Recommended Pear Varieties: Excellent Cultivars Suitable for Cultivation in Eastern Hebei

Many pear varieties have been introduced successively. Through cultivation trials and demonstrations, we consider the following 8 varieties to be easy to flower, early to fruit and early to bear abundantly, of excellent quality, strongly resistant, easy to manage, and highly profitable, making them suitable for cultivation in the eastern Hebei region. 1. Zaosu Pear was bred in 1956 by the Institute of Pomology of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, with the parents Pingguo Li x Shenbuzhi, named in 1969, and introduced to Qian'an City in 1985. The fruit is obovate with angular protrusions, with an average single fruit weight of 237 g. The ripe fruit has a green-yellow skin, a smooth surface, and white flesh. The flesh is crisp and tender, with few stone cells, juicy, sweet and refreshing, of superior quality. In Qian'an, the fruit ripens in mid-to-late July and does not store well. The tree is vigorous, with an upright habit, a high bud-break rate, and medium-to-high branching ability. It flowers easily, has a strong ability to bear fruit continuously, fruits early, has good cold resistance, resists pear scab, and has wide adaptability. 2. Huangguan Pear was bred in 1977 by the Shijiazhuang Institute of Pomology, with the parents Xuehua Li x Xin Shiji, passed appraisal in 1996, and was introduced to Qian'an City in 1998. The fruit is elliptical, with an average single fruit weight of 230 g, and a maximum of 352 g. When ripe, the skin is yellow, the surface is smooth and clean, the fruit dots are small, there is no russet, and the sepals have fallen off. The fruit stalk is slender, the core is small, the flesh is pure white, fine and delicate, with few stone cells and little residue, crisp and juicy, sweet and sour and palatable, with a rich aroma, of superior quality, with soluble solids of 11.2%. In Qian'an, the fruit ripens from late July to early August and does not store well. The tree is robust with an upright habit. Young trees grow vigorously, with a high bud-break rate and medium branching ability, bearing mainly on short fruit spurs, and the secondary shoots on the fruit spur have a strong ability to bear continuously. Young trees show fruiting on axillary flower buds, fruit early, and are easy to bring to high yield, and resist pear scab. Pollinator variety: Xuehua Li. 3. Nanshui Pear was bred by the Nagano Prefectural Agricultural Experiment Station in Japan, with the parents Echigo x Shinsui, and was introduced to Qian'an City in 2001. The fruit is oblate, a few are round and well formed, with an average single fruit weight of 355 g, and a maximum of 485 g. The ripe fruit has a brown skin; bagged fruit has a clean, smooth, bright and attractive surface. The flesh is white, fine and delicate, juicy, sweet with a slight acidity and good mouthfeel, with soluble solids of 14.6%, of superior quality. In Qian'an, the fruit ripens from the end of August to early September, stores for 15 d at room temperature, and can be stored at 0-5℃ until the end of April the following year. The tree is somewhat vigorous, with relatively thick, upright branches, well-developed medium and short branches, bearing mainly on short fruit spurs, with few axillary flower buds, flowering easily, fruiting early, self-fruitful, with a high fruit-setting rate, a strong ability to bear continuously, no alternate bearing, strong adaptability, cold resistance, and resistance to pear scab and ring rot. Pollinator varieties: Fengshui, Yuanhuang. 4. Yuanhuang Pear was bred by the Korean Horticultural Research Institute, with the parents Zaoshengchi x Wansanji, and was introduced to Qian'an City in 1999. The fruit is oblate, with an average single fruit weight of 538 g, and a maximum of 921 g. The calyx falls off completely; the ripe fruit has a yellow-brown skin, a smooth and even surface, small and sparse fruit dots, and a beautiful appearance. The flesh is white, with very few stone cells, fine, crisp and juicy, with a sugar content above 15%, aromatic, good mouthfeel, of superior quality. In Qian'an, the fruit ripens in early September, stores for 30 d at room temperature, and can be stored at low temperature until March the following year. The tree is robust, with thick branches and a spreading habit, flowers easily, has abundant pollen, fruits early, has a high fruit-setting rate, a strong ability to bear continuously, mild alternate bearing, high and stable yield, strong adaptability, and is easy to manage. Pollinator varieties: Fengshui, Xin Shiji. 5. Fengshui Pear was bred in Japan and was gifted by Japanese fruit tree expert Mr. Hiroshi Imagawa when he came to Qian'an to give a lecture in 1999. The fruit is round to short elliptical, with an average single fruit weight of 300 g, and a maximum of 750 g. The skin is yellow-brown, slightly red when fully ripe, thin, with large and numerous fruit dots; the sepals have fallen off, the fruit stalk is thick and short, the flesh is snow-white and semi-transparent, fine, delicate and crisp, with almost no stone cells, juicy, richly sweet, aromatic, with a small core, and soluble solids of 13.5%-16.2%, of superior quality. In Qian'an, the fruit ripens in early September. The tree is robust with a semi-spreading habit. Young trees grow vigorously, with a high bud-break rate and medium-to-high branching ability; young trees bear mainly on short fruit spurs and axillary flower buds, while trees in full fruit stage bear mainly on short fruit spurs; the fruit spur has a strong ability to bear continuously, fruits early, and has a high self-fruit-setting rate; as the tree ages, the fruit-setting rate declines year by year, so pollinator trees must be provided. Young trees have strong disease resistance and are basically not infected, while disease resistance declines in the full fruit stage. Pollinator varieties: Shuijing, Xingao. 6. Huangjin Pear was bred in Korea in 1994, with the parents Xingao x Ershishiji, and was introduced to Qian'an City in 2001. The fruit is round or oblate, with an average single fruit weight of 420 g. The surface is smooth and clean; bagged fruit has a golden-yellow skin when ripe, a small core, white and fine flesh, sweet and juicy, fine, delicate and tender-crisp, with a fresh aroma, no stone cells, good palatability, of the highest quality, with soluble solids of 14.6%. In Qian'an, it ripens in mid-to-late September, stores for 30-40 d at room temperature, and can be stored for 6 months at 0-5℃. The tree is robust with a semi-spreading habit, a high bud-break rate, and medium branching ability, bearing mainly on short fruit spurs and axillary flower buds, with a compact canopy, fruiting early, and resistance to pear scab and pear black spot; it has few pollen grains and weak self-fruit-setting ability. Pollinator trees must be provided, preferably the varieties Fengshui, Xingshui, and Xingao. 7. Mantianhong Pear is a red pear variety bred by the Zhengzhou Institute of Pomology, with the parents Xingshui x Yunnan Huoba, and was introduced to Qian'an City in 2000. The fruit is round or oblate, with an average single fruit weight of 400-630 g, and a maximum of 710 g. The ripe fruit has a deep red skin, a smooth and even surface, and a beautiful appearance. The flesh is pale white, with no stone cells, fine and juicy, with soluble solids of 12.4%, sweet and sour and palatable, good mouthfeel, of superior quality. In Qian'an, it ripens in mid-to-late September and stores well. The tree is robust, grows vigorously, with thick branches and a compact canopy, a high bud-break rate, and medium branching ability, flowers easily; young trees show fruiting on axillary flower buds, fruit early, have a strong ability to bear continuously, mild alternate bearing, high and stable yield, strong adaptability, resistance to pear scab and ring rot, tolerance of poor soil, and are easy to manage. Pollinator trees must be provided, preferably the varieties Fengshui, Xingshui, and Huangjin. 8. Shuijing Pear is a new variety bred in Korea from a bud sport of Xingao Pear, and was introduced to Qian'an City in 2001. The fruit is round or oblate, with an average single fruit weight of 480 g, and a maximum of 850 g. The fruit is dark green early on; bagged fruit has a creamy-yellow skin when ripe, with a crystal-clear, bright and delicate surface, a sense of translucence, and a beautiful appearance. The flesh is white, fine and delicate, dense, tender and crisp, with no stone cells, sweet and fragrant and juicy, with a strong aroma, good palatability, soluble solids of 14.5%, of superior quality. In Qian'an, it ripens in late September, can be stored at room temperature until the Spring Festival, and can be stored at low temperature until April the following year.

The tree is robust with a semi-spreading habit. Young trees grow vigorously, with a high bud-break rate and medium branching ability, bearing mainly on short fruit spurs, and fruiting early. It has strong adaptability, resistance to cold, drought, and poor soil, and resistance to pear scab and ring rot; the fruit does not drop before harvest, and the yield is high.