North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Alan Haigh <alandhaigh@gmail.com>]

I addressed this to Lucky but should have been Jim Fruth instead.  He's the
one who asked question about a barren Ure that after 20 years finally bore
a crop without a pollinator.  My point here is that it may have had
something to do with spring weather.


Lucky, I don't know if this is the answer to your question, but pears are
often capable of bearing carpenocarphic (without seeds) fruit if temps
during bloom are quite warm according to Childers in "Modern Fruit
Science".  He only lists three pears capable of doing this, including
Bartlett and Comice,  but I believe most can from all the times I've read
about this happening to growers in southern regions with many varieties.
But I'm not a fruit scientist and a thousand anecdotes are still just
anecdotes.

I've seen a lot of species and varieties of fruit that are supposed to
require cross pollination either occasionally or usually self fruit-  paw
paws included, unfortunately with seeds.