Re: Nashi Pear
I'm in Davis, CA, just outside of Sacramento. I have a 'Twentieth Century'
in my garden. It is self-fruitful and an extremely heavy bearer and needs
heavy thining each year. This variety is very early and is yellow (sl.
speckled). The fruit ripens over just a couple weeks. It is so delicious
that I have never had trouble giving it away.
Unfortunately, the codling moth problem has gotten so bad that this year,
75-80% of the fruit had larva and had to be put in the trash. Since I
refuse to spray and the non-spray methods of control have simply not been
sufficient, I have been thinking of having the tree removed. However, one
of my friends who grows several European pear varieties told me that in
her orchard she had a couple varieties that had also been very heavily
attacked by codling moth this year. So, I'm torn as I do like the fruit
very much. I may leave the tree for another year and hope that this year
was just worse than usual.
Dana Drennan
Davis, California
USDA Zone 9, Sunset Zone 14
>
> In a message dated 9/27/99 5:36:39 AM EST, tnottle@picknowl.com.au writes:
>
> << They may well have other names o/seas
> but I am unaware of what these may be. Info. anyone? >>
>
> Trevor:
>
> I haven't finished reading my e-mail, so my apologies if someone else has
> already responded. Apparently your "Nashi" pears are what we call Asian
> pears here in the States, and are descendants of two Asian species: Pyrus
> pyrifolia and P. ussuriensis. There are quite a few named cultivars that
> vary in skin and flesh color, flavor, texture, shape, keeping qualities, etc.
> Some of the most popular varieties here in California are known as
> 'Nijisseiki' ('Twentieth Century'), 'Chojuro', and 'Shinseiki'. I used to
> grow a couple of these, and they produced well, but I found them martyrs to
> codling moths, powdery mildew, and aphids, so I pulled them out. In their
> place I now grow an 'Elephant Heart' plum, and a 'Flavor Supreme' pluot or
> "plumcot," a bigeneric hybrid that is 3/4 plum and 1/4 apricot that fully
> lives up to its name. I love the Elephant Heart because it is so late.
> Although the fruit develops early, it takes forever to ripen, it doesn't all
> ripen at once, and it usually spreads itself out over the month of September
> - a time when fruit is most welcome in the garden.
>
> Kurt Mize
> Stockton, California
> USDA Zone 9
>
============================================================================
Dana Drennan | Email: dldrennan@ucdavis.edu
