North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

["Donna &/or Kieran" <holycow@cookeville.com>]

Like so many before me, I have discovered that pears are a lot easier to grow than most tree fruits.  The trick is to find quality varieties that will succeed in Fire Blight territory.  I have discovered that Tennessee had a pear breeding program that was releasing blight resistant pears through the 30's, 40's and especially 1954.  I contacted the pear curator Corvallis asking about the quality of these pears.  I am well aware from personal experience that very little info tends to be recorded on cultivars in collections apart from the few commerical varieties.  I asked for his impressions, if he had any, or if the staff would dismiss them with contemptous snorts.  I don't think he'll mind me reproducing his answer for you all: 

 

Hi Donna,

    As you've noted, there was a lot of breeding work on pears done in Tennessee in the middle of the last century.  I'm not sure why some of those varieties did not attract much interest. Maybe because a goal of some breeding programs may have been to develop a cultivar that tasted like a 'Bartlett' or 'Seckel' but was adapted to regions where Bartlett or Seckel would not grow - and the Tennessee varieties were not very Bartlett-like. 

 

   I will only give you one contemptuous snort, and that is for 'Hoskins'.  In our collection, 'Hoskins' is hard and astringent and reminds me of a perry pear.  However I have been very impressed with both Dabney and Carrick, which have good disease resistance and develop very nice fruit quality on the tree.  Their texture is intermediate between a European pear and an Asian pear, but much improved over something like 'Kieffer' or 'Garber'.  In fruit tastings by local high school students, Dabney has always gotten very high marks.

 

  We have Mericourt and Mooers in our collection, but I don't recall what their fruit is like. The newer varieties from the USDA breeding program in West Virginia are also very good.  I hear that Blakes Pride has been highly rated by taste panels at Oregon State.

- Joseph 

 

 

So, in light of what sounds like high praise to me, I'd be curious as to how many of you have encountered the Tennessee introductions. Those introductions included Orient, Morgan, Ayers, Carrick, and these 4: 

Dabney   Seckel x Garber

Mooers   Duchesse D'Angouleme x Late Faulkner

Mericourt Seckel X Late Faulkner

Hoskins.  Seckel X Late Faulkner  "first winter pear suitable for the Southern States" 

 

Orient and Ayers seem to be widely grown and available.  Carrick was listed in my old Rodale book, but I don't think I have ever heard of it anywhere else.  The others I know nothing about.  Chris Inhulsen says Dabney is quite good.  I'm also wondering if any of you have encountered Duchess, which seems by all accounts to be fairly blight resistant.    Thanks.    Donna