Apples, Pears, and Asian Pears

– Pome Fruits

Gordon Johnson

University of Delaware

What are Pome Fruits

• Apples

• Crabapples

• European Pears

• Asian Pears

• Quince

Apples – Malus domestica

• Tree size/rootstocks

– Dwarf

– Semi-dwarf

– Standard

• Type/usage

– Summer vs. fall

– Fresh vs. processing

– Short vs long storage

• Skin color

– Yellow

– Red

– Green

– Blush/Mix/Red over yellow

• Disease resistance

• Heirloom vs New Breeding

BUD 9 EMLA 26 EMLA 7

Apple Rootstocks

Summer ApplesJuly and August.

Yellow Transparent - July 2

Yellow Transparent Perrine - July 2

Lodi - July 4

Pristine - July 10

William's Pride - July 15

Redfree - August 5 (1)

Ginger Gold - August 12 (10)

Zestar - August 15

Dandee Red - August 15

Sansa - August 15

Silken

Mollies Delicious - August 22 (10)

Summer Mac - August 22

Summer Rambo - August 25 (5)

Jonamac - August 26

Star Gala - August 26 (25)

Fulford Gala - August 26 Pristine

Ginger Gold and Fulford Gala

Fall Apples IEarly September

Crimson Gala - September 2

Gale Gala - September 2

Marshall McIntosh – September 5

Northwest Greening – September 5

Honeycrisp - September 10

Rogers Red McIntosh - September 10

Daybreak Fuji - September 10

Improv. Red Jonathan – Sept. 10 (1)

Pioneer Mac – September 11

Crimson Crisp – September 15

Crimson Gold – September 15

Cortland - September 15

Royal Court – September 15

Ruby Jon – September 15Honeycrisp

Daybreak Fuji and Gale Gala

Fall Apples IILate September

Macoun – September 17

Liberty - September 17

Crimson Topaz – September 17

Acey Mac – September 20

Jersey Red - September 20

Spartan - September 20

Super Chief Red Delic.- Sept. 20 (1)

Ace Spur Red Delicious – Sept. 20 (1)

Ambrosia - September 20

Jonagold De Coster – Sept. 20 (15)

Acey Mac - September 20

Golden Delicious - September 24 (1)

Galarina - September 25

Snow Sweet – September 25

Grimes Golden - September 26 (1)

Crown Empire - September 28 (10)

Royal Empire - September 28 (10)Jonagold De Coster

Golden Delicious and Empire

Fall Apples IIIOctober

Fortune (NY 429) - October 1

Freedom - October 1

Hampshire Mac - October 1

Shizuka - October 4

Idared - October 4

Melrose - October 4

Autumn Gala - October 4

Northern Spy - October 6

Lady - October 6

Smokehouse - October 6

Virginia Gold - October 10

Cameo - October 10

Law Rome Beauty - October 12

Nittany - October 12

Albemarle Pippen - October 13

Mutsu - October 14 (1)

Suncrisp - October 16

Snapp Stayman - October 20 (1)

Red Yorking - October 20 (15)

Ramey York - October 20 (15)

Red Winesap - October 24 (15)

Enterprise - October 24

Fuji (Red Sport #2) - October 25 (1)

Red Rome 262 - October 26 (15)

Suncrisp

Rome Beauty and Stayman

Fall Apples IV - Late

Braeburn - November 1 (10/15)

Arkansas Black - November 3

(10/15)

Autumn Rose Fuji - November 4

(10/20)

Granny Smith - November 8 (10/15)

Goldrush - November 10 (10/28)

Pink Lady - November 14 (10/28)Goldrush

Pink Lady and Granny Smith

Fresh Eating Apples• Consumer preference

• Sweetness and sweet/tart

balance a key

– Ginger Gold

– Zestar

– Gala types

– Yellow Delicious

– Fuji types

– Honeycrisp

– Cameo

– Suncrisp

– Granny Smith

– Pink Lady

– Braeburn

– Jonagold

Processing Apples

• Cider

– Any, ideally mixture

tart and sweet

• Cooking

– York

– Red Yorking

– Rome

– Granny Smith

– Nittany

– Other tart apples

Medium and Long

Term Storage –

Standard Cold Room

• Medium – 4 to 6 months– Honeycrisp

– Melrose

– Northern Spy

– Smokehouse

– Pippin

– Nittany

– Suncrisp

– Pink Lady

– Crimson Crisp

– Enterprise

• Long – up to 8 months– Arkansas Black

– Black Twig

– Goldrush (10-11 months)

