CULTIVAR TESTING OF PEARS IN BELGIUM

In Belgium, ‘Conference’ remains the main pear cultivar with almost 90% of the production. One main cultivar has as a disadvantage that a low yield (spring frost, off-years, etc.) or low prices have a much larger impact on the earnings of the fruit grower and on market position than when the risk is spread over more cultivars. For this reason every year the “Proeftuin pit- en steenfruit” in Sint-Truiden (Belgium) observes several new pear cultivars, which come from all over the world and which can be grown in addition to ‘Conference’. Cultivar testing is one of the most important research topics for pears in the “Proeftuin pit- en steenfruit”. Every year several new pear cultivars are planted in the first screening. From each cultivar we plant 10 trees on Quince C or Adams (if possible with an interstem of ‘Beurré Hardy’ or ‘Doyenné du Comice’). As reference we always plant ‘Conference’. For the observations we use a Descriptor list based on the IBPGR Discriptor list. A report is annually sent to the breeders/licensors. We are looking for a pear that is productive and delicious and that has good fruit size, good appearance, good storability and good shelf life. The new cultivar must also be optimal to grow in our climate and it must preferably be less susceptible to pests and diseases (e.g., fire blight). It is also very important that fruit set enhancement is possible through spraying with gibberellins. Possible candidates are ‘Corina^®’, ‘Sweet Sensation’ and ‘P6R31A18’. ‘Corina^®’ is an early clone of ‘Conference’, ‘Sweet Sensation’ is a red clone of ‘Doyenné du Comice’ and ‘P6R31A18’ is a cross between ‘Conference’ × ‘Doyenné d’Hiver’ that looks very promising in our trials.