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HARVESTING, STORING AND RIPENING PEARS 



William J. Bramlage 

 Department of Plant and Soil Sciences 



Pears are not a major crop in New England, yet many growers have modest plantings 

 of them. Most of the crop is mari<eted locally by the grower, especially on roadside 

 stands. We are not presently conducting research on pears at the University of 

 Massachusetts, but we have periodically assessed the recommendations from other 

 areas to keep growers updated on developments. Here is our present view of the 

 requirements for marketing high quality pears. 



Harvesting. Unlike most other fruits, pears cannot be tree-ripened or they will develop 

 core breakdown and will often become "gritty". They must be picked green, and most 

 importantly, they need to be picked at the correct stage of greenness. Unlike with 

 apples, for pears firmness is a reasonably good index of maturity. It can be measured 

 in the orchard with a penetrometer such as a Magness-Taylor pressure tester, but 

 because of the hardness of pears, it must be done with the 5/16 inch penetrometer 

 head, not the 7/16 inch head used on apples. The following firmness values have proven 

 to be resonably indicative of optimum maturity of pears in Massachusetts: Bartlett, 

 20-17 pounds; Bosc, 15-12 pounds; Anjou, 15-13 pounds; Comice, 13-11 pounds; Gorham 

 and Flemish, 14-12 pounds. 



If pears are picked too immature, they tend to shrink in storage and to develop 

 poorer quality when ripe. However, the greater danger is from picking them at too 

 advanced a maturity, for this will greatly shorten their storage life and increase their 

 susceptibility to core breakdown, rotting, and CO2 injury. Perhaps the greatest problem 

 with pears is that growers do not pay close enough attention to picking them at the 

 correct time. It has been observed in England that a good key to pear maturity is 

 to note the ripening pattern of early apple varieties. If they are ripening unusually 

 early or unusually late, then pears are probably maturing in a similar pattern and their 

 expected harvest season should be altered accordingly. Maturity can then be monitored 

 more precisely with a pressure tester. 



During packing, pears should be handled with care. Their hardness is misleading; 

 bruises incurred during harvest often do not show up until the pears ripen. Any two-inch 

 drop onto a hard surface will almost certainly produce a bruise. 



S torage . If pears are to be stored, they should be cooled as quickly as possible. A 

 core temperature of 40° F. should be achieved in no more than 2-3 days, and the core 

 should be at storage temperature in no more than 10 days, or serious loss of storage 

 life will result. 



Pears benefit greatly from storage as close to their freezing point as possible. Their 

 freezing point is between 27°F. and 29°F., and their recommended storage temperature 

 is 30-31° F. Obviously, that temperature requires great care in storage operation, but 

 the life of pears drops rapidly as storage temperature exceeds this recommendation. 

 For example, storage life of Bartletts is 3096 more at 30°F than at 32°F, and is 40% 

 more at 30°F than at 34°F. 