– Crimson GoldNittany

Disease Resistant Varieties

• Scab primary

• Rust, powdery mildew, fire blight

• Good choices for organic

• Examples

– Williams Pride****

– Redfree****

– Liberty****

– Freedom****

– Galarina***

– Enterprise***

– CrimsonCrisp**

– Goldrush**

– Crimson Topaz*

– Crimson Gold*Crimson Crisp

Heirloom Apples• Old Favorites, Specific

Qualities– Black Twig

– Arkansas Black

– Winesap

– Stayman

– Baldwin

– Smokehouse

– Pippin

– Cox Orange Pippin

– Grimes Golden

– Northern Spy

– Winter Banana

– Hundreds of others

• Example “Lilly of Kent”Pippin

Specialty Heirloom Apples

• Lady or Christmas Apple

– Small, used for decoration

• Almata

– Red tinged flesh

• Chenango

– Strawberry shape

• Esopus Spitzenburg

– Extra large apple

• Others

Specialty Heirloom Examples

Lady Christmas

Chanango Strawberry

Almata

Esopus Spitzenburg

Varieties• Season sequence

• Storage or keeping ability

• Quality factors

– taste, sweetness,tartness

• Consumer acceptance

• Firmness

• Disease resistance

– Scab, fireblight

• End use

• Specialty types

• Nursery sources

• Recommended varieties

Apple Pollination• Require cross pollination

– Honey bees

• Multiple varieties selected for ability to pollinate each other – Pollination charts

• Plant with a pollinizer– Crabapples

– Heavy long blooming apple• Winter banana

Hyslop Crabapple

Crabapples• Several Malus species

• Small fruits

• Often astringent, tart, or

bitter

• High pectin – good jelly

• Good to blend in cider

• Useful in decorations

• Wildlife plantings

• Ornamentals

Chestnut Crabapple

Pears

• European types

– Typical pear shape

• Asian types

– Round, firm

• August-October

• Size, shape, skin color

and texture differ

• Numerous heirloom types

• Most require cross

pollination

• Fire Blight

Beurre Bosc

Pear Rootstocks• Standard seedling – Bartlett

• Standard seedling – Pyrus betulafolia

• Older Oregon OHF rootstocks – some

reduced fruit size

– Following resistant to fireblight, collar rot,

woolly aphids, pear decline.

• OHF 333 1/2 to 2/3 standard size.

• OHF 40A 2/3 standard size.

• OHF 513 2/3 standard size.

• OHF 87A 2/3 standard size.

– OHF 97 Standard size

• Newer Dwarfing Stock - Pyrodwarf

and Pyro 233. 1/2 size. Earlier fruiting

than OHF, no reduced fruit size

• Quince – only works for some pears

Asian Pear Rootstock

• Pyrus betulaefolia

– large tree, tolerates wet soils, hardy 0 F

• Pyrus calleryana – preferred in S.E. because of fire blight resistance, hardy 0-10 F

• Pyrus communis (Old Home x Farmingdale)

– Dwarfed 50%, hardy -30 F

• Pyrus ussuriensis– cold hardy -30F

European Pear Varieties• Moonglow – August 10 FBR

• Clapp's Favorite - August 10

• Red Clapps - August 10

• Bartlett - August 20

• Red Bartlett - August 20

• Seckel - August 28 (small)

• Blake's Pride – Sept. 2 FBR

• Magness – Sept. 5 FBR

• Potomac – Sept. 8 FBR

• Buerre D'Anjou – Sept. 12

• Buerre Bosc – Sept. 15 (long keeper)

• Many heirlooms

European Pear Varieties

Moonglow

Beurre

D’Anjou

Magness

Blakes Pride

Asian Pears

• Fertility requirements

not high.

• Adapted to a range of:

– Soils.

– Climates.

• Fewer pest problems

than other tree fruits.

Asian Pears

• Less cold hardy than European (-20F)

zones 5-9.

• May lose bloom in springs with variable

freezing.

• Fireblight susceptible.

• Set too heavy, require thinning. ex Shinko

• Require careful harvest.

Three Types of Asian

Pear

• Based on fruit shape and skin color:

– Round or flat fruit with green or yellow skin.

– Round or flat fruit with bronze-colored or

bronze-russet skin.

– Pear-shaped with green or russet skin.

Asian Pear Varieties

• Shinseiki - August 20

• Kosui - August 23

• Hosui - August 28

• Shinko - September 10

• Niitaka - September 17

• Yoinashi - September 20

• Tse Li - October 1

• Ya Li - October 1

• Atago - October 5

• Olympic - October 10

• Many othersAtago

Fireblight Resistance

• Highly resistant

– Shinko

• Moderately resistant

– Chojuro

– Shinsei

– Korean Giant

– Yoinashi

Asian Pear Varieties

HosuiNiitaka

YoinashiOlympic

Yoinashi Asian Pear

• Light to golden brown

skin

• Crunchy, sweet

• Crisp, juicy

• Ripen late August

Korean Giant Asian

Pears

• Some russet,

greenish yellow.

• Late Sept – early Oct

harvest.

• Very large fruit.

• Fireblight tolerance.

Chinese Pears – Ya

Li

• Bloom 1 week ahead

of Korean pears.

• Freeze out more often

• Long season.

• Smooth, green skin.

