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Fruit & Orchards

Why are my Asian pears cracking?

8 years ago

I have a 'Shinko' Asian pear tree on Betulifolia rootstock. Last year I lost all the pears to cracking. this year, just a few have cracked, but I'm worried the rest will follow. The pears look fine otherwise. I have a Seckel European pear that gets scab, which makes the fruit crack, but those fruit are covered with the fungus. I don't see any such thing on the Asian pears. Rain has been good this year, so I don't think it's related to drought stress. Any ideas?

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Comments (5)

fruitnut Z7 4500ft SW TX
8 years ago
Yes they crack because they swell up with too much water. I've taken out a couple varieties that were especially prone to split. Other than that you could try to keep an even water level. But here it's just a big rain and they can split.
alan haigh
8 years ago
FN is correct and if you are getting the rain I'm getting it's been a lot, although I've not seen any cracking on the varieties of A. pears I'm managing. I suspect the smooth and thin skinned 20th century would be susceptible, but you may also be getting longer wet periods than we are. Or your tree might not be in full sun, which makes cracking worse.

Graft a couple other varieties on the tree and enjoy a wider span of harvest, more variety and maybe less susceptibility to cracking. I suggest Korean Giant for your area.
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Interesting that I am having more damage on Asian pears this year as well. I've also noticed a lot more stink bugs than usual. Oddly enough I haven't seen european hornets this year, though. In addition, not many fruits set on my more mature trees after a good crop last year. One good variety for me not mentioned here is chojuro(AKA the "rum" pear)--relatively small (especially so this year), but highly flavored and less juicy even than KG. It's beginning to ripen now. I wouldn't give up on shinseiki. It has been a flavorful pear and significantly larger than its parent 20th century for me anyway. It's also been much less prone to cracking than 20th century. I also like KG. Its lateness, large size, and storage capacity are important assets. Hosui tends to be very juicy and seems to please a lot of people. I've only had two seasons of shinko (and just a few at that), but it hasn't impressed me much. It's been rather bland for me and prone to cracking. The variety's main selling point seems to be its purported fireblight resistance. All these observations are in my area of course and these varieties could perform quite differently for you.
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It's been hot (90s) but not for extended periods. However it is really hot right now. Unfortunately I haven't been paying a lot of attention to that part of our yard. Everything looked good from a distance. I water out there only when it gets really hot as most everything out there is established. I just checked the tree, the area around the drip line is slightly moist to very dry. Obviously it hasn't been getting enough water, I think you are right about the water stress. I am now trying a deep soak all the way around it. I hope it's not too late to save it, it looks pretty bad. Thanks
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Tony
8 years ago
Alex

We get lots of rain here every spring and my 20th Century Asian pear cracked every year. I top worked it into another Tennosui. Tennosui is 3 times better tasting than the 20th Century and doesn't turn brown after cutting open.

Tony
alexander3_gw
Original Author
8 years ago
Thanks for the input!

I'm curious why less than full sun makes cracking worse?

I have started grafting other varieties onto the tree.
alan haigh
8 years ago
the longer the water sits on the skin the more is absorbed into the fruit

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