Pear UP Ontario

This summer, a 1-year CanAdvance funded pear storage project was initiated to extend the Bartlett pear season by using SmartFresh (1-MCP) to treat the pears to extend the storage life. A second part of the project was to investigate harvest dates and storage times of three relatively new pears; Harrow Crisp™, Harovin Sundown™ and the Harrow selection HW620.

Three important questions need to be answered for these new cultivars;

• When should they be harvested based on pressure and sugar levels
  
• How long can we store the pears for under typical cold storage conditions
  
• Is SmartFresh an effective tool to extend the storage life of these new pears

Cultivars used:

Bartlett, Bosc, Harrow Crisp™, Harovin Sundown™ and the Harrow selection HW620.

Harvest Dates:

Three ripening stages; early, mid and late based on pressure testing and sugar levels.

SmartFresh Treatment:

Half of all the pears were treated with SmartFresh to extend storage life. Both the treated and untreated pears are now stored at 0º C for three different storage times of 30, 60 and 90 days.

Initial testing on Bartlett pears in storage for 30 days are showing quality benefits from the SmartFresh treatments. The quality assessments that are being assessed after storage include external defects, internal breakdown, firmness and flavour. Stay tuned for results in future newsletters and at the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Convention (OFVC) in 2009.

Summary

I recently attended a "Pear Launch" media event sponsored by Foodland Ontario, Savour Ontario and the Pick Ontario Freshness Program. There was a buzz in the room within the media and food writers, all expressing interest in the new pears developed in Ontario for consumers. Harvest dates and storage times need to be further "fine-tuned" for these new cultivars. There is a bright future in pear production as consumers are now looking for local flavors, local foods and new exciting cultivars.

Harovin Sundown

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