• Medium fruit size.

Asian Pear Bloom

• Flowering time:

– after peaches

– before apples

• Pears are partially

self fruitful.

• Limit fruit to 1-2 per

cluster

• Cluster 4-6 in. apart

Pear Pollination ChartPollen

Source

Variety

Pollinated Shinko ChojuroKorean

Giant

20th

CenturyYoinashi Housi Kosui

Shinko

Chojuro

Korean Giant

20th Century

Yoinashi

Housi

Kosui

Quince – Cydonia oblonga

• Minor fruit

• Not eaten fresh

• Used in cooking– High pectin, jelly

– Sauces

• Different from flowering quince

• Can be kept as a large bush or small tree

Apple and Pear Planting

Systems

• Standard– 20 x 20, 18 x 24, 18 x 20,

18 x 18

• Medium density semi-dwarfs– 20 x 12, 18 x 12

• High density– Vertical axis 6 x 15

– HYTEC 6 x 12

– Slender spindle 5 x 12

BUD 9

M 9

EMLA 26

M 26

EMLA 7

M 7

Apple Rootstocks

Apple and Pear Planting

Systems

Apple and Pear Planting

Systems

Site Selection

• Air drainage

• Soil drainage

• Soil diseases

Planting

• Fall planting

• Spring planting

• Store cold or plant

promptly

• Size hole to spread roots

• Plant at nursery depth

• Modify compact soils

• Wet roots

• Firm soil – no air pockets

Feathered vs Whip

Soil Fertility & Plant

Nutrition• pH 6.0-6.5

• P and K add if below optimum according to soil test

• Best to adjust before establishment

• N - .05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2 lbs per tree– First 4 years

• Fireblight susceptible should receive less N, Pears also.

Pruning• Dwarf trees require

minimal pruning

• Scaffold development– Scaffold selection and

spacing

• Maintenance– Upright growth

– Dead or diseased

– Crossing branches

– Unproductive spurs

• Light penetration vs Sunscald

• Maintaining shape

• Plant height – Grow quickly to desired height then control leader

Limb Spreading

• Wide branch crotch

angles on scaffolds

• Some apples, pears!

• Easiest when tiny

Thinning

• Important for fruit size in

apples

• Control alternate bearing

• Smaller orchards by hand

Weed Management• Clear strip 3’+ from trunk

• Herbicides

• Non-chemical– Mulch

– Mowing

Disease Management

• Scab

• Fire blight

• Bitter rot

• Rust (cedar-apple)

• Black rot

• White rot

• Powdery mildew

• Fly speck

• Leaf spots

• Fungicide selection

• Fungicide schedule

Fire Blight

Fireblight

• Triggered by

– Heat

– Moisture

• Transmitted by

– Bees

– Other insects

– Wind rain

• Apply dormant copper or

Bordeaux.

• Apply Streptomycin

during bloom.

Insect Management

• Sucking – stink bug, lygus bug

• Apple maggot

• Codling moth

• Oriental fruit moth

• Bud moth

• Plum curculio

• Japanese beetles

• Mites, Aphids, Scales

• Leafhoppers

• Leaf miners

• Leaf rollers

• Pear psylla

• Insecticides

• IPM methods

• Timing of controls

Stink Bug Damage

• Apply insectides

beginning at petal fall

through cover sprays.

– Imidan 70 WP

– Confirm 2F

– Capture 2E

– Danitol 2.4 EC

– Avaunt 30 WDG

Harvest

• Ground color change

in some varieties

• More easily detached

but before drops

• Sweetness, proper

taste

• Pick less ripe for

storage

Handling and Storage

• Reduce bruising

– Limited transfers,

dropping

• Varietal differences

– Short term storage

– Longer storage

• Storage – 32 F and 90%

humidity

• Controlled atmosphere

– Low oxygen high nitrogen

Asian Pear Harvest

• Harvest gently

susceptible to bruising.

• Wind & rain cause fruit

drop.

• Store at 32-35 F at 90-

95% RH.

• Will store up to 3 mo.

Pawpaws

• Hardy in this area

• Very underutilized

fruit

• Custard-like

• Easy to grow

• Do not store well

Some VarietiesPeterson’s Pawpaw’s, Harpers Ferry WV

www.petersonpawpaws.com

Shenandoah

Susquehanna

Rappahannock

Figs• Questionable hardiness

• 10-20 F

• High tunnel?

• Great fresh

• Good direct market if you can grow it

• Some successful in DE home gardens

• Hardy Celeste, Hardy Chicago varieties

• Protected area

• Straw mulch and remove

• Row covers

Figs

Hardy Celeste

Hardy Chicago

Persimmons

• Types

– Japanese (oriental)

• Only hardy to 10 F

• Astringent

– Must be ripened to be

acceptable

– Can be dried

• Non-astringent

– Better accepted

– American

• Very hardy

• Small, astringent

• Potential specialty fruit