear Varieties

Globally, pear production has been dominated by a few mainly traditional cultivars. The following is a brief summary of pear variety trends from othe rmajor pear producing countries.

Europe:

• ‘Conference’ dominates with approximately 30% of production and is the major variety in Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands
• ‘Abate Fetel’ and ‘Williams’ have gained some market share each with approximately 10-12% production.
• The ‘Rocha’ pear is the next most produced pear in Europe and it is mainly produced in Portugal.
• There are a number of other varieties produced commercially such as ‘Comice’, ‘Blanquilla’, ‘Jules Guyot’ and ‘Passa Crassana’ but these hold a much smaller market share when compared with the above four top varieties.

North America:

• ‘Williams’ (known as ‘Bartlett’) is the major variety and is approximately half of the pear production.
• ‘d’ Anjou’ (or also known as ‘Anjou’) ‘Bosc’ and ‘Comice’ are other important varieties.

South America:

• In Argentina ‘Williams’ is the most widely planted pear followed by ‘Packhams’ and ‘d’ Anjou’. ‘Abate Fetel’ is now the fourth major variety.
• Chile’s main variety is ‘Packhams’ followed by ‘Bosc’.

Asia:

• Pear production has increased in the Asian region mainly through the expansion of China’s industry.
• Asian pears dominate the variety mix in the region.

South Africa:

• ‘Packhams’ are the dominant variety in South Africa followed by ‘Williams’ and ‘Forelle’.

New Zealand:

• ‘Comice’ (either the original cultivar or russeted sport 'Taylors Gold') dominates production in New Zealand. 
• ‘Bosc’ is the second most important variety. 

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New Varieties

 To date there have been very few new varieties developed that have achieved the level of commercial importance comparable to the traditional varieties mentioned above.

There are numerous pear breeding programs that exist around the world. Generally the objectives of these programs are to develop pears with

• good eating quality and appearance
• a range of harvest dates
• improved handling and storage life,
• adaptation to certain growing conditions (eg. warm climates) 
• resistance to pests and diseases such as fireblight (Erwinia amylovora)

At present the two most relevant for the Australian industry are the Australian National Breeding Program (jointly funded by the Victorian Department of Primary Industries, Apple and Pear Australia Limited and Horticulture Australia Limited) and the HortResearch breeding program in New Zealand.

Australian National Breeding Program 

The Australian industry has invested in the Australian National Pear Breeding Program since the early 1990’s. So far over 200 new hybrids identified from the seedling population have been evaluated.

Many of the selections have produced fruit with an attractive appearance, pleasant eating quality and good storage qualities. Some selections have also shown resistance to scab and possess a range of maturity. New pear varieties are expected to be released within the next decade from the program.

For more information about the Australian National Pear Breeding Program please contact the Victorian Department of Primary Industries at Tatura

HortResearch Breeding Program

Pear breeding at HortResearch (in New Zealand) is focussed on producing novel pear products for the consumer.

For more information about HorResearch pear breeding visit the HortResearch site.

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Further Information

 These Australian and international sites may be useful for growers. However they are intended as an information source only. Any specific chemical or other control recommendations may be outdated or irrelevant for Australian conditions and growers should seek local advice.

Please note: By electing to visit sites linking from this page you will be leaving the intensivepear.com website.

Australian Resources

Variety Information

• European Pear Varieties - NSW Department of Primary Industires AgFact (external link).

Evaluation of varieties in Australia

• Australian Pome Fruit Improvement Program (APFIP) - has variety evaluation data for Australian conditions as well as useful publications about variety selection (external link).   

International Resources  

Global Pear trends 

• Belrose Inc - provides information about the current world pear situation and country trends in the 'World Pear Review' (external link) 

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