North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Steve <sdw12986@aol.com>]

William C. Garthright wrote:
> .................................
> .........  Now, the New Century (or Shinseiki) pears are falling off
> the tree, just riddled with worms. There's often no sign of damage on 
> the outside, but the whole inside is rotten............. (Note that I
> haven't actually SEEN a worm in the pears, but the whole center of them 
> is filled with frass.)

Sounds like coddling moth. The larvae eat out the center in and around 
the core then exit out the bottom barely leaving a mark. The "worm" may 
be gone before you can tell that anything happened.
I get a few of them in my Nova pears sometimes. Those pears turn yellow 
and ripen earlier than normal. They are still edible (I cut them up 
before eating) but they don't have the best flavor compared to the 
others that ripen normally.
If some of your pears are still on the trees, they may be worm free.

Steve in the Adirondacks