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  • From: Bernie Nikolai <bnikolai@shaw.ca>
  • To: nafex@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [NAFEX] New Ultra Hardy Russian Pears
  • Date: Fri, 10 Oct 2003 23:08:48 -0600 (MDT)


>A friend in south western Siberia, near Barnul told me about very new
Russian pears that have been just released after a very long (several
decades in some cases) breeding cycle. Apparently pears are very much more
difficult to breed if you want excellent quality and excellent hardiness
than apples. Pyrus Ussuriensus, the Siberian Pear which is hardy to -50F
and colder, was always used in the crosses. There were many F1, F2, F3
crosses to get the quality of a european pear but the hardiness of the
siberian pear. The pears are at the "Lisavenko Horticultural Research
Intstitute For Siberia" in Barnul, which is in south west Siberia, and also
at the arboretum at the University of Chelyabinsk, in Chelyabinsk, Siberia.
They were all developed in Siberia, and all apparently take at least -40F
and then some without damage. The newly released pears are so new, that
apparently many people in Russia are not even aware of them.
>
>These pears, according to the descriptions, are impressive to say the
least. A golden delicious apple, which does grow in southern Russia, is
rated 4.5 out of 5 in their taste tests. These new pears are 4.5 to 4.9 out
of 5 in terms of taste, ie fully commercial quality. There are about 20 of
these pears just released. A few of the names, and comments, translated
from the Russian:
>
>Krazulya (Beauty), tastiest of the early pears, ripe mid to late August,
4.7 out of 5 taste rating. A summer pear with excellent sweet taste with a
hint of spice.
>Kraznobokaya (Red Skinned)- easily handles -45C (thats about -50F!), tart
when ripe in late September, but stores very well, and becomes a 4.9 out of
5 taste in storage. Large, to 200 grams (a supermarket apple is about 130
grams)
>Decabrinka (of December) large, to 180 grams, ripe late September, stores
to the new year, 4.7 out of 5 rating.

These are just 3 of the 20 or so. Others have names (translated into
English) Late, Hanging, Sweetie Pie, Taiga Forest, Rich, Northern Girl,
Fairy, Secular, Oval, Rainbow, Lel, Perun, Swarog, Kupava (names of early
pagan Russian deities) and a few others I can't recall.
>Because of the siberian pear used in their ancestory, siberian pear is
supposed to make an excellent and ultra hardy rootstock for these new
varieties.
>
>I personally have contacted the Agriculture Canada stations at Morden,
Manitoba and Kentville, Nova Scotia so they can import these pears to Canada
for testing. Unfortunately, Russia is in near chaos now, and their faxes
and letters remain unanswered. Perhaps some of the US folk on this list,
especially those in the colder areas with an interest in pears, might be
interested in contacting the US authorities to import these trees for
testing to a US government facility for spring of 2004? I have no further
info on phone numbers or addresses other than the info above, so they will
have to do some digging for contacts, phone numbers, addresses, etc. on
their own. It would help if the people calling spoke Russian as well. I
would suggest a phone call by a US government agriculture official who
speaks Russian, as mail and faxes are not being answered, according to the
Agriculture Canada people up here. Good luck on it all. This might be a
worthy project for someone in the US interested in these pears, to get the
trees over to a US government agriculture test facility for testing in
spring of 2004. Our Canadian officials seem stymied, or perhaps a bit too
placid to follow things through more tenaciously, but perhaps "good old
Yankee ingenuity" can get these trees over to North America for testing.
>Bernie Nikolai
>Edmonton, Alberta
>





  • [NAFEX] New Ultra Hardy Russian Pears, Bernie Nikolai, 10/11/2003

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