Where do Akizuki pears come from? An overview of the main producing regions

The flesh of the Akizuki pear is snow-white and translucent, like mutton fat, extremely full of moisture, and it tastes very smooth. So where do Akizuki pears come from?

1. Where do Akizuki pears come from?

The Akizuki pear originates from Japan, and is a hybrid pear variety introduced from Japan. It is mainly grown in the greatest quantities in northern China and the Jiaodong region.

2. Characteristics of the Akizuki pear

The Akizuki pear is oblate, generally grown in bags, and turns yellow-skinned when ripe, with the surface covered in spots, but its taste far surpasses other pears. The flesh of the Akizuki pear is snow-white and translucent, like mutton fat, and its sweetness can reach 16 degrees Brix (a usually sweet watermelon is 11 to 12 degrees Brix). The Akizuki pear has an extremely high water content, reaching over 80 percent, and one bite sends juice flowing everywhere; you can even squeeze the most natural pear juice out of it directly with your hands. Ordinary pears generally have a grainy, sandy texture when eaten, but the Akizuki pear is very smooth.

3. Cultivation techniques for the Akizuki pear

1. Scientific orchard establishment

Choose a plot with irrigation water available and fertile soil to establish the orchard. When establishing the orchard, large and strong seedlings should be selected. When planting, decide whether to dig planting holes according to the soil conditions. On hilly and mountainous land, planting holes need to be dug, and gravel should be cleared out, with foreign soil brought in and backfilled. On flatland sandy loam, there is no need to dig planting holes.

2. Planting density

On fertile flatland, a spacing of 1m×4m or 2m×4m between plants and rows is generally used in the early stage, and later (after 8-9 years) changed to 2m×4m or 4m×4m; on hilly and mountainous land, 0.75m×4m or 1m×3m is suitable in the early stage, and later changed to 1.5m×4m or 2m×3m. For pollinator varieties, cultivars with relatively high economic value such as Nanshui and Xishui can be chosen, and the ratio of pollinator trees is 7-8:1.

3. Flower and fruit management

The key technique is, in order to save nutrients and increase fruit size, to thin out entire inflorescences at a certain spacing during the inflorescence separation stage of the Akizuki pear (generally early April in the Jiaodong region). In actual production, in order to improve work efficiency, one inflorescence is generally kept at a spacing of about 25cm, and all the rest are thinned out. Using mixed pollen for artificial pollination can noticeably increase fruit size. Pollination begins when 25% of the pear flowers have opened, and the effect is better after 9 a.m. in clear weather with a light breeze or no wind. Choose the 1st-2nd side flowers at the base of the inflorescence for pollination. When hand-thinning fruits, first thin out those damaged by pests and diseases, poorly fertilized, misshapen, leaf-rubbed fruits, upward-facing fruits, and downward-hanging fruits. Fruits that stand upright and point upward, the “upward-facing fruits”, although they grow well in the young fruit stage, are likely to cause the fruit diameter to bend during the fruit expansion stage, making the fruit shape irregular. Therefore, young fruits that grow horizontally on both sides of the fruiting branch group should be kept. Young fruits that grow downward in the early stage, the “downward-hanging fruits”, should also be kept as little as possible. According to our observations, when the fruit's calyx points downward, the fruit is noticeably smaller. Bagging begins on the 45th d after petal fall. Double-layer bags that are gray on the outside and black on the inside are best, generally with a specification of 165mm×198mm. Before bagging, the opening should be wetted, and the bag opening should be tied tightly to prevent pests such as pear psylla, Koch's mealybug, and yellow mealworm from entering the bag and causing damage.

4. Fertilizer and water management

The Akizuki pear belongs to the sand pear group and has relatively strict requirements for fertilizer and water, preferring heavy fertilizer and heavy watering. The principle of fertilization should be organic fertilizer as the main component and chemical fertilizer as a supplement. Under normal circumstances, for 4-6 year old trees, before the soil freezes, apply 150-200kg of granular organic fertilizer with an organic matter content of over 30% per mu, and add 100-150kg of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium compound fertilizer. In order to improve fruit quality and prevent physiological diseases, apply 150g of borax per tree to the soil (do not apply it every year; it should be applied every other year), 200g of calcium nitrate, 1-1.5kg of crushed peanut shells (or rice husks), 0.5-1.0L of EM bacterial fermentation liquid at 100 times dilution, 0.25-0.3 kg of peat soil, and 8-10g of magnesium sulfate (to improve the fruit's surface gloss), stir thoroughly, and apply. Shallow fertilization is recommended, generally 10-20cm below the soil surface. Topdressing should be done in early August, that is, in the late fruit growth stage, mainly with quick-acting nitrogen fertilizer. Foliar fertilizer spraying should generally be carried out 4-5 times a year.

5. Training and pruning

Suitable tree shapes are the small-crown sparse-layer shape and the Japanese-Korean trellis shape. When training, do not be too rigid; follow the principle of adapting to the tree and shaping according to the branches. The central leader extension branch should be headed back somewhat heavily, generally cut to a length of 50-60 cm, to prevent the upper part from becoming too vigorous. Because Akizuki pear branches are upright and relatively hard, attention should be paid to bending and opening the branch angles early during the young tree stage (July-August). Pruning of young trees is mainly light pruning and long release; especially the main branch extension branches should be lightly pruned, generally cut to a length of 70~80cm. The Akizuki pear mainly fruits on short fruiting branches. Therefore, the cultivation of fruiting branch groups should adopt the method of first cutting and then shortening, that is, first lightly heading back the medium and long branches, and after flower buds form at the rear part, cut back to a place with branches. Small developing short branches should not be easily headed back, so as to avoid excessive pruning. Developing branches in the inner canopy that are not kept as main branches should be left unpruned to cultivate auxiliary branches and bear fruit as early as possible. After entering the fruiting stage, according to the specific situation, overly developed auxiliary branches should be promptly cut back so as not to damage the tree structure. Because branches on the back grow too vigorously, they are generally handled by thinning out. During summer pruning, appropriately thin out back branches, water sprouts, and competing branches to maintain the growth advantage of the main branch extension branches.

6. Disease control

In late March before bud break, spray with 4-5 degrees Baumé lime sulfur mixture in a rain-like spray; in early April during the inflorescence separation stage, spray with 2.0% abamectin emulsifiable concentrate at 4000-6000 times + 70% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder at 1000 times + 10% imidacloprid wettable powder at 1500 times. Ten days after flowering, spray with 70% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder at 1500 times + 10% imidacloprid wettable powder at 2000 times.

Although the Akizuki pear tastes sweet, it does not store well, so it must be eaten or sold as early as possible.