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Fruit & Orchards

asian pears what is going on?

13 years ago

I have 3 asian pears. I believe they are all different varieties but not sure which ones as I didn't plant them, they came with my house. :)

Last year I had a HUGE harvest and was giving bags of fruit away. This year due to multiple problems I think I will not get much out of them.

Problem 1. Fire blight. Last year one tree had it. We pruned it off as needed. Still had a good harvest. This year the adjacent tree had it but we caught it early and pruned it out. The pruning has caused some funny looking structure though.

Problem 2. Squirrels. Last year and years previous we had a large troop of alley cats patroling the neighborhood and though there were squirrels, not that much theft/damage. This year the cats have been rounded up and the squirrels are hitting the trees hard. Everyday I go out and there are 20-30 fruits on the ground, partially eaten, rotting... It's nasty. Thought about netting them (the trees, not the squirrels) but they are too tall and growing through some electical lines. They also grow along a fence in a small backyard. Can they be pruned from the top?

Problem 3. What is left doesn't look that great. I don't know if it is the extra hot and stormy summer we are having or what... Some fruit seems to be rotting while small and still on the trees. Other fruits look okay. Here's a pic.

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Any thoughts about what I should do? These trees are a mess. Any way to make them more manageable?

Thanks!

Laura

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Comments (7)

denninmi
13 years ago
When Asian pears rot like that, generally it's because something damaged the tissue, then disease organisms can attack. Coddling moths can do this as they burrow into the fruit. Birds can peck them and start it as well. Something to check on and see if that's the start of the problem.

As far as squirrels go, live trapping has worked best for me.
jean001
13 years ago
My suggestion is that they should have been picked earlier.
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lolear
Original Author
13 years ago
denninmi - I could be codling moths...I have a variety of moths in the garden, not sure if these are among them but it seems likely.

jean - Previous years we have not had ripe fruit until September. Could be the heat has accelerated things? Mostly the fruits seem small still, though. I will see if there is anything left worth picking and maybe get rid of the rest...
lucky_p
13 years ago
I'm seeing the same sort of deal with Chojuro this year - the only mature Asian in my plantings that set a full crop. I think the heat and drought(I don't water established trees) is probably the culprit. Everything here is ripening at least two weeks earlier than usual, and a significant number of Chojuro fruits have portions of the peel that are turning black - flesh underneath is initially normal, but if you let them go another couple of days, you can begin to see darkening of the flesh. Minimal codling moth damage, though I have eaten or sliced a few for drying that do show some CM.
lolear
Original Author
13 years ago
lucky - Are you harvesting what you can now, not waiting for fruits to get larger? Is it okay to eat fruit with CM damage? Just cut around them? What do you do to control CM? I read a few articles and organic controls seem like a huge hassle, maybe not even possible for me, given the height of the trees...
Thanks,
Laura
lucky_p
13 years ago
Yep. Ripe fruits are dropping faster than I can eat 'em all - and I've not even gotten to the point of trying to pick the ones that are ready - lift up, and if the stem abscises from the limb, they're ripe.
Sure, it's OK to eat fruit with CM damage. It wouldn't hurt you even if you ate the CM larvae - and I do, from time to time.
I don't spray anything - just don't have the time or inclination. Rarely get anything but perfect pears. The apples and stonefruits get quite a bit of insect damage, but I've got more apples than my family(which is constantly getting smaller as the kids move off to college) will eat, so I don't care if I have to discard a significant portion - I usually pick up the 'drops' and disfigured fruits and feed 'em to the cows as a treat.
lolear
Original Author
13 years ago
Great! I better get busy making some pies, then!

